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North  Carolina  State  Library 


THE 


North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 


Issued  Quarterly 


Volume  XXIX 


Numbers  1-4 


JANUARY-  OCTOBER 
1952 


Published  by 

STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Corner  of  Edenton  and  Salisbury  streets 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORICAL  REVIEW 


Published  by  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


Christopher  Crittenden,  Editor 
David  Leroy  Corbitt,  Managing  Editor 


ADVISORY  EDITORIAL  BOARD 

Walter  Clinton  Jackson  Hugh  Talmage  Lefler 

Frontis  Withers  Johnston  Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

George  Myers  Stephens 


STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Benjamin  Franklin  Brown,  Chairman 

Gertrude  Sprague  Carraway  McDaniel  Lewis 

Clarence  W.  Griffin  Mrs.  Sadie  Smathers  Patton 

William  Thomas  Laprade  Mrs.  Callie  Pridgen  Williams 

Christopher  Crittenden,  Director 


This  review  was  established  in  January,  1924,  as  a  medium  of  publication 
and  discussion  of  history  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  issued  to  other  institutions 
by  exchange,  but  to  the  general  public  by  subscription  only.  The  regular 
price  is  $2.00  per  year.  To  members  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association  there  is  a  special  price  of  $1.00  per  year.  Back  numbers  may  be 
procured  at  the  regular  price  of  $2.00  per  volume,  or  $.50  per  number. 

[ii] 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 


VOLUME  XXIX 


NUMBER  1,  JANUARY,  1952 

ADELAIDE  LISETTA  FRIES 1 

Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

A  BOOK  PEDLAR'S  PROGRESS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA       8 

James  S.  Purcell 

HENRY  McCULLOH :  PROGENITOR  OF  THE 

STAMP  ACT 24 

James  High 

SOME  ASPECTS  OF  SOCIETY  IN  RURAL  SOUTH 

CAROLINA  IN  1850 39 

Joseph  Davis  Applewhite 

THE  FREEDMEN'S  BUREAU  AND  NEGRO 

EDUCATION  IN  VIRGINIA 64 

William  T.  Alderson,  Jr. 

UNPUBLISHED  LETTERS  OF  CALVIN 

HENDERSON   WILEY 91 

Mary  Callum  Wiley 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO 

ANDREW  JOHNSON 104 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

BOOK  REVIEWS 120 

Ulmer's  and  Beck's  To  Make  My  Bread:  Preparing 
Cherokee  Foods — By  Ruth  Current;  Hunter's  Unto 
These  Hills,  a  Drama  of  the  Cherokee — By  Richard 
Walser;  Griffin's  Essays  on  North  Carolina  History 
— By  Robert  H.  Woody;  Alden's  General  Charles  Lee: 
Traitor  or  Patriot? — By  L.  Walter  Seegers;  Cald- 
well's The  History  of  a  Brigade  of  South  Carolinians — 
By  Sarah  McCulloh  Lemmon;  Davis's  The  Ragged 
Ones — By  Chalmers  G.  Davidson;  Davidson's,  Mid- 
dleton's,  and  Rouse's  They  Gave  Us  Freedom — By 
Daniel  M.  McFarland  ;  Tankersley's  College  Life  at 
Old  Oglethorpe — By  Stuart  Noblin;  Davidson's 
Friend  of  the  People:  The  Life  of  Dr.  Peter  Fayssoux 
of  Charleston,  South  Carolina — By  James  W.  Patton  ; 

[iii] 


Sf\  ft  ft 


iv  Contents 

Hopkins's  A  History  of  the  Hemp  Industry  in  Kentucky 
— By  Stuart  Noblin;  Cornelius's  The  History  of 
Randolph-Macon  Woman's  College:  From  the  Founding 
in  1891  Through  the  Year  1949-1950 — By  David  A. 
Lockmiller;  Kirwan's  Revolt  of  the  Rednecks:  Mis- 
sissippi Politics,  1876-1925 — By  Edwin  Adams  Davis; 
Coulter's  College  Life  in  the  Old  South — By  Henry 
S.  Stroupe;  Hoover's  and  Ratchford's  Economic  Re- 
sources and  Policies  of  the  South — By  C.  K.  Brown; 
Coleman's  Liberty  and  Property — By  Hugh  T.  Lef- 
ler;  Knight's  Education  in  the  United  States — By 
Elbert  Vaughan  Wills  ;  Turner's  The  United  States, 
1830-1850:  The  Nation  and  Its  Sections — By  Richard 
Bardolph  ;  Federal  Records  of  World  War  II — By  E.  G. 
Roberts. 

HISTORICAL  NEWS 144 


NUMBER  2,  APRIL,  1952 

THE  BAR  EXAMINATION  AND  BEGINNING  YEARS 
OF  LEGAL  PRACTICE  IN  NORTH 
CAROLINA,  1820-1860 159 

Fannie  Memory  Farmer 

ELECTIONEERING  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA,  1800-1835  171 

John  Chalmers  Vinson 

JIM  POLK  GOES  TO  CHAPEL  HILL 189 

Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr. 

THE  HATTERAS  EXPEDITION,  AUGUST,  1861 204 

James  M.  Merrill 

PAPER  MANUFACTURING  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA 

BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 220 

Ernest  M.  Lander,  Jr. 

PAPERS  FROM  THE  FIFTY-FIRST  ANNUAL  SESSION 
OF  THE  STATE  LITERARY  AND  HISTORICAL 
ASSOCIATION,  Raleigh,  December  7,  1951 

INTRODUCTION    228 

Christopher  Crittenden 

OLD  BRUNSWICK,  THE  STORY  OF  A  COLONIAL 

TOWN    230 

E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr. 


. 


t 


Contents  v 

NORTH  CAROLINA  NON-FICTION  WORKS 
FOR  1951 246 

Frontis  W.  Johnston 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO  ANDREW 

JOHNSON    259 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

NORTH  CAROLINA  BIBLIOGRAPHY,  1950-1951 269 

Mary  Lindsay  Thornton 

BOOK  REVIEWS   278 

Edmonds's  The  Negro  and  Fusion  Politics  in  North 
Carolina,  1894-1901 — By  Preston  W.  Edsall;  Rec- 
ord's The  Negro  and  the  Communist  Party — By  Pres- 
ton W.  Edsall;  Dula's  and  Simpson's  Durham  and 
Her  People — By  D.  J.  Whitener;  Taylor's  Survey  of 
Marine  Fisheries  of  North  Carolina — By  David  H. 
Wallace;  Bailey's  and  Leavitt's  The  Southern  Hu- 
manities Conference  and  Its  Constituent  Societies — By 
M.  L.  Skaggs  ;  Going's  Bourbon  Democracy  in  Alabama 
— By  Frontis  W.  Johnston  ;  Carter's  The  Territorial 
Papers  of  the  United  States — By  Walter  H.  Ryle; 
Loth's  The  People's  General:  The  Personal  Story  of 
Lafayette — By  May  Davis  Hill  ;  Fishbein's  and  Ben- 
nett's Records  of  the  Accounting  Department  of  the 
Office  of  Price  Administration,  Shonkwiler's  Records 
of  the  Bureau  of  Ordnance,  and  Martin's  Records  of 
the  Solid  Fuels  Administration  for  War,  Preliminary 
Inventories  of  the  National  Archives,  numbers  32,  33, 
and  34 — By  Dorothy  Dodd. 

HISTORICAL  NEWS 295 


NUMBER  3,  JULY,  1952 

CHRISTOPHER  NEWPORT  IN  1590 305 

David  B.  Quinn 

THE  MIND  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  OPPONENTS 
OF  THE  STAMP  ACT 317 

C.  Robert  Haywood 

THE  ANTE-BELLUM  PROFESSIONAL  THEATER 

IN  RALEIGH 344 

Donald  J.  Rulfs 

NORTH  CAROLINA  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE 

CONGRESS 359 

Wilfred  B.  Yearns,  Jr. 


vi  Contents 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY  EXTENSION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 
AND  THE  WPA 379 

Elaine  von  Oesen 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO 

ANDREW  JOHNSON 400 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

BOOK  REVIEWS 432 

Oates  The  Story  of  Fayetteville  and  the  Upper  Cape 
Fear — By  Paul  Murray;  Walser's  Inglis  Fletcher  of 
Bandon  Plantation — By  Chalmers  G.  Davidson; 
Baker's  Mrs.  G.  I.  Joe — By  Percival  Perry  ;  Lewis's 
Northampton  Parishes — By  William  S.  Powell  ;  Hol- 
lis'S  University  of  South  Carolina.  Volume  I.  South 
Carolina  College — By  J.  Isaac  Copeland;  Williams's 
St.  Michael's,  Charleston,  1751-1951 — By  Lawrence  F. 
Brewster;  Easterby's  The  Journal  of  the  Commons 
House  of  Assembly,  September  12, 1739-March  26,  17  Ul 
(The  Colonial  Records  of  South  Carolina) — By  Hugh  T. 
Lefler;  Milling's  Colonial  South  Carolina:  Two  Con- 
temporary Descriptions — By  C.  E.  Cauthen;  Wal- 
lace's History  of  Wofford  College,  185U-19U9 — By 
Frontis  W.  Johnston;  Schlegel's  Conscripted  City: 
Norfolk  in  World  War  II — By  Horace  W.  Raper; 
Lawrence's  Storm  over  Savannah:  The  Story  of 
Count  d'Estaing  and  the  Siege  of  the  Town  in  1779 
— By  J.  D.  Applewhite;  Woodward's  Origins  of 
the  New  South,  1877-1913 — By  Jefferson  Davis 
Bragg;  Murdoch's  The  Georgia-Florida  Frontier,  1793- 
1796 — By  Cecil  Johnson;  Freeman's  George  Wash- 
ington: A  Biography — By  Leonidas  Dodson;  Mon- 
tross'S  Rag,  Tag  and  Bobtail:  The  Story  of  the 
Continental  Army,  1775-1783 — By  Hugh  F.  Rankin; 
McNair's  Simon  Cameron's  Adventure  in  Iron,  1837- 
181+6 — By  James  W.  Patton;  Shott's  The  Railroad 
Monopoly :  An  Instrument  of  Banker  Control  of  the 
American  Economy — By  C.  K.  Brown  ;  Thornbrough's 
A  Friendly  Mission:  John  Candler's  Letters  from 
America,  1853-185 U — By  Tinsley  L.  Spraggins;  Mc- 
Allister's Business  Executives  and  the  Humanities — 
By  Tinsley  L.  Spraggins;  Paschal's  Mr.  Justice 
Sutherland:  A  Man  Against  the  State — By  Preston  W. 
Edsall. 

LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 460 

HISTORICAL  NEWS 465 


Contents 


vn 


NUMBER  4,  OCTOBER,  1952 


WALTER  HINES  PAGE  AND  THE  SPIRIT  OF 

THE  NEW  SOUTH 481 

Charles  Griek  Sellers,  Jr. 

CALVIN  H.  WILEY'S  NORTH  CAROLINA  READER   ...  .500 

Howard  Braverman 

THE  LAND  VALUATIONS  OF  IREDELL  COUNTY 

IN  1800 523 

Hugh   Hill  Wooten 

PAMELA  SAVAGE  OF  CHAMPLAIN, 

HEALTH  SEEKER  IN  OXFORD 540 

Helen  Harriet  Salls 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO  ANDREW 

JOHNSON 569 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

BOOK  REVIEWS   579 

Griffin's  History  of  Rutherford  County,  1937-1951 — 
By  Percival  Perry;  McCoy's  The  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Asheville,  N.  C,  1794-1951— By  George  W. 
Paschal;  Woody's  The  Papers  and  Addresses  of  Wil- 
liam Preston  Feiv :  Late  President  of  Duke  University — 
By  David  A.  Lockmiller;  Stick's  Graveyard  of  the 
Atlantic:  Shipwrecks  of  the  North  Carolina  Coast — 
By  Robert  H.  Woody;  Willison's  Behold  Virginia! 
The  Fifth  Crown — By  William  S.  Powell;  Ches- 
nutt's  Charles  Waddell  Chesnutt:  Pioneer  of  the  Color 
Line — By  Louise  Greer;  Montgomery's  Cracker 
Parties — By  Glenn  W.  Rainey  ;  Mangum's  The  Legal 
Status  of  the  Tenant  Farmer  in  the  Southeast — By 
Fannie  Memory  Farmer. 

HISTORICAL  NEWS  590 


THE 


North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 


Issued  Quarterly 


Volume  XXIX 


Number  1 


JANUARY,  1952 


Published  by 

STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Corner  of  Edenton  and  Salisbury  streets 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


'.     j.tfHEiNOBffH  CAROLINA  HISTORICAL  REVIEW 


• «   •  • 


c  c  c   < 

<  .  <   <     '  «  ' 


Published  by  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


Christopher  Crittenden,  Editor 
David  Leroy  Corbitt,  Managing  Editor 


ADVISORY  EDITORIAL  BOARD 

Walter  Clinton  Jackson  Hugh  Talmage  Lepler 

Frontis  Withers  Johnston  Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

George  Myers  Stephens 


STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Benjamin  Frankltn  Brown,  Chairman 
Gertrude  Sprague  Carraway  - "  McDaniel  Lewis 

Clarence  W.  Griffin  Mrs.  Sadie  Smathers  Patton 

William  Thomas  Laprade  Mrs.  Callie  Pridgen  Williams 

Christopher  Crittenden,  Director 


This  review  was  established  in  January,  192k,  as  a  medium  of  publication 
and  discussion  of  history  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  issued  to  other  institutions 
by  exchange,  but  to  the  general  public  by  subscription  only.  The  regular 
price  is  $2.00  per  year.  To  members  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association  there  is  a  special  price  of  $1.00  per  year.  Back  numbers  may  be 
procured  at  the  regular  price  of  $2.00  per  volume,  or  $.50  per  number. 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  JANUARY,  1952  Number  1 

CONTENTS 

ADELAIDE  LISETTA  FRIES 1 

Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

A  BOOK  PEDLAR'S  PROGRESS  IN  NORTH 

CAROLINA  8 

James  S.  Purcell 

HENRY  McCULLOH:  PROGENITOR  OF  THE  STAMP 
ACT      24 

James  High 

SOME  ASPECTS  OF  SOCIETY  IN  RURAL  SOUTH 

CAROLINA  IN  1850     39 

Joseph  Davis  Applewhite 

THE  FREEDMEN'S  BUREAU  AND  NEGRO 

EDUCATION  IN  VIRGINIA     64 

William  T.  Alderson,  Jr. 

UNPUBLISHED  LETTERS  OF  CALVIN  HENDERSON 

WILEY      91 

Mary  Callum  Wiley 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO  ANDREW 

JOHNSON      104 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

BOOK  REVIEWS     120 

Ulmer's  and  Beck's  To  Make  My  Bread:  Preparing 
Cherokee  Foods — By  Ruth  Current;  Hunter's  Unto 
These  Hills,  a  Drama  of  the  Cherokee — By  Richard 
Walser;  Griffin's  Essays  on  North  Carolina  History    . 
— By  Robert  H.  Woody;  Alden's  General  Charles  Lee: 

Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  29,  1928,  at  the  Post  Office  at 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

[i] 

i 


Traitor  or  Patriot? — By  L.  Walter  Seegers;  Cald- 
well's The  History  of  a  Brigade  of  South  Carolinians 
— By  Sarah  McCulloh  Lemmon;  Davis's  The  Ragged 
Ones — By  Chalmers  G.  Davidson;  Davidson's,  Mid- 
dleton's,  and  Rouse's  They  Gave  Us  Freedom — By 
Daniel  M.  McFarland  ;  Tankersley's  College  Life  at 
Old  Oglethorpe — By  Stuart  Noblin;  Davidson's 
Friend  of  the  People:  The  Life  of  Dr.  Peter  Fayssoux 
of  Charleston,  South  Carolina — By  James  W.  Patton  ; 
Hopkins's  A  History  of  the  Hemp  Industry  in  Ken- 
tucky— By  Stuart  Noblin;  Cornelius's  The  History 
of  Randolph-Macon  Woman's  College:  From  the 
Founding  in  1891  Through  the  Year  19  U9 -19  50 — By 
David  A.  Lockmiller;  Kirwan's  Revolt  of  the  Red- 
necks: Mississippi  Politics,  1876-1925 — By  Edwin 
Adams  Davis  ;  Coulter's  College  Life  in  the  Old  South 
— By  Henry  S.  Stroupe;  Hoover's  and  Ratchford's 
Economic  Resources  and  Policies  of  the  South — By 
C.  K.  Brown;  Coleman's  Liberty  and  Property — By 
Hugh  T.  Lefler;  Knight's  Education  in  the  United 
States — By  Elbert  Vaughan  Wills;  Turner's  The 
United  States,  1830-1850:  The  Nation  and  its  Sections 
— By  Richard  Bardolph;  Federal  Records  of  World 
War  II — By  E.  G.  Roberts. 

HISTORICAL  NEWS     144 


ii 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  JANUARY,  1952  Number  1 

ADELAIDE  LISETTA  FRIES1 
By  Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

Adelaide  Lisetta  Fries,  a  native  of  Salem,  North  Carolina,  was 
born  November  12,  1871,  in  a  town  rich  in  tradition  and,  since 
its  founding  in  1766,  well  provided  with  cultural  advantages. 

Her  parents,  John  W.  and  Agnes  Sophia  de  Schweinitz  Fries, 
were  prominent  in  the  community  and  devoted  members  of  the 
Moravian  Church.  Her  family  had  long  been  among  the  leaders 
of  the  Unitas  Fratrum,  or  Moravian  Church,  dating  on  the  one 
side  to  Michael  Jaeschke,  a  refugee  who  came  from  Bohemia  to 
settle  on  the  estate  of  Count  Zinzendorf  in  the  early  eighteenth 
century,  and  on  the  other  side  to  Count  Nicholas  von  Zinzendorf 
himself,  who  has  been  called  "Father  of  the  Renewed  Moravian 
Church." 

Further  mention  should  be  made  of  the  father,  whose  in- 
fluence was  strong  in  the  development  of  her  professional 
interest  and  in  determining  the  main  direction  of  her  talents. 
John  W.  Fries  combined  the  qualifications  of  a  businessman  and 
a  scholar.  He  was  an  industrial  leader,  manufacturer,  banker, 
and  churchman,  but  he  found  time  also  for  scholarly  pursuits 
and  was  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  Salem 
College,  and  other  institutions.  His  encouragement  and  advice 
were  welcome  to  the  gifted  daughter  and  she  acknowledged  her 
debt  to  him  in  the  dedication  of  one  of  her  volumes  to  "My 
companion  in  the  silent  places  of  historical  research." 

As  John  Henry  Boner,  the  poet,  described  it,  the  Salem  of 
his  youth  was 

A  little  town  with  grassy  ways 

And  shady  streets  where  life  hums  low. 


1  A  paper  read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Historical  Society  of  North  Carolina,  Winston-Salem, 
October  20,   1950. 

[1] 


2  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  community  retained  much  of  this  atmosphere  of  tran- 
quillity in  the  youth  of  Adelaide  Fries,  with  interests  centered 
in  church  and  school.  She  attended  Salem  Academy  and  grad- 
uated in  1888.  Two  years  later  she  received  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts  from  Salem  College. 

Early  in  life  she  became  interested  in  historical  research. 
Twice  she  visited  Europe  and  on  these  tours  abroad  she  spent 
considerable  time  studying  the  collection  of  valuable  material 
in  the  Moravian  archives  at  the  ancient  center  of  the  renewed 
Moravian  Church  in  Saxony.  The  first  visit  was  in  1899  and 
the  second  in  1909. 

On  September  26,  1911,  she  was  appointed  archivist  for  the 
Southern  Province  of  the  Moravian  Church  in  America,  and  for 
nearly  forty  years  she  rendered  excellent  service  in  this  position. 

Her  appointment  did  not  bring  an  easy  task.  The  ancient 
records,  beginning  in  North  Carolina  in  1752,  were  remarkable 
for  their  abundance,  care  in  preparation,  and  scope  of  review, 
but  they  were  scattered  here  and  there  and  subject  to  abuse. 
Like  the  lost  books  of  Livy,  there  was  a  gap  in  the  records  of 
a  congregation  dating  from  colonial  days — a  loss  which,  accord- 
ing to  tradition,  was  caused  by  the  pastor  of  an  early  period 
who  used  the  missing  pages  for  lighting  his  pipe.  An  original 
letter,  signed  by  President  George  Washington  and  addressed 
with  complimentary  message  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Salem,  she  discovered  by  chance  tucked  away  in  a  pigeonhole 
of  the  desk  of  the  church  warden.  With  characteristic  thorough- 
ness she  assembled  from  offices,  schools,  pastors'  studies,  and 
other  sources  a  great  collection  unrivalled  in  the  state's  com- 
munity histories. 

She  established  the  first  independent  archives  building  and 
moved  the  collection  there,  and  much  later  she  superintended  the 
preparation  of  another  building  suited  for  protection  of  material 
and  for  accommodation  of  students  in  their  study,  and  here  her 
final  years  of  labor  were  passed. 

Her  office  was  always  open  to  those  who  sought  information 
about  Salem,  or  any  other  subject  of  historical  nature.  She  had 
a  passion  for  accuracy  which  characterizes  a  true  archivist  but 
she  combined  with  this  a  desire  to  help  anyone  who  was  inter- 
ested in  seeking  information  in  the  books  and  manuscripts  that 


Adelaide  Lisetta  Fries  3 

abounded  in  her  collection.  In  her  personal  diary  she  recorded 
one  day:  "There  were  four  visitors  at  the  archives  today — two 
students  engaged  in  research,  one  caller  investigating  a  family 
tree,  and  a  visitor  who  did  not  know  when  it  was  time  to  leave." 

An  added  difficulty  appears  in  the  archivist's  office  in  Salem 
because  the  early  records  of  the  community  for  nearly  a  century, 
comprising  perhaps  15,000  pages,  were  written  in  German,  and 
the  handwriting,  often  cramped  and  diminutive,  was  in  script 
of  the  time.  Although  she  had  little  knowledge  of  the  language 
through  study  in  school,  Dr.  Fries  mastered  the  situation.  Pains- 
takingly she  studied  the  language  and  became  proficient  in  trans- 
lation, as  her  numerous  volumes  and  papers  bear  witness. 

As  an  author  she  achieved  national  recognition.  In  the  library 
catalogue  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina-Duke  University 
there  are  twenty-three  card  references.  The  first  volume  pub- 
lished by  her  was  the  history  of  Forsyth  County,  in  1898,  and 
interestingly  enough,  the  last  was  a  volume  edited  by  her  with 
the  assistance  of  five  coeditors,  entitled  Forsyth,  a  County  on  the 
March.  This  last  was  written  as  the  centennial  history  of  Forsyth 
County  and  was  awarded  the  silver  cup  for  the  best  county 
history  written  in  1949. 

Among  other  publications  were  The  Moravians  in  Georgia, 
Funeral  Chorales  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum,  The  Town  Builders, 
Some  Moravian  Heroes,  and  Moravian  Customs — Our  Inherit- 
ance. She  edited  Bishop  Edward  Rondthaler's  Memorabilia  of 
Fifty  Years.  In  her  last  year  she  completed  a  booklet,  Distinctive 
Customs  and  Practices  of  the  Moravian  Church.  Numerous  ar- 
ticles written  by  her  were  published  in  The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review,  the  Wachovia  Moravian,  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  Magazine,  and  other  publications. 

Her  monumental  works  were  The  Road  to  Salem,  published 
by  the  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  and  the  Records  of 
the  Moravians  in  North  Carolina,  published  by  the  North  Caro- 
lina Historical  Commission  and  later  by  the  State  Department 
of  Archives  and  History.  The  former  is  an  historical  novel  for 
which  she  was  signally  honored  in  1944  by  being  awarded  the 
Mayflower  Cup,  presented  annually  to  the  North  Carolinian 
adjudged  to  have  written  the  best  book  during  the  year.  The 
latter  work,  consisting  of  seven  published  volumes  and  an  eighth 


4  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

in  process  of  completion,  contains  the  English  translation  from 
the  German  records  of  the  Moravian  churches  in  North  Caro- 
lina, beginning  with  the  year  1752. 

Her  abundant  labors  were  not  confined  to  the  seclusion  of 
the  archives.  She  was  the  recipient  of  many  honors.  From  1905 
to  1934  she  was  president  of  the  Salem  College  Alumnae  Asso- 
ciation. She  helped  organize  and  became  president  of  the  North 
Carolina  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs.  She  served  as  president 
of  the  North  Carolina  State  Literary  and  Historical  Association, 
and  in  1947  she  was  elected  president  of  the  North  Carolina 
Historical  Society,  which  she  helped  reorganize.  She  was  listed 
in  Who's  Who  in  America  and  in  the  Biographical  Quarterly  of 
London.  In  1916  she  was  awarded  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
at  Salem  College.  Three  times  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Letters  was  conferred  on  her :  first  in  1932  by  Moravian  College ; 
again  in  May,  1945,  by  Wake  Forest  College ;  and  the  next  month 
by  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  at  which  time  she  was 
pleased  to  wear  the  same  academic  gown  worn  by  her  father 
when  he  received  a  similar  degree  from  the  University. 

In  addition  to  these  honors  she  was  a  member  of  the  American 
Association  for  State  and  Local  History,  the  North  Carolina 
Folklore  Society,  the  North  Carolina  Society  for  the  Preserva- 
tion of  Antiquities,  the  National  Genealogical  Society,  and  the 
Institute  of  American  Genealogy.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Wachovia  Historical  Society,  a  former 
president  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Home  Church,  and  an  honorary  member  of  the  Winston-Salem 
Altrusa  Club. 

Though  she  did  not  aspire  to  the  distinction,  she  became  a 
public  speaker  of  acknowledged  repute  and  was  noted  for  her 
good  sense,  adaptability,  felicity  of  expression,  and  inspiration, 
combined  always  with  the  voice  of  authority. 

It  was  ever  a  keen  delight  to  her  to  engage  in  unraveling 
mysteries  of  an  historical  nature.  As  an  example,  in  her  last 
days  she  was  engaged  in  solving  the  mystery  of  an  old  printing 
press.  In  the  Wachovia  Museum  there  is  an  ancient  hand  press 
with  the  notation  that  it  was  used  to  print  proclamations  of 
Lord  Cornwallis  in  Hillsboro.  Somehow  Dr.  Fries  seized  upon 
this  statement  and  sensed  that  it  was  not  correct.  With  the  zeal 


Adelaide  Lisetta  Fries  5 

of  a  sleuth  of  Scotland  Yard  she  entered  upon  investigation. 
She  made  contacts  with  the  University  library,  the  State  De- 
partment of  Archives  and  History,  the  Library  of  Congress, 
Franklin  Institute,  and  many  other  sources  of  authority,  in- 
cluding the  Public  Record  Office  in  London,  England,  which  gave 
her  assurance  that  Lord  Cornwallis  issued  his  proclamations  at 
Hillsboro  in  handwriting.  Death  came  before  the  mystery  was 
solved,  but  she  laid  the  groundwork  that  resulted  in  the  identifi- 
cation of  the  printing  press  as  a  Ramage  press,  one  of  only 
seventeen  early  American  presses  known  to  be  in  existence  in 
the  country  today. 

It  was  her  privilege  to  be  occupied  with  her  accustomed  duties 
until  a  few  hours  before  her  death.  After  a  brief  illness  she  fell 
peacefully  asleep  Tuesday  morning,  November  29,  1949. 

The  memoir  prepared  by  her  pastor,  in  addition  to  listing  her 
accomplishments  as  archivist  and  historian,  included  these  state- 
ments : 

She  loved  flowers  and  her  garden;  she  always  had  a  story  to 
tell  to  little  children,  and  she  possessed  a  sense  of  humor  that 
was  quite  remarkable. 

As  the  years  passed  she  was  aware  of  her  lessened  physical 
strength  but  she  never  grew  old  in  her  outlook  upon  life  or  in 
her  attitude  toward  her  friends  and  acquaintances.  When  she 
was  compelled  to  spend  a  number  of  weeks  in  the  hospital  several 
years  ago,  she  never  murmured  or  complained.  She  was  only 
grateful  for  the  care  which  was  given  her.  She  was  a  gracious 
and  generous  soul. 

The  following  publications  were  written  or  edited  by  Adelaide 
Lisetta  Fries : 

"Salem  Female  Academy,"  The  North  Carolina  University  Magazine 
(Chapel  Hill),  XIII  (October,  1893),  16-24. 

Forsyth  County.  (Winston:  Stewart's  Printing  House,  1898.  Pp.  132.) 

Historical  Sketch  of  Salem  Female  Academy.  (Salem:  Crist  and  Keehln, 
1902.  Pp.  32.) 

Funeral  Chorales  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum  or  Moravian  Church.  (Winston- 
Salem:  1905.  Pp.  23.) 

The  Moravians  in  Georgia,  1735-17  UO.  (Raleigh:  Edwards  and  Broughton, 
1905.  Pp.  252.) 

"Frederick  William  von  Marshall,"  Biographical  History  of  North  Caro- 
lina (Greensboro:  Charles  L.  Van  Noppen,  1905),  II,  237-239. 

The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence  as  Mentioned  in  Records 
of  Wachovia.  (Raleigh:  Edwards  and  Broughton,  1907.  Reprinted  from 
The  Wachovia  Moravian  for  April,  1906.  Pp.  11.) 


6  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

"Der  North  Carolina  Land  und  Colonie  Etablissement,"  The  North  Caro- 
lina Booklet,  IX  (April,  1910),  119-214. 

The  Town  Builders.  (Winston-Salem:  1915.  Pp.  19.) 

"An  Early  Fourth  of  July  Celebration,"  Journal  of  American  History,  IX 
(July,  1915),  469-474. 

Records  of  the  Moravians  in  North  Carolina.  7  volumes.  (Raleigh:  North 
Carolina  Historical  Commission,  1922-1947.  Vol.  I,  1752-1771  [1922],  pp. 
511;  Vol.  II,  1752-1775  [1925],  pp.  viii,  514-973;  Vol.  Ill,  1776-1779  [1926], 
pp.  975-1490;  Vol.  IV,  1780-1783  [1930],  pp.  1491.1962;  Vol.  V,  1784-1792 
[1941],  pp.  ix,  1963-2450;  Vol.  VI,  1793-1808  [1943],  pp.  x,  2451-3017; 
Vol.  VII,  1809-1822  [Raleigh:  North  Carolina  Department  of  Archives  and 
History,  1947],  pp.  x,  3021-3612.) 

"The  Renewal  of  the  Unity  of  Brethren,"  Moravian  Bicentenary  Pam- 
phlets, No.  1.  (Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania:  Committee  on  Popular  Moravian 
Literature,  1922.  Pp.  1-24.) 

"Autobiography  and  Memoirs  of  Adam  Spach  and  his  Wife,"  in  Descend- 
ants of  Adam  Spach.  Compiled  by  Henry  Wesley  Foltz.  (Winston-Salem: 
Wachovia  Historical  Society,  1924.  Pp.  202). 

"The  Lure  of  Historical  Research,"  North  Carolina  Historical  Review,  I 
(April,  1924),  121-137. 

"A  History  of  Hope  Congregation,  in  North  Carolina,"  Indiana  Magazine 
of  History,  XXVI  (December,  1930),  279-287. 

"The  Moravian  Contribution  to  Colonial  North  Carolina,"  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review,  VII  (January,  1930),  1-14. 

"Travel  Journal  of  Charles  A.  Van  Vleck,  1826,"  North  Carolina  His- 
torical Review,  VIII  (April,  1931),  187-206. 

"North  Carolina  Certificates  of  the  Revolutionary  War  Period,"  North 
Carolina  Historical  Review,  IX  (July,  1932),  229-241. 

"Dr.  Hans  Martin  Kalberlahn,"  Southern  Medicine  and  Surgery,  XCVI 
(October,  1934),  540-543. 

Moravian  Customs — Our  Inheritance.  (Winston-Salem:  1936.  Pp.  62.) 

Some  Moravian  Heroes.  (Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania:  Christian  Education 
Board  of  the  Moravian  Church,  1936.  Pp.  118.) 

"Report  of  the  Brethren  Abraham  Steiner  and  Friedrich  Christian  Von 
Schweinitz  of  Their  Journey  to  the  Cherokee  Nation  and  in  the  Cumberland 
Settlements  in  the  State  of  Tennessee,  from  28th  October  to  28th  December, 
1799,"  North  Carolina  Historical  Review,  XXI  (October,  1944),  pp.  330-375. 

The  Road  to  Salem.  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina 
Press,  1944.  Pp.  317.) 

Distinctive  Customs  and  Practices  of  the  Moravian  Church.  (Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania:  Comenius  Press,  1949.  Pp.  64.) 

Forsyth,  A  County  on  the  March.  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North 
Carolina  Press,  1949.  Pp.  248.) 

Parallel  Lines  in  Piedmont  North  Carolina  Quaker  and  Moravian  History: 
The  Historical  Lecture  delivered  at  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fifty-Second 
Session  of  Noi-th  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting,  Eighth  Month,  the  Third,  1949. 
(N.  p.,  North  Carolina  Friends  Historical  Society,  n.  d.  Pp.  16.) 


Adelaide  Lisetta  Fries  7 

The  following  works  were  written  or  edited  in  conjunction 
with  others : 

The  Moravian  Church:  Yesterday  and  Today.  (Raleigh:  Edwards  and 
Broughton,  1926.  Pp.  xi,  154.)  With  J.  Kenneth  Pfohl. 

Edward  Rondthaler,  The  Memorabilia  of  Fifty  Years:  1877  to  1927. 
Foreword  by  Adelaide  L.  Fries,  H.  A.  Pfohl,  Thomas  E.  Kapp,  and  Rufus 
A.  Shore.   (Raleigh:  Edwards  and  Broughton,  1928.  Pp.  xii,  520.) 

Edward  Rondthaler,  Appendix  to  the  Memorabilia  of  Fifty  Years.  Fore- 
word by  Adelaide  L.  Fries,  H.  A.  Pfohl,  Thomas  E.  Kapp,  and  Rufus  A. 
Shore.   (Raleigh:  Edwards  and  Broughton,  1931.  Pp.  58.) 

Guide  to  the  Manuscripts  in  the  Archives  of  the  Moravian  Church  in 
America,  Southern  Province.  Prepared  by  the  North  Carolina  Historical 
Records  Survey,  Division  of  Community  Service  Programs,  Works  Progress 
Administration  (Raleigh:  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Records  Survey, 
1942.  Pp.  vii,  138.) 


A  BOOK  PEDLAR'S  PROGRESS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

By  James  S.  Purcell 

An  interesting  chapter  in  the  Kulturgeschichte  of  early  North 
Carolina  recounts  the  activities  of  a  colorful  colporteur,  the 
Reverend  Mason  Locke  Weems,  who  for  two  decades  travelled 
throughout  the  state.  The  journeys  of  this  zealous  bookselling 
parson,  better  known  as  the  highly  imaginative  biographer  of 
George  Washington,  can  be  traced  in  his  letters,1  but  the  story 
becomes  considerably  more  enlightening  with  the  addition  of 
notices  in  contemporary  newspapers  and  comments  in  letters  and 
diaries  of  North  Carolinians  with  whom  he  had  dealings. 

The  Parson's  interest  in  North  Carolina  as  a  book  market  first 
became  evident  in  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  Virginia  &  North  Carolina  Almanac,  For  the  Year  of  Our 
Lord  1800  . . .  made  its  appearance,  doubtless,  in  the  fall  of  1799.2 
This  bipartite  almanac  of  thirty-seven  pages  was  printed  in 
Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  "for  the  Rev.  Mason  L.  Weems."  It  was 
obviously  an  economical  bid  by  Weems  for  a  part  of  the  lucrative 
almanac  monopoly  enjoyed  in  the  upper  part  of  North  Carolina 
by  Abraham  Hodge,  editor  of  the  North-Carolina  Journal  at 
Halifax.  The  title  page  was  an  almost  exact  reproduction  of  that 
of  Weems's  Virginia  almanac;  the  text  varied  only  in  that  the 
court  calendar  included  the  courts  of  North  Carolina  and  Mary- 
land as  well  as  those  of  Virginia.  The  reading  matter  "designed 
for  entertainment  and  instruction"  was  the  same — unsigned  ex- 
cerpts from  Weems's  own  Hymen's  Recruiting  Serjeant? 

But  Weems's  chief  interest  in  North  Carolina  in  the  early  years 
of  the  nineteenth  century  was  in  securing  subscriptions  to  Chief 
Justice  Marshall's  monumental  Life  of  Washington  which  had 


1  Emily  Ellsworth  Skeel,  Mason  Locke.  Weems,  His  Works  and  Ways  (New  York,  1929). 
This  rare  work  was  begun  by  Mrs.  Skeel's  brother,  Paul  Leicester  Ford.  There  are  three 
volumes;  the  letters,  with  copious  notes,  appear  in  the  second  and  third  volumes,  of  which 
only   300   copies   were   printed. 

Mason  Locke  Weems  (October  11,  1759-May  23,  1825),  Episcopal  clergyman,  book  agent, 
publisher,  and  writer,  was  born  in  Anne  Arundel  County,  Maryland.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  Anglican  priesthood,  September  12,  1784,  and  served  parishes  in  Maryland  and  Virginia, 
notably  Pohick  Church  (and  thus  became  "Formerly  Rector  of  Mt.  Vernon  Parish").  For 
thirty-one  years,  from  1794  until  his  death  in  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  he  was  a  zestful 
bookseller,  chiefly  as  the  agent  of  Mathew  Carey  of  Philadelphia,  wandering  up  and  down 
the  eastern  seaboard  but  maintaining  his  family  of  ten  children  among  his  wife's  people  in 
Dumfries,   Virginia. 

2  Copy  in  library  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mass. 

8  Hymen's  Recruiting  Serjeant,  Weems's  "sweet  persuasions  to  wedlock,"  was  published 
in  two  parts,  the  first  in  1799  and  the  second  in  1800.  This  pamphlet,  with  The  Drunkard's 
Looking  Glass  (1812)  and  God's  Revenge  Against  Adultery  (1815),  appears  in  Mrs.  Skeel's 
edition   of   Three  Discourses  by  Mason   Locke   Weems    (New   York,    1929). 

[8] 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina         9 

been  announced  for  publication  by  C.  P.  Wayne  of  Philadelphia. 
In  the  early  fall  of  1802  Wayne  had  advertised  in  a  North  Caro- 
lina newspaper : 

Life  of  General  Washington 
The  Subscriber 
Having  purchased  for  publishing  it  by  subscription.  .  .  .  The 
work  will  be  handsomely  printed,  with  a  new  type,  on  vellum 
paper,  hot-pressed,  to  be  comprised  in  four  or  five  octavo  volumes 
of  from  450  to  500  pages  each.  .  .  .  The  price  to  subscribers  will 
be  three  Dollars  each  Volume  in  Boards;  and  the  Price  of  one 
Volume  to  be  paid  in  advance,  on  subscribing ;  this  advance  to  be 
continued  with  each  Volume,  until  the  work  is  completed.  .  .  .4 

To  this  notice  Wayne  added  a  note :  "The  Publisher  intending  to 
visit  many  of  the  large  towns  of  the  United  States,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  Subscribers,  declines  at  present  employing 
Agents  for  that  purpose."  Weems's  persuasive  powers  must 
have  worked,  however,  for  he  was  soon  the  southern  representa- 
tive of  Wayne  and  about  a  year  later  appeared  in  North  Caro- 
lina.5 On  January  28,  1804,  he  wrote  to  Wayne  from  Fayetteville, 
where  he  found  himself  engaged  in  supplementing  the  subscrip- 
tions already  obtained  by  the  local  bookseller: 

I  came  to  this  town  11  o'clock  this  morning, — found  that  a 
Mr.  McRae  (Post  Master)  had  obtained  15  subs.  This  dum- 
f ounded  me  somewhat —  but,  rallying,  I  fell  to  work,  and  greatly 
to  my  surprise,  obtain'd  22  more.  Mr.  Grove  (Member  of  Con- 
gress, last  session)  says  I  may  obtain  a  vast  many  more,  if  I  can 
but  attend  at  the  Superior  Court  here  23  of  April.  .  .  .6 

Weems  prided  himself  on  knowing  what  his  buyers  wanted — 
"feeling  the  pulse"  was  his  phrase.  He  insisted  that  fine  bindings 
be  sent  to  this  territory.  Recognizing  the  turbulent  political 
situation   in   North   Carolina   in  the   early   1800's,   he   wrote: 


4  Raleigh  Register,  October  19,   1802. 

5  From  his  letters  it  would  be  thought  that  Weems  travelled  south  of  Virginia  for  the 
first  time  in  1804.  But  it  is  likely  that  he  was  in  Georgia  as  early  as  1797.  The  Augusta 
Chronicle,  June  13,  1797,  states  that  the  Rev.  M.  L.  Weems  married  a  couple  in  Burke  County, 
Georgia,  on  May  28,   1797. 

6  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  290.  Duncan  MacRae,  long-time  postmaster,  bookseller,  and  general 
merchant  of  Fayetteville,  advertised  books  for  sale  in  the  Raleigh  Minerva,  August  13,  1804, 
and  the  Fayetteville  North  Carolina  Intelligencer,  October  11,  1806.  Records  of  his  trans- 
actions with  Mathew  Carey,  Philadelphia  publisher  and  bookseller,  from  1812  until  1818  can 
be  seen  in  the  collection  of  the  Mathew  Carey  accounts  at  the  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
Worcester,  Mass. 

Before  the  State  Assembly  of  1806  enacted  a  law  creating  a  superior  court  in  each  county, 
Fayetteville  was  one  of  the  eight  towns  in  the  state  where  superior  court  sessions  were  held 
twice   a   year. 

William  Barry  Grove  was  the  leading  Federalist  of  the  Fayetteville  area;  he  was  a  member 
of  Congress  from  1791  until  1803. 


10  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

"Nothing,  nothing  will  do  either  Feds  or  Denis  but  Calf  binding." 
Again  he  warned  Wayne  from  Fayetteville :  "Take  notice,  No- 
body will  subscribe  for  the  work  in  boards."  And  from  Halifax 
he  was  asking  for   "cataracts  of  Books — Gilt  and  all  Gilt."7 

Although  he  was  chiefly  concerned  with  getting  subscriptions 
to  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  Weems  had  other  irons  in  the 
fire.  From  Fayetteville  he  reported  to  Wayne:  "I  have  taken  a 
light  carriage  with  a  driver  to  vend  some  little  Books  while  I 
shd  be,  (for  my  own  sake)  employ d  in  getting  Subs  to  Washing- 
ton."8 Meanwhile,  he  was  also  selling  books  for  Mathew  Carey, 
the  Philadelphia  bookseller  with  whom  he  maintained  an  oft- 
strained  connection  for  more  than  twenty  years.  After  a  week 
in  Fayetteville  he  left  for  Wilmington  and  wrote  Carey  from 
there :  "As  I  have  your  little  stage  with  me  (having  parted  with 
my  own  .  .  .)  I  shall  be  willing  that  Mrs.  Weems'  brother,  who 
drives  me,  shall  try  to  vend  some  Bibles  for  you."9  He  requested 
that  a  box  of  assorted  books  be  sent  him  "also  my  4  [00]  or  500 
Hymen  recruitg  Serjeant  no.  2,  I  mean  the  'Nest  of  Love/  In 
these  warm  latitudes  there  is  a  great  call  for  both  Nos  but  the 
1st  is  unfortunately  run  out." 

Weems,  with  his  fiddle,  continued  his  journey  south,  can- 
vassed parts  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  in  June  re- 
turned northward  through  piedmont  North  Carolina.  At 
Salisbury  he  presented  a  letter  of  introduction  from  John  Chest- 
nut of  Camden,  South  Carolina,  to  General  John  Steele,  former 
Comptroller  of  the  United  States.  Chestnut  wrote : 

The  Revd  Mr.  Weems  is  on  his  way  northward,  and  purposes 
taking  Salisbury  on  his  way,  and  being  a  Stranger  in  that  town, 
I  take  the  liberty  to  recommend  him  to  your  civilities  &  attention. 

He  is  procuring  Subscriptions  for  the  Life  of  General  Wash- 
ington wch  will  soon  be  published — and  I  presume  the  life  of  that 
great  &  worthy  man — Written  by  Judge  Marshall,  will  be  eagerly 
sought  for  by  every  enlightened  American.  .  .  .10 

The  results  of  the  Weems-Steele  association  will  be  told  later. 


7  Weems  to  Wayne,  Halifax,  N.  C,  February  9,   1805,   Skeel,   Weems,  II,  313. 

8  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  291. 

9  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  292.  Carey's  Family  Bible  was  an  exceedingly  popular  item;  it  was 
frequently  advertised  in  North  Carolina  newspapers.  Weems  once  wrote  Carey:  "I  could 
make  a  good  living  by  the  Bible  &  Washington  [Weems's  .  .  .  Washington]  alone."  Skeel 
Weems,  III,  73. 

10  Chestnut  to  Steele,  Camden,  S.  C,  June  17,  1804,  H.  M.  Wagstaff,  ed.,  The  Papers  of 
John  Steele   (Raleigh,   1924),  I,  435. 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina        11 

From  Chapel  Hill,  Weems  complained  again  to  Wayne  of  a 
matter  that  he  had  met  with  at  Fayetteville — that  he  was  forced 
to  compete  with  the  local  booksellers.  Consequently  he  advised 
his  employer: 

...  I  beg  you  not  to  send  any  books  to  any  town  for  my  Sub- 
scribers. You  wd  also  very  seriously  oblige  me  if  you  were  to 
furnish  to  your  Post  Masters,  Book  venders  &c  &c  who  have 
taken  subs,  no  more  copies  than  for  their  subscribers.  I.E.,  I  shd 
be  glad  to  see  this  business  confin'd  (if  possible)  to  Mr.  Ormond 
and  myself.  By  chipping  &  frittering  it  away  among  a  thousand 
little  whippers  in,  you  will  make  it  uninteresting  to  us,  and  hence 
must  ensue  a  languor  dangerous  to  the  whole  enterprize.11 

He  also  told  Wayne  of  his  plans  to  take  New  Bern  on  his  way  to 
the  South — "Reports  of  well-informed  Persons  make  that  place 
worth  80  or  100  copies" — and  begged  him  not  to  send  any  books 
to  the  booksellers  there. 

The  beginning  of  the  following  year,  1805,  saw  Weems  again 
in  North  Carolina,  writing  to  Wayne  from  Halifax  for  "cataracts 
of  Books"  and  promising  to  remit  three  or  four  hundred  dollars 
from  Warrenton.12  A  few  days  later  he  was  in  Warrenton  calling 
for  more  books :  "I  shall  want  a  host  of  books  this  campaign."13 
From  Tarboro,  ten  days  later,  he  tallied  up  his  remittances  and 
remarked:  "Well  3000$  in  10  weeks  is  not  quite  so  bad — and 
hardly  any  books  to  boot ! ! !  What  might  I  not  do,  well  kept  in 
blast  [ballast?]  ?  O  think  of  that  and  reform!"14 

Weems  was  having  other  troubles  too.  The  first  edition  of  the 
volumes  he  had  promised  to  the  subscribers — volumes  one  and 
two — was  exhausted  and  he  was  having  to  deliver  the  second 
edition,  which  was  received  with  bad  grace.  When  he  was  calling 
for  books,  Weems  had  repeatedly  pleaded  with  Wayne,  "for  your 
own  sake,  all  of  edit.  No.  1."  From  Tarboro  he  tried  another  ap- 
proach: "Wou'd  God  you  cou'd  send  the  2d  edit,  to  Ormond  & 
the  Puritans  of  the  North.  'Tis  their  profession  to  bear  &  for- 
bear and  to  do  good  for  evil.  The  people  in  the  South  are  Infidels. 
They  will  run  horn  mad  if  you  vex  'em  in  the  Life  of  Wash."15 


"  Weems  to  Wayne,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  July  11,  1804,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  300.  John  Ormond 
was  Weems's  less  colorful  counterpart  in  the  northern  states. 

12  Weems  to  Wayne,  Halifax,   N.  C,   February  9,   1805,   Skeel,    Weems,   II,   313. 

13  "Weems  to  Wayne,  Warrenton,  N.  C,  February  14,   1805,  Skeel,   Weems,  II,  314. 
"Weems  to  Wayne,  Tarboro,  N.  C,  February  25,   1805,   Skeel,   Weems,  II,   315. 

15  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  315.  According  to  Weems  the  paper  of  the  second  edition  was  "so  thin 
as  to  make  the  volume  but  half  as  thick  as  the  former." 


12  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Several  weeks  later,  in  New  Bern  he  reiterated  this  theme :  "The 
people  there  [in  the  North]  are  more  religious  than  they  are 
here,  and  wd  not  curse  &  swear  so  sadly  under  what  they  might 
deem  ill  treatment."16 

On  this  1805  jaunt  the  Parson  evidently  was  alone  in  his 
travels.  From  New  Bern  he  wrote  Wayne  that  he  was  returning 
"some  little  miscellaneous  books  which  I  had  planned  and  meant 
to  vend  for  mutual  benefit."  He  had  nobody  with  him  to  attend 
to  "this  Tom  Thumb  Merchandize.',  He  must  devote  all  his  time 
and  efforts  to  the  Washington  and  found  that  "the  sale  of  this 
trumpery  wd  prove  a  most  serious  hindrance  to  the  Great 
Work."17 

The  Raleigh  area  was  evidently  missed  in  the  1805  journey. 
The  persons  in  the  environs  of  the  capital  of  the  state  who  had 
placed  their  subscriptions  with  one  of  the  two  local  booksellers 
had  received  their  two  volumes  in  November,  1804,  and  in 
March,  1805,  had  promise  of  the  third.18  Joseph  Gales,  the  editor 
of  the  Raleigh  Register,  who  with  his  wife,  Winifred,  had  a 
flourishing  book  business,  doubtless  took  pleasure  in  inserting 
this  item  into  his  local  news  column : 


A  Subscriber  wishes  published  the  following 

QUERY 
How  will  those  persons  who  subscribed  with  Mr.  Weems  for 
the  Life  of  Washington,  find  where  he  is  or  when  he  means  to 
deliver  them  their  books,  or  how  are  they  to  get  either  the  books 
or  the  money?19 

This  restive  spirit  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital  did  not  inter- 
fere with  the  success  of  the  bookselling  Parson  in  other  sections 
of  the  state.  The  subscription  canvass  of  1806  took  him  to  the 
seaboard  towns  for  a  stay  of  almost  three  months,  and  profitable 
months  they  were.  He  reported  to  Wayne  on  his  collections : 

Since  March  (the  beginning  of)  I  have  sent  you,  as  follows  from 

w  Weems  to  Wayne,  New  Bern,  N.  C,  March  10,  1805,  Skeel,   Weems,  II,  316. 
i7Skeel,   Weems,  II,  316. 

18  Joseph  Gales  announced  on  November  6,  1804,  that  "Subscribers  to  the  Life  of  Washing- 
ton .  .  .  may  have  their  books  on  application."  Raleigh  Register,  November  12,  1804.  William 
Boylan,  bookseller  and  editor  of  the  Minerva,  advertised  that  at  the  sitting  of  the  legislature, 
November  8,  1804,  he  would  have  for  dispersal  the  first  and  second  volumes.  Minerva,  Oc- 
tober 29,   1804. 

19  Raleigh  Register,  October  14,  1805. 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina        13 

Norfolk  921     Newbern  500 

Warrenton  654     Wilmington  500 

Louisburg  100     Do  500 

Washington  [N.  C]     50     do  draft  on  D.Ware  742.70 

Do  100 

1,725     Do  88 

now  Charleston  400 


4,555.70,20 


Weems  doubtless  kept  out  his  own  commission,  usually  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  which,  if  included,  would  indicate  sales  of  more 
than  four  thousand  dollars  in  North  Carolina.  This  amount,  while 
it  bespeaks  a  literary  interest  in  the  state,  also  bears  out  Weems's 
modest  statement  about  his  abilities:  "The  world  is  pleased  to 
say  that  I  have  talents  at  the  subscription  business."21 

The  fifth  and  final  volume  of  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington, 
excepting  the  promised  atlas,  was  published  in  1807.  But  Weems's 
work  with  the  book  in  North  Carolina  was  far  from  done.  Many 
of  his  customers  were  complaining  of  non-delivery;  Weems  did 
"vex  'em  in  the  Life  of  Wash."  and  they  were  running  horn  mad. 
In  Edenton  the  Parson's  defection  was  proclaimed  in  the  news- 
paper. 

Mr.  Editor, 

Can  you  inform  us  what  has  become  of  a  certain  Parson 
Weems,  who  passed  through  this  State  some  time  ago  fiddling 
and  hawking  the  Life  of  Gen.  Washington,  written  by  Judge 
Marshall,  that  same  Judge  who  is  now  presiding  on  the  trial 
of  Aaron  Burr,  and  who  wanted  to  give  judgment  for  half  of 
North  Carolina  in  favour  of  the  Earl  of  Granville's  heirs?  Now 
if  the  said  Weems  does  not  shortly  let  us  hear  from  him,  and 
appoint  time  and  place  when  and  where  he  will  deliver  the  bal- 
ance of  the  work,  or  return  the  money  he  has  pocketed  from  the 
subscribers,  we  shall  as  soon  as  the  trial  of  said  Burr  is  over,  lay 
the  matter  bef ore  the  Judge  himself.  .  .  ,22 

Evidence  of  collective  exhaustion  of  patience  in  Tarboro  came  to 
Wayne  himself.  "Sundry  Inhabitants  of  Tarboro,  N.  C." — four- 
teen in  number — signed  the  following  letter  of  grievance : 


20  Weems  to  Wayne,  Charleston,  S.  C,  June  5,  1806,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  335.  For  some  rea. 
son  or  other  Weems,  later  in  his  letter,  reported  thus  unflatteringly  about  a  North  Carolina 
town:  "That  Louisburg  is  a  Devil  of  a  place.  This  is  the  2d  time  that  I've  been  in  the 
frights   about   it." 

21  Weems  to  Wayne,  Norfolk,  Va.,  January  25,  1805,  "A  Weems  Letter,"  American  His- 
torical Record,  II   (February,  1873),  82. 

22  Edenton  Gazette,  October  15,  1807. 


14  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

We  the  undersigned  beg  leave  to  represent  to  Mr.  C.  P. 
Wayne — that  we  became  Subscribers  to  the  "Life  of  Washing- 
ton" &  paid  Mr.  Weems  $12 — upon  receipt  of  the  1st  and  2d 
volumes  of  the  work — that  in  April  1806  we  received  from  Mr. 
Weems  the  4th  volume  &  paid  him  $8  the  balance  of  the  sub- 
scription money — since  which  time,  altho'  we  have  repeatedly, 
through  Genl.  Thos.  Blount  made  application  to  Mr.  Weams 
[sic']  for  the  remaining  volumes — promises  to  deliver  them  are 
all  we  have  been  able  to  procure.  We  therefore  desire  to  know 
of  Mr.  Wayne  whether  we  are  to  rely  on  Mr.  Weams  [sic]  for 
the  volumes  still  wanting  (in  which  case  we  must  abandon  all 
expectation  of  receiving  them)  or  whether  he  Mr.  Wayne  will 
deliver  them.  If  the  latter  Dr.  Battle  will  receive  &  forward  them 
to  us.  .  .  .23 

When  Wayne  relayed  these  complaints  to  his  southern  represent- 
ative, Weems  answered : 

It  grieves  me  that  you  should  credit  the  "distressing  accounts'' 
as  you  call  them,  that  are  sent  to  you.  .  .  .  Certainly  Mr.  Wayne 
you  must  know  that  the  communications  are  from  some  Malig- 
nant Rascals  or  other — So  help  me  God,  I  have  separated  myself 
from  a  most  affect  wife  &  family  for  24  months  &  about  two 
thirds  of  that  time  were  spent  in  plying  between  Augusta,  Wash- 
ington, Louisville,  &c  &c  to  distribute  the  books  &  receive  monies 
for  you !  Was  I  not  at  Georgetown  8  days — at  Newbern  8  days — 
at  Wilmington  6  days — with  the  1.2d.3d.  &  4th  vols  distributed 
to  all  who  wd  receive — for  many  swore  they  wou'd  not  receive 
till  they  cou'd  see  the  last  Vols  &  Atlass.  At  Fayette  [ville]  I  had 
but  a  few  Subs,  and  I  beggd  McCrae  [MacRae]  to  distribute  to 
them  he  having  tendered  his  services  thereto.  .  .  ,24 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  of  Weems  and  Marshall's 
Life  of  Washington  was  heard  in  the  notice  in  the  columns  of  an 
Edenton  newspaper,  September  24,  1811,  nearly  four  years  after 
the  publication  of  the  final  volume: 

We  are  desired  by  the  Rev.  M.  L.  Weems,  to  inform  the  sub- 
scribers to  the  life  of  Washington,  that  their  Books,  elegantly 
finished,  will  be  ready  for  delivery  at  our  Superior  Court  on 
Monday  next.25 

On  the  same  day  from  Warrenton,  Weems  wrote  to  Mathew 
Carey,  the  Philadelphian  for  whom  he  was  to  work  full  time, 


as  Thomas  Blount  Hudson  et  al.  to  Wayne,  Tarboro,  N.  C,  May  30,  1808,  Skeel,  Weems,  II, 
377. 

24  Weems  to  Wayne,  Dumfries,  Va.,  June  20,  1808,  Skeel,   Weems,  II,  380. 

25  Edenton  Gazette,  September  24,  1811. 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina        15 

that  he  had  just  returned  from  the  towns  in  eastern  North 
Carolina,  "Whither  I  went  on  Mr.  Wayne's  business,  which  as  you 
well  know,  I  was  bound  to  wind  up."26 

Even  while  he  was  canvassing  and  collecting  for  Wayne, 
Weems  was  also  peddling  books  for  Carey.  During  the  years 
1809  and  1810  he  sold  $24,000  worth  of  books  for  him  in  the 
South.27  Ever  zealous  in  his  plans  for  Carey  and  himself,  the 
Parson  wrote  to  his  new  employer :  "I  pray  you  to  spend  no  more 
paper,  ink,  nor  time  nor  argument  to  persuade  me  to  exertion 
and  Perseverance  in  circulating  Valuable  Books,  I  am  chockfull 
of  Zeal  burning  with  the  Book  fever  and  so  are  you."28  Weems 
asked  Carey — "10000  times  begg'd"  him — for  permission  "to  go 
through  1000  neighbourhoods  feeling  the  pulse  of  Preachers, 
Schoolmasters"  and  suiting  a  book  assortment  to  the  taste  of  the 
"Religion,  Politics,  and  general  reading  of  the  people."29  He  told 
Carey  what  he  desired  of  him — "supply  me  plenty  of  books  and 
let  me  choose  the  Books  &  allow  some  reasonable  seed  time" — and 
expected  to  establish  for  the  Philadelphia  bookseller  "from  2  [00] 
to  300  illuminating,  moralizing  book  stores."30 

In  1808  Weems  was  making  some  progress  in  North  Carolina 
with  his  grandiose  plans.  He  ignored  the  seaboard  towns  but 
recognized  the  possibilities  of  the  piedmont  area31 — "the  middle 
and  western  counties,  villages,  &c  &c  be  my  range."  He  wrote 
enthusiastically  to  Carey:  "I  shall  want  in  toto  pro  tempore 
presenti  .  .  .  1000,  Peter  Davis  Warrenton,  N.  Carolina — 1000, 
Colo.  Vaughan  Mercht.  Williamsboro  No.  Carolina — 2000  to 
Genl  Steel  (former  Comptroller  Genl  U.  S.)  Salisbury,  N.  Caro- 
lina."32 


26  Weems  to  Carey,  Warrenton,  N.  C,  September  24,  1811,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  54. 

27  William  A.  Bryan,  ed.,  "Three  Unpublished  Letters  of  Parson  Weems,"  William  and 
Mary  Quarterly,  2nd.  series,  XXXIII   (July,  1943),  275. 

28  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,  Va.,  August  24,  1809,  Skeel,   Weems,  II,  420. 

29  Weems  to  Carey,  Columbia,  S.  C,  December  18,  1809,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  429. 

30  Weems  to  Carey,  Columbia,  S.  C,  December  13,  1809,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  428.  As  early 
as  May  22,  1806,  writing  to  Carey  from  Wilmington,  Weems  had  suggested  the  chain  of 
bookstores:  "Let  me,  or  any  other  Person,  establish  1,  2,  or  300  very  safe  &  judicious  Little 
Book  stores  throughout  these  Southern  States.  These  1,  2,  or  300  very  safe,  because  well 
chosen,  Gentlemen  may  be  vending  books  &  remitting  monies  at  the  same  time.  Under 
proper  management,  i  e  of  Books  well  selected,  and  store  keepers  well  chosen,  I  am  very  sure 
that  immense  Good  may  be  done  to  the  Country  &  immense  profit  may  accrue  to  yourself." 
Skeel,  Weems,  II,  334.  In  the  fall  of  1811,  Weems  at  least  regarded  the  matter  as  a  fait 
accompli:  "3  weeks  more  &  I  shall  enter  on  the  cordon  of  your  book  stores  established  2 
years  ago."  Weems  to  Carey,  Warrenton,  N.  C,  September  24,  1811,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  54. 

31  The  Parson  believed  heartily  in  the  idea  of  cheap  books  for  all:  "It  is  but  rare  that  I 
want  to  see  an  Author  that  stands  higher  than  a  dollar."  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,  Va., 
March  25,  1809,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  398. 

32  Weems  to  Carey,  n.  p.,   September  29,    1818,   Skeel,    Weems,   II,   380. 

Peter  R.  Davis  was  postmaster  at  Warrenton  from  1805  until  1807;  Colonel  James  Vaughan 
was  a  planter  near  Williamsboro,  Granville  County;  and  General  John  Steele,  after  retiring  as 
Comptroller  General  in  1802,  was  regarded  as  the  "most  conspicuous  member  of  the 
Federalist  party  in  North  Carolina." 


16  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

In  the  case  of  General  Steele,  one  of  early  North  Carolina's 
favored  sons,  Weems's  enthusiasm  for  bookselling  seems  to  have 
exceeded  the  bounds  of  accepted  decorum.  The  Parson  had  been 
recommended  to  the  "civilities  &  attention"  of  the  General  back 
in  the  Life  of  Washington  canvass  days  of  1804.  Weems,  who  was 
no  respector  of  persons,  evidently  presumed  too  much  as  this 
apologetic  letter  from  Carey  to  Steele  explains: 

Your  favor  of  the  14th.  which  I  read  yesterday,  has  astonished 
me  inexpressibly,  &  affords  an  additional  proof  of  the  extreme 
incorrectness  of  Mr.  Weems's  conduct,  which  has  produced  the 
most  serious  inconvenience  &  injury  to  me.  He  gave  me  clearly 
&  explicitly  to  understand  that  you  were  zealously  disposed,  & 
even  eager  to  cooperate  with  him  &  myself  in  the  sale  of  Books — 
else>  Sir,  be  assured  I  should  never  have  troubled  you  with  a 
Book,  or  with  my  correspondence.  I  had  no  idea  that  your  agency 
in  the  business  was  to  be  merely  "to  request  one  of  the  Store- 
keepers to  receive  them" ;  I  assuredly  believed  you  were  to  dis- 
pose of  them  yourself,  &  conceived  you  were  a  Storekeeper,  or 
merchant — not  a  planter.  Should  the  Books  arrive,  I  request  Sir, 
you  will  have  them  stored  somewhere  till  I  take  the  necessary 
steps  to  dispose  of  them.  By  no  means  deliver  them  to  any  Store- 
keeper for  sale.  .  .  ,33 

For  his  part  Weems  blamed  Carey.  In  a  later  recital  of  his 
grievances  to  his  employer  he  included  this:  "Nor  would  Genl. 
Steele  of  Salisbury  have  anything  to  do  with  three  boxes  sent  to 
Petersburg  for  him,  on  getting  your  uncivil  letters  to  him !  !"34 

Despite  such  rebuffs  Weems  maintained  that  his  zeal  was 
"equal  to  that  of  any  Adventurer  in  this  Great  Work  of  circu- 
lating good  books  &  useful  knowledge."35  He  complained,  how- 
ever, that  his  plan  for  selling  had  "never  yet  had  a  fair  trial." 
Carey  would  not  let  him  "go  forward  &  choose  books  for  the 
places"  but  insisted  on  "pushing  on  the  books  at  random"  and 
consequently  committed  "errors  equal  to  those  of  sending  'fiddles 
to  Methodist  meetinghouses.'  "36  But  the  Parson  persevered ; 
during  the  summer  of  1811  he  was  in  the  north  central  part  of 
the  state.  Here  he  had  more  success  in  his  dealings  with  his  local 


33  Carey  to  John  Steele,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  January  24,  1810,  Steele  Papers,  North  Carolina 
Historical  Society,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C.  H.  M.  Wagstaff,  ed.,  The  Papers  of  John  Steele,  620, 
published  this  letter  but  erroneously  read  "Weaver's  for  "Weems."  The  word  is  clearly 
"Weems's." 

Carey  need  not  have  been  quite  so  abject.  In  his  youth,  Steele  had  engaged  in  "practicing 
merchandising";  after  his  death  in  1815  his  widow  kept  the  famous  Steele's  Tavern  in 
Salisbury. 

34  Weems  to  Carey,  Richmond,  Va.,  November  21,   1811,  Skeel,   Weems,  III,  56. 

35  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,  Va.,  November  23,   1811,   Skeel,   Weems,  III,  57. 

36  "Weems  to  Carey,  Lexington,  Va.,  March  15,  1811,  Skeel,   Weems,  III,  41. 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina        17 

agent,  the  prominent  and  wealthy  Thomas  Jeffreys  of  Red  House 
in  Caswell  County,  whose  sales  from  the  collection  of  books  left 
with  him  amounted  to  nearly  two  hundred  dollars.  The  recently 
built  local  academy  was  also  to  be  furnished  with  books,  at  six 
cents  above  the  Philadelphia  prices.37 

On  this  journey  Weems  went  again  to  Louisburg,  that  "Devil 
of  a  place."  His  letter  from  there  suggests  the  literary  tastes  of 
some  North  Carolinians  in  1811 : 

I  was  much  importuned  for  the  following  books.  ...  6  Salma- 
gundi— 6  Yankee  in  London,  and  some  of  the  latest  &  best 
treatises  on  the  Military  Art.  And  some  of  the  newest  &  most 
popular  pamphlets,  &  some  droll,  dashing  pieces  in  the  way  of 
Biography,  pictures  of  living  manners.  Wit,  humor.  .  .  .38 

The  following  year  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  1812  curtailed 
somewhat  Weems's  bookselling  activities  in  the  state.  Carey 
wrote  him:  "The  declaration  of  war  deranges  all  our  plans.  I 
must  not  send  goods  to  N.  or  South  Carolina  or  Georgia  as  no 
insurance  can  be  made  on  them."39  Weems  continued  with  his 
plans  for  a  trip  to  North  Carolina  to  look  after  the  books  that  had 
already  been  distributed  there.  The  "sickly  season"  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1812  he  spent  in  the  "upper  &  healthy  parts"  of  the  state, 
progressing  from  court  session  to  court  session,  selling  books  and 
collecting  old  debts.40  The  next  spring,  accompanied  by  his 
nephew,  Elijah  Weems,  he  was  again  hawking  books  at  the  court 
gatherings  in  the  northern  section.  Two  weeks  later  Elijah  was 
left  to  work  the  court  crowd  at  Northampton  while  the  Parson 
went  to  Petersburg,  Virginia,  to  replenish  his  stock,  preparatory 
to  assaulting  Halifax.41 


37  Weems  to  Carey,  Red  House,  N.  C,  August  30,  1811,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  53.  These  books 
were  to  be  sent  from  a  store  in  Petersburg,  where  Weems  was  constantly  advising  Carey  to 
keep  a  good  stock  of  books.  "From  Petersburg  they  can  be  sent  at  any  time  to  almost  any 
part  of  N.  Carolina."  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,  Va.,  September  8,  1812,  Skeel,  Weems, 
III,  80. 

38  Weems  to  Carey,  Louisburg,  N.  C,  September  4,  1811,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  54.  Salmagundi; 
or,  the  Whim-Whams  and  Opinions  of  Launcelot  Langstaff,  Esq.  and  Others  ...  by  Washing- 
ton Irving,  James  Kirke  Paulding,  and  William  Irving  was  published  in  1807;  The  Yankee 
in  London,  Being  the  First  Part  of  a  Series  of  Letters  Written  by  an  American  Youth, 
during  Nine  Month's  Residence  in  the  City  of  London,  attributed  to  Royall  Tyler,  was 
published   in   1809. 

30  Carey  to  Weems,   Philadelphia,   Pa.,   June   12,   1812,   Skeel,    Weems,   III,   70. 

40  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,  Va.,  July  15,  1812,  Skeel,   Weems,  III,  72-73. 

41  Weems  to  Carey,  Petersburg,  Va.,  April  29,  1813,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  94.  The  previous 
fall  the  elder  Weems  had  recommended  Elijah  highly  to  Carey:  "I  have  an  extraordinary 
young  man,  a  Nephew,  of  singular  activity  and  smartness  and  with  a  couple  of  thousand 
dollars  in  hand,  who  is  very  anxious  to  join  me  in  the  spring."  Mrs.  Skeel  would  have  ques- 
tioned the  Parson's  judgment  in  leaving  Elijah  alone  at  Northampton;  by  reading  between 
the  lines  of  the  letters,  she  decided  that  "Elijah's  habits  were  uncertain  and  his  reliability 
not  above  suspicion."   Skeel,   Weems,  III,   83. 

Elijah  Weems  was  for  a  short  time  a  resident  of  North  Carolina.  Early  in  1815  he  opened 


18  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

There  are  no  extant  records  to  indicate  that  Parson  Weems 
was  in  North  Carolina  in  the  years  between  his  1813  visit  and 
the  early  summer  of  1821,  when  he  was  busy  in  the  seaboard 
area  of  the  state.42  In  the  winter  of  1821-1822  he  was  in  the 
piedmont  section,  appearing  with  his  boxes  of  books  in  Halifax, 
Murfreesboro,  Greensboro,  Raleigh,  Chapel  Hill,  and  Hillsboro.43 
Surely  he  must  have  included  some  section  of  the  state  in  his  fate- 
ful itinerary  to  South  Carolina,  where  he  died  on  May  23,  1825. 
The  obituary  that  appeared  in  the  Warrenton  Reporter,  July  8, 
1825,  is  one  of  the  standard  sources  of  information  about  his 
life.44  In  the  Raleigh  Register,  July  12,  1825,  Joseph  Gales  wrote 
feelingly  of  the  deceased  Parson  "as  the  author  of  the  Life  of 
Washington,  and  various  other  popular  works,  which  have  passed 
through  numerous  editions,  and  have  had  a  most  extensive  circu- 
lation" ;  he  described  him  as  "a  man  of  very  considerable  attain- 
ment both  as  a  scholar,  a  physician  and  divine";  but  he  dwelt 
most  on  his  lifetime  of  bookselling: 

[He]  voluntarily  commenced  a  career  of  incessant  bodily  toil,  to 
disseminate  moral  and  religious  books  in  various  remote  and 
destitute  portions  of  the  country.  From  Pennsylvania  to  the 
frontiers  of  Georgia  was  the  principal  theatre  of  his  indefati- 
gable labors,  and  it  is  supposed  on  good  authority,  that  in  the 
course  of  his  life  he  has  been  instrumental  in  circulating  nearly 
a  million  copies  of  the  scriptures  and  other  valuable  works.  That 
in  this  laborious  calling  he  was  principally  actuated  by  an  ex- 
panded philanthropy,  is  proved  by  his  entire  neglect  of  the 
means  of  accumulating  a  large  fortune  and  dying  in  compara- 
tive poverty.  . . .  He  finally  fell  a  martyr  to  his  arduous  exertions 
to  do  good.  .  .  . 

The  influence  of  Parson  Weems  on  the  reading  habits  of  North 
Carolinians  in  the  early  1800's  was  not  limited  to  his  bookselling 
activities,  telling  as  they  were.  Weems's  own  moralizing  works, 
many  of  them  published  by  Carey,  were  popular,  some  of  them 

a  bookstore  in  Raleigh,  making  three  in  the  town  of  less  than  two  thousand  inhabitants, 
one-third  of  which  were  slaves.  Several  months  later  he  married  a  Raleigh  girl,  Miss  Mary 
Shaw  (Raleigh  Register,  November  17,  1815),  but  shortly  was  selling  his  stock  at  cost,  "ex- 
pecting to  move  to  the  North."  Raleigh  Register,  January  26,  1816. 

42  Carolina  Centinel   (New  Bern,  N.  C),  June  16,  1821. 

*3  Weems  to  Carey,  Halifax,  N.  C,  December  13,  1821,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  438;  Weems  to 
Carey,  Murfreesboro,  N.  C,  December  29,  1821,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  329;  Weems  to  Carey, 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  January  5,  1822,  Skeel,   Weems,  III,  330. 

44  Reprinted  in  Skeel,    Weems,  II,  439. 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina       19 

exceedingly  so,  in  the  state.45  North  Carolina  absorbed  copy  after 
copy,  under  one  title  or  another,  of  Weems's  perennial  Life  of 
George  Washington.4*  Joseph  Gales  received  150  copies  for  his 
bookstore  in  1808.47  The  next  year  five  hundred  more  copies  were 
sent  to  Raleigh  and  one  hundred  to  Fayetteville.48  Doubtless  the 
books  consigned  to  Raleigh  were  sold  despite  Carey's  ineffective 
merchandizing,  for  which  he  was  taken  to  task  by  Weems :  "We 
shall  be  ruined  from  your  inattention  to  my  earnest  &  reiterated 
intreaties.  Why  were  not  Elegant  Advertisements  of  this  work, 
with  letters  critical  &  commendatory  by  Lee  &c  &c  printed  on 
colour'd  paper,  sent  in  the  box?"49  The  Parson's  Washington  had 
already  been  publicized  somewhat  in  Raleigh.  In  the  Minerva  of 
October  7, 1805,  Boylan's  North  Carolina  Almanack  for  1806  was 
advertised  as  containing  "Extracts  from  the  Rev.  M.  L.  Weems 
History  of  the  Life  of  George  Washington." 

The  Parson  believed  strongly  in  the  moralizing  influence  of 
books.  But  he  sagely  advised  Carey :  "Let  the  Moral  and  Religious 
be  as  highly  dulcified  as  possible."50  To  this  end  Weems  wrote 
several  palliatives — "my  little  Serio  comical  mello  dramatical 
pamphlets,"  he  called  them.  These  he  circulated  in  North  Carolina 
as  well  as  the  other  southern  states.  One  hundred  and  fifty  copies 
of  the  one  he  referred  to  as  "my  Mary  Findley"  were  sent  to 
Raleigh  in  the  fall  of  1808.51  This  account  of  wife  murder  in 


45  On  July  25,  1813,  Weems,  with  evident  petulance,  wrote  Carey  from  Dumfries,  Virginia: 
"All  the  books  that  I  shall  ever  want  of  yours,  will  be  the  Family  Bible  &  Washington 
[Weems's].  These  with  some  heavy  subscription  book  &  my  pamphlets,  will  serve  my  turn." 
Skeel,    Weems,   III,   97. 

46  The  title  of  the  original  work,  published  about  1800,  was  The  Life  and  Memorable 
Actions  of  George  Washington.  Astute  appraiser  of  humanity  that  he  was,  Weems  must 
have  noted  the  limited  appeal  of  Marshall's  ponderous  Washington  and  pushed  his  own 
ancedotal  account  as  being  more  suitable  for  reaching  the  really  wide  market  of  the  masses — 
his  aim  in  bookselling.  See  William  A.  Bryan,  "The  Genesis  of  Weems'  'Life  of  Washing- 
ton,'"  Americana,  XXXVI    (April,  1942),  147-167. 

47  Weems  to  Carey,  Raleigh,  N.  C,  September  29,  1808,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  382. 

48  Weems  to  Carey,  Raleigh,  N.  C,  November  27,  1809,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  424;  Weems  to 
Carey,  Columbia,  S.  C,  December  13,  1809,  Skeel,   Weems,  II,  427. 

49  Major  General  Henry  (Light-Horse  Harry)  Lee's  commendation  of  The  Life  of  George 
Washington,  first  printed  in  the  North  American  (Baltimore)  March  18,  1809,  was  used  on 
the  title  page  of  the  ninth  edition  (1809)  and  thereafter.  At  this  time  Weems's  book  was 
selling  phenomenally.  On  January  7,  1809,  Weems  had  written  Carey  about  the  printing 
of  five  thousand  copies  "of  your  spring  edition  of  the  Life  of  Washington  for  Petersburg, 
Norfolk,  Halifax,  Edinton — Tarboro,  Washington  [N.  C],  Newbern,  Fayette [ville],  Wil- 
mington, Geo.  Town,  Charleston,  &c  &c."  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  384.  Weems  knew  well  that 
his  book  was  selling.  In  one  of  their  periodic  fits  of  mutual  resentment  he  taunted  Carey: 
"And  let  me  tell  you,  once  for  all,  that  if  you  are  tired  of  the  connexion  I  shall  not  use 
argument  to  bind  you  to  it.  Give  me  back  my  little  book,  or  as  Nathan  wd  say,  my  little 
ewe-lamb  and  take  all  your  thousand  of  gigantic  authors  to  yourself."  Weems  to  Carey, 
Columbia,  S.  C,  December  13,  1809,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  427. 

50  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,  Va„  June  18,  1797,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  44. 

As  a  pioneer  in  the  field  of  writing  for  the  young  and  self-educated,  Weems  deserves  a 
place  in  the  annals  of  American  literature. 

51  Weems  to  Carey,  Raleigh,  N.  C,  September  29,  1808,  Skeel,  Weems,  II,  382. 

In  the  "very  Handsome  collection  of  Wax  Figures  as  large  as  life"  that  was  on  display  at 
Capt.  William  Scott's  tavern  in  Raleigh,  December  17-23,  was  "Mary  Findley,  who  was 
drowned  by  her  husband  only  eight  weeks  after  marriage."   Star    (Raleigh),   December  20, 


20  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

South  Carolina,  God's  Revenge  against  Murder;  or,  the  Drown' d 
Wife  of  Stephen's  Creek  .  .  .  (1807),  sold  for  twenty-five  cents. 
When  this  pamphlet  was  republished  in  1809  with  a  slight  change 
of  title,  it  was  noted  to  this  extent  in  the  Raleigh  Star's  column 
of  brief  book  notices  called  "Literary  Intelligence" : 


The  Rev.  Mason  L.  Weems,  well  known  in  the  Southern  States 
as  agent  for  procuring  subscribers  for  the  Life  of  Washington, 
author  of  "Hymen's  Recruiting  Serjeant  or  a  Matrimonial  Tattoo 
for  the  Bachelors,"  and  several  other  whimsical  and  amusing 
publications,  has  lately  published  "The  Drown'd  Wife,  being  a 
faithful  history  of  the  beautiful,  but  unfortunate  Miss  Polly 
Middleton,  who,  after  bestowing  herself  with  a  fortune  of  four 
thousand  dollars  on  a  young  husband,  Mr.  Edward  Findley,  was 
barbarously  drowned  by  him  in  the  eighth  week  after  marriage." 

Doctor  Ramsay  gives  the  following  character  of  the  work: 

"No  man  can  read  this  pamphlet  without  having  his  risible 
faculties  often  excited — no  man  can  read  it  without  having  his 
horror  for  vice  and  his  respect  for  Virtue  increased.  The  Writer 
has  the  art  of  blending  instruction  with  amusement.  While  he 
keeps  his  readers  in  high  humor  by  the  frolicsomeness  of  his 
manner,  he  is  inculcating  upon  them  important  moral  and  reli- 
gious truths,  conducive  to  their  present  and  future  happiness."52 

Two  other  pamphlets  in  the  Revenge  series  were  more  closely 
connected  with  North  Carolina.  God's  Revenge  Against  Adultery 
Aivfully  Exemplified  in  the  Following  Cases  of  American  Crime 
.  .  .  (1815)  included  as  one  of  its  deterrents  the  case  of  "The 
Elegant  James  ONeale,  Esq.  (North  Carolina,)  who,  for  Se- 
ducing the  Beautiful  Miss  Matilda  Lestrange,  Was  Killed  by  Her 
Brother."  This  twenty-three-page  story  in  the  seduction  tradition 
was  based  on  a  tragic  incident,  doubtless  related  to  Weems  in  his 
travels,  that  took  place  in  the  Wilmington  area  around  1790. 
Weems,  and  perhaps  the  actual  circumstances,  made  sure  that 
seduction  was  the  capital  crime;  the  avenging  brother  was  im- 
prisoned for  manslaughter,  but  as  womankind's  hero  (soon  to  be 
pardoned  by  Governor  Alexander  Martin)   in  a  perfumed  and 


52  Star,  February  9,  1809.  Some  of  the  North  Carolina  newspaper  editors  tried  to  keep 
their  readers  informed  of  Weems's  activities.  Gales's  Raleigh  Register,  August  4,  1806, 
reported:  "Mr.  M.  L.  Weems,  now  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  has  published  in  the  Times,  two 
columns  of  commendatory  matter  upon  the  character  of  the  late  venerable,  and  justly 
lamented  George  Wythe,   Chancellor  of  Virginia." 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina        21 

beflowered  cell.53  The  other  North  Carolinian  that  Weems  used  in 
his  crime-does-not-pay  series  was  not  written  up  so  extensively. 
In  God's  Revenge  against  Gambling  Exemplified  in  the  Miserable 
Lives  and  Untimely  Deaths  of  a  Number  of  Persons  of  Both 
Sexes  .  .  .  (1810),  the  three-page  account  of  "T.  Alston,  Esq. 
(N.  C.)  who,  from  Gambling  was  shot  by  Capt.  Johnson"  was 
only  one  of  six  examples  of  gamesters.  Not  only  did  Thomas 
Alston  of  Halifax  have  to  compete  with  gentlemen  from  Virginia 
and  Maryland  but  also  with  such  worthies  as  Marie  Antoinette 
and  Fanny  Braddock,  sister  of  General  Braddock. 

Another  moralistic  pamphlet  of  his  own  composition  that 
Weems  sold  in  North  Carolina  was  The  Drunkard's  Looking- 
Glass  Reflecting  a  Faithful  Likeness  of  the  Drunkard  .  . .  (1812) . 
In  the  fall  of  the  year  of  publication  the  author  was  at  his  home 
in  Dumfries,  Virginia,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  a  shipment  of  his 
pamphlet  with  which  he  "wd  set  off  immediately  to  N.  Caro- 
lina/'54 Three  weeks  later,  still  waiting,  he  wrote  exasperatedly 
to  Carey :  "But  for  the  faint  hope  it  may  do  some  good  to  Youth 
I  coud  almost  wish  I  had  never  written  that  illfated  pamphlet — 
tho'  it  outsells  anything  I  have  lately  written."55 

Two  of  Weems's  pieces  written  primarily  for  the  South  Caro- 
lina market  circulated  to  a  limited  extent  in  North  Carolina.  In 
1808,  one  hundred  and  fifty  copies  of  his  little  pamphlet  on 
Francis  Marion,  the  genesis  of  his  The  Life  of  Francis  Marion 
(1810) ,  were  sent  to  Gales's  bookstore  in  Raleigh.56  Several  years 
later,  the  Parson's  account  of  an  occurrence  in  the  religious  life 
of  contemporary  South  Carolina  was  advertised  regularly  for 
nearly  six  months  in  a  New  Bern  newspaper : 

Just  Received  and  for  Sale 

at  S.  Hall's  Book  Store 

Price  25  cents 

The  Devil  Done  Over;  or  the  Grand  Revival  in  Old  Edgefield 
in  1809,  wherein  seven  hundred  souls  were  added  to  the  Baptist 
church  in  nine  Months. — Taken  chiefly  from  the  Minutes  of  the 
Rev'd  Samuel  Marsh,  Robert  Marsh,  John  Landrom  and  Samuel 

53  The  copy  of  this  pamphlet  owned  by  the  Duke  University  Library  is  inscribed  thus: 
"Powell  McRae.  Presented  by  author,  Jany.  1st  1823."  Powell  was  Duncan  MacRae's  oldest 
son. 

The  companion  piece  to  the  O'Neale  affair  was  the  case  of  "The  Accomplished  Dr. 
Theodore  Wilson,  (Delaware)  who  for  Seducing  Mrs.  Nancy  Wiley,  Had  His  Brains  Blown 
out  by  her   Husband." 

54  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,   Va.,   September  8,   1812,   Skeel,    Weems,   III,   80. 

55  Weems  to  Carey,  Dumfries,  Va.,  September  29,  1812,  Skeel,   Weems,  III,  82. 

56  Weems  to  Carey,  Raleigh,  N.  C,  September  29,  1808,  Skeel,   Weems,  II,   382. 


22  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Cartledge,  who  were  the  Honoured  Instruments  of  the  Glorious 
Work. 

By  M.  L.  Weems,  Formerly  Rector  of  General  Washington's 
Parish.57 

In  addition  to  writing  and  selling  books,  Weems  at  times  pub- 
lished them.  His  most  enduring  venture  in  the  publishing  line 
was  the  Rev.  Hugh  Blair's  Sermons  . . . ,  "Reprinted  for  the  Rev. 
M.  L.  Weems,"  by  Samuel  and  John  Adams  in  Baltimore,  1793. 
Weems's  edition  of  Blair  was  offered  for  sale  in  Wilmington  in 
1803.58  The  Parson  attested  to  its  popularity  in  the  South  when 
he  wrote  Wayne :  "I  beg  you  to  send  no  more  Blair's  to  any  place 
North  of  North  Carolina."59  One  hundred  copies  of  this  edition 
of  the  Scottish  divine  were  sent  to  Edenton  early  in  1812  along 
with  "a  cargo  of  valuable  books"  consigned  by  Carey.  Weems 
was  responsible  for  yet  another  religious  book,  Sermons  on  Im- 
portant Subject  by  the  Late  Reverend  and  Pious  Samuel 
Davies  .  .  .  ,  "Printed  for  Mason  L.  Weems,"  in  Baltimore  in 
1816.  Weems's  edition  was  doubtless  the  result  of  an  observation 
he  once  made  to  Carey  regarding  the  sermons  of  "the  Pulpit 
Henry  of  Virginia" :  "This  is  a  book  in  great  demand  in  all  these 
S.  States."60 

It  was  quite  possible  that  at  one  time  Weems  was  toying  with 
the  idea  of  publishing  the  work  of  a  North  Carolinian,  General 
William  R.  Davie's  "Notes  on  the  Revolution."  The  copy  of  this 
manuscript  in  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Society  in  Chapel 
Hill  has  this  note,  dated  January  7,  1810,  attached : 

If  Genl  Davie  will  please  to  have  transcribed  in  a  round  legible 
hand  the  f ollowg  valuable  documents,  and  forward  them  to  me  to 
care  of  Doct.  Dalco,  Charleston,  he  will  confer  a  very  great  favor 
on  his  much  oblig 

M.  L.  Weems 
NB    The  sooner  the  better;  at  any  rate  by  the  15th  Feb  1810. 

Or  perhaps  the  Parson  intended  enlivening  the  Notes  in  the 


57  Carolina  Federal  Republican,  January  4,  1812,  et  seq.  Mrs.  Skeel  maintains  that  this 
series  of  advertisements  is  the  sole  trace  of  this  pamphlet.  Skeel,  Weems,  I,  232. 

68  Wilmington  Gazette,  June  9,  1803.  Blair's  Lectures  on  Rhetorick  and  Belles  Lettres 
(1777)  was  advertised  more  often  in  the  state  newspapers  of  the  period  than  were  the 
sermons. 

159  Weems  to  Wayne,  Columbia,  S.  C,  August  9,  1805,  Skeel,  Weems,  I,  262. 

60  Weems  to  Carey,  n.  p.,  n.  d.,  received  July  26,  1811,  Skeel,  Weems,  I,  283. 

Note  the  publisher  Carey's  exasperation  with  Weems:  "For  Heaven's  sake  do  not 
encourage  every  man  who  has  written  a  Book  no  matter  whether  good  or  bad  to  apply  to  us. 
You  worry  us  to  Death.  We  have  full  as  much  on  our  hands  as  we  can  manage."  Carey  to 
Weems,  Philadelphia,  1821,  Skeel,  Weems,  III,  310. 


A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina        23 

same  fashion  that  he  did  General  Peter  Horry's  account  of 
Francis  Marion. 

Because  of  his  manifold  activities  Parson  Weems  had  an  in- 
estimable influence  upon  the  cultural  life  of  North  Carolina  in 
the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  His  bookselling  was 
perhaps  the  most  telling  feature.  In  this  respect  his  zeal  was 
unbounded ;  even  his  preaching  was  subordinate  to  it.  As  Bishop 
Meade  observed  somewhat  sourly :  "He  preached  in  every  pulpit 
to  which  he  could  gain  access,  and  where  he  could  recommend 
his  books."61  His  enthusiasm  must  have  lured  many  a  laggard 
to  literacy  and  his  wit  persuaded  many  a  purchaser.  His  appeal 
was  to  all  classes — from  those  to  whom  he  sold^the  expensive 
calfskin-bound  Marshall's  Washington  to  the  half-educated  rank 
and  file  at  whom  he  aimed  his  own  sketch  of  Washington.  This 
gifted  vagabond  with  his  fiddle  and  ready  tongue  was  a  familiar 
figure  to  North  Carolinians  of  the  era,  "an  object  of  amusement 
to  many,  and  of  profit  to  Mr.  Carey"62  as  well  as  of  benefit  to  the 
state  as  a  whole. 


61  Bishop  [William]  Meade,  Old  Churches,  Ministers  and  Families  of  Virginia  (Philadel- 
phia, 1900),  II,  233.  Evidently  the  Parson  was  a  match  for  the  Bishop;  see  Meade's  own 
account:  "I  once  .  .  .  found  Mr.  Weems  with  a  bookcaseful  [of  books]  for  sale,  in  the 
portico  of  the  tavern.  On  looking  at  them  I  saw  Paine's  'Age  of  Reason,'  and,  taking  it 
into  my  hand,  turned  to  him,  and  asked  if  it  were  possible  that  he  could  sell  such  a  book. 
He  immediately  took  out  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff's  answer,  and  said,  'Behold  the  antidote. 
The  bane  and  antidote  are  both  before  you,'  "  Meade,  Old  Churches,  II,  235. 

62  Meade,  Old  Churches,  II,  233. 


HENRY  McCULLOH :  PROGENITOR  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT 

By  James  High 

The  Stamp  Act  of  1765  was  the  starting  point  of  the  ten-year 
period  that  culminated  in  the  American  Revolution.  The  man 
who  drafted  the  law,  a  forgotten  clerk  in  a  great  office,  believed 
that  it  could  have  worked  had  his  recommendations  been  fol- 
lowed. The  British  ministers  of  state  have  had  to  bear  the  blame 
for  losing  the  American  colonies.  Henry  McCulloh  has  never 
been  given  any  credit  for  his  advice  and  foreknowledge  of  the 
crisis  precipitated  by  the  Stamp  Act.  That  act  caused  George 
Grenville's  ministry  to  fall.  It  was  the  first  time  an  American 
issue  had  retired  an  English  government.1 

Henry  McCulloh  gave  the  idea  of  an  American  stamp  duty  its 
first  written  form,  which  he  handed,  unsolicited,  to  the  Earl  of 
Bute,  first  minister  in  1761.2  It  was  examined  and  endorsed  by 
Bute,  Newcastle,  Pelham,  Halifax,  and  Grenville  and  was  finally 
accepted  by  the  latter  as  the  basis  for  his  infamous  revenue 
measure  of  1765.3  McCulloh  produced  the  idea  in  1761  and  was 


1  Technically,  Grenville  fell  on  the  Regency  Bill,  but  Rockingham  formed  the  next 
ministry  with  Pitt  in  order  to  repeal  the  Stamp  Act.  George  Grenville  (1712-1770),  British 
politician,  famous  for  prosecuting  Wilkes  and  instituting  the  Stamp  Act.  He  is  often 
identified  with  the  "King's  Friends."  One  of  his  sons,  George  Nugent  Temple  Grenville, 
first  Marquis  of  Buckingham  (1753-1813),  cousin  of  William  Pitt,  opposed  Lord  North. 
Another  son,  William  Wyndham  Grenville,  first  Baron  Grenville  (1759-1834),  became  Pitt's 
foreign  secretary  and  formed  the  "Ministry  of  All  the  Talents"  in  1806,  when  the  slave 
trade  was  abolished.  One  may  search  almost  in  vain  for  the  most  trifling  mention  of 
American  affairs  in  the  published  papers  of  George  Grenville,  and  his  official  and  secret 
correspondence  while  he  headed  the  British  ministry  is  preoccupied  with  European  affairs 
to  the  complete  exclusion  of  the  colonies.  He  hardly  thought  of  America,  and  when  he  did, 
it  was  as  an  appanage  of  the  mercantile  system  of  England.  See  Stowe  Manuscripts  (Henry 
E.  Huntington  Library  and  Art  Gallery,  San  Marino,  California),  6,  for  information  con- 
cerning the  assistance  Grenville  gave  the  Earl  of  Bute  in  getting  rid  of  William  Pitt  in  1761. 
Lady  Hester  Pitt  was  made  a  baroness,  and  her  husband  was  granted  an  annuity  of  £3,000, 
to  give  up  the  ministry  and  make  peace.  Stowe  Manuscripts  III,  1-2.  Stowe  Manuscripts,  7, 
cover  the  period  of  Grenville's  administration,  including  his  retirement  from  office  without 
any  mention   of  America. 

2  Miscellaneous  Representations  relative  to  Our  Concerns  in  America  submitted  in  1761  to 
the  Karl  of  Bute,  by  Henry  M'Culloh,  .  .  .  edited  by  William  A.  Shaw  (London,  n.  d.,  1905), 
12.  John  Stuart,  third  Earl  of  Bute  (1713-1792),  was  a  Scottish  noble  often  elected  as 
representative  peer  to  sit  in  the  English  Parliament.  He  was  the  first  Scottish  nobleman 
to  head  a  British  ministry.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu,  thus 
becoming  very  wealthy.  He  was  very  friendly  with  the  young  George  III  and  his  widowed 
mother,  especially  the  latter.  He  helped  the  princess  instill  into  the  young  prince  the  ideas 
of  Bolingbroke  on  the  nature  cf  the  duties  of  a  prince.  He  was  also  on  intimate  terms  with 
another  Scottish  peer  who  had  experienced  trouble  with  Americans,  John  Campbell,  fourth 
Earl  of  Loudoun.  Loudoun  Papers  (Henry  E.  Huntington  Library  and  Art  Gallery),  9441- 
9458.  In  1769  he  considered  himself  ignorant  of  English  affairs  and  went  to  Lisbon  for  his 
health.  Bute  to  Loudoun,  August  19,  1769,  LO  9443.  Bute  voted  in  1766,  against  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  as  he  said,  "entirely  from  the  private  conviction  ...  of  its  very  bad  and 
dangerous  consequences  both  to  this  country  and  our  colonys."  Caldwell  Papers,  Maitland 
Club  (1854),  II,  pt.  ii,  82.  See  Historical  Manuscripts  Commission,  9th  Report,  Appendix 
iii,   22. 

8  Edmund  S.  Morgan,  "Postponement  of  the  Stamp  Act.,  William  and  Mary  Quarterly, 
VII  (July,  1950),  353-392,  discusses  the  delay  in  putting  through  the  act,  partly  to  allow 
American   discussion   and   partly   because  of   indifference. 

[24] 


Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act       25 

hired  to  write  the  law  in  1764.  Had  more  attention  been  paid  to 
McCulloh's  provisions,  and  had  items  "Exceptionable,"  as  he  put 
it,  to  the  colonists  not  been  included,  American  resistance  to  the 
Stamp  Act  would  possibly  have  been  less.  It  would,  at  least,  have 
been  on  different  grounds.4  McCulloh  had  been  in  the  Plantation 
Office  and  the  Colonial  Office,  had  served  as  a  crown  officer  in 
North  and  South  Carolina,  and  had  been  in  the  naval  expedition 
along  with  the  Massachusetts  men  at  the  reduction  of  Louis- 
bourg.  He  was,  therefore,  in  a  position  to  understand  Americans 
as  well  as  anyone  in  the  British  government — better  than  any 
of  the  ministers.  His  law,  altered  in  essential  detail,  was  en- 
acted by  Parliament  in  February,  1765.5  The  changes,  though 
seemingly  slight,  put  a  workable  plan  into  a  "dress  of  Horror" 
for  Americans.6  They  reacted  against  it  immediately  and 
violently.7 

It  is  facile  to  say  that  George  Grenville  should  have  "known 
better."  It  is  equally  easy  to  say  the  same  of  such  a  man  as 
William  Knox,  one  of  the  principal  advisers  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  on  colonial  affairs.  Knox  wrote  many  books  on  America 
and  its  administration,  but  he  had  spent  little  time  in  the 
colonies,  and  he  could  only  think  of  the  colonists  as  Englishmen 


4  Sir  Francis  Bernard  to  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  November  10,  1764,  Huntington  Manuscripts 
(Henry  E.  Huntington  Library  and  Art  Gallery),  2586.  Bernard  was  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts during  the  Stamp  Act  controversy.  He  had  never  been  firm  in  his  belief  that 
Parliament  should  impose  taxes  on  the  colonies.  Typical  of  his  attitude  was  his  letter  to 
Halifax,  in  which  he  said  that  ".  .  .  the  Trade  of  America  is  really  the  Trade  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  opening  and  encouraging  it  is  the  most  Effectual  way  for  Great  Britain  to 
draw  Money  from  America."  See  Select  Letters  on  the  Trade  and  Government  of  America 
by  Governor  Bernard    (London,   1774). 

Daniel  Dulany,  Considerations  on  the  Propriety  of  Imposing  Taxes  in  the  British  Colonies, 
for  the  Purpose  of  Raising  a  Revenue  by  Act  of  Parliament  (Annapolis,  1765),  gave  classic 
form  to  the  American  resistance  to  Parliamentary  control  based  on  resistance  to  the 
particular  act.  Without  the  Stamp  Act,  it  would  have  had  to  take  another  form. 

B  George  III,  c.  12,  the  Stamp  Act. 

6  "General  Thoughts  endeavouring  to  demonstrate  that  the  Legislature  here,  in  all  Cases 
df  a  Public  and  General  Concern,  have  a  Right  to  Tax  the  British  Colonies;  But  that  with 
respect  to  the  late  America  Stamp  Duty  Bill,  there  are  several  Clauses  inserted  therein 
which  are  very  Exceptionable,  and  have,  as  humbly  Conceived,  passed  upon  wrong  Informa- 
tion. Most  Humbly  Submitted  to  the  Consideration  of  the  Honourable  Thomas  Townshend 
By  Henry  McCulloh  [1765]."  Huntington  Manuscripts,  Townshend  Collection  (Henry  E. 
Huntington  Library  and  Art  Gallery,  San  Marino,  California),  1480,  cited  hereafter  as 
"General   Thoughts.    .    .   ." 

7  See  Lawrence  Henry  Gipson,  Jared  Ingersoll:  A  Study  of  American  Loyalism  in  Relation 
to  British  Colonial  Government  (New  Haven,  1920),  for  a  description  of  how  the  act  was 
received  in  America.  Stella  F.  Duff,  "The  Case  Against  the  King:  The  Virginia  Gazettes 
Indict  George  III,"  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  VI  (July,  1949),  shows  the  mounting 
rancor  against  England  that  grew  from  the  Stamp  Act.  Even  the  English  magazines  in 
1765  were  not  unfriendly  to  the  American  point  of  view:  as  an  example,  see  Gentleman's 
Magazine,  XXXV  (October,  1765),  473:  "The  Stamp  Act  has  produced  a  spirit  of  opposition, 
in  that  remote  part  of  the  world,  that  was  not  perhaps  foreseen  by  the  advisers  of  that 
measure.  The  news  of  the  late  change  in  the  ministry  was  received  in  America  with  bonfires, 
ringing  of  bells,  and  every  public  demonstration  of  joy."  Effigies  of  Grenville  were  burned 
in  all  the  colonies. 


26  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

abroad.8  Many  Englishmen  missed  the  significance  of  the  colonial 
use  of  "foreigner"  to  include  them.9  Looking  back,  the  mistakes 
are  evident,  but  in  1765,  only  a  man  with  real  interest  and 
experience  in  America  could  see  the  colonists'  point  of  view 
and  yet  perceive  Parliamentary  sovereignty  as  the  supreme 
force  in  the  empire.10 

Who  was  this  man  who  advised  and  influenced  ministers, 
but  could  not  convince  them?  He  suggested  the  idea  of  the 
Stamp  Act.11  He  worked  out  the  plan  of  taxation  in  detail.12 
He  wrote  the  first  draft  of  the  law.13  He  then  pointed  out  the 
reasons  for  its  potential  failure  as  it  finally  passed  Parliament.14 
He  discerned  that  Englishmen  who  were  chiefly  interested  in 
colonial  trade  would  oppose  such  a  measure,  but  that  Englishmen 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  who  found  their  main  interest  in 
land  and  the  unification  of  the  empire,  would  agree  to  the 
principal,  and  yet  oppose  the  terms  of  the  specific  act.  McCulloh, 
furthermore,  devised  a  currency  scheme,  without  which  no 
American  revenue  law  would  work.15  Who  was  Henry  McCulloh, 
and  why  has  he  been  forgotten? 

Why  he  has  been  forgotten  is  simple.  He  was  only  a  clerk  in  a 
great  office.  He  soon  drifted  into  that  limbo  of  vague  eighteenth 
century  names,  without  birth  or  death  dates — without  recog- 
nition. 


8  William  Knox  (1732-1810),  permanent  employee  of  the  Board  of  Trade  as  an  expert 
on  American  affairs  wrote  several  books  on  American  politics  and  administration,  such 
as  The  Controversy  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  Reviewed  (London,  Dublin, 
Boston,  1769).  He  thought  that  the  Americans  wanted  to  remove  all  imperial  restrictions: 
"When  they  shall  have  carried  these  several  points,  one  after  another,  they  will  probably 
be  content,  whatever  the  people  of  England  may  be." 

9  William  Knox,  Controversy  ....  108-109  (London  edition),  gives  Benjamin  Franklin's 
opinion  that  British  interference  in  the  French  and  Indian  war  was  not  needed.  The 
Americans  drove  out  the  French  without  "foreign"  help.  Gentlemen's  Magazine,  XXXV 
(April,  1765),  189ff.,  reviews  a  book,  Objections  to  the  Taxation  of  the  American  Colonies 
&c.  considered,  which  held  that  the  Americans  were  treated  ".  .  .  as  aliens  and  slaves," 
by  foreign  rulers.  Gentleman's  Magazine,  XXXV  (October,  1765),  473.  London  Magazine 
(January,  1766),  31,  32.  Cf.  Dora  Mae  Clark,  British  Opinion  and  the  American  Revolution 
(New  Haven,  1930),  34.  On  the  basis  of  one  of  Henry  McCulloh's  tracts,  A  Miscellaneous 
Essay  concerning  the  Course  pursued  by  Great  Britain  in  the  Affairs  of  her  Colonies  (London, 
1755),  this  author  has  lumped  him  and  William  Knox  and  Thomas  Whately  into  one 
category:  they  should  have  "known  better"  than  attempt  the  Stamp  Act. 

10  The  classic  American  point  of  view  on  the  history  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  expressed 
early  by  George  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States  of  America,  III  (New  York,  1888), 
149JJ.,  that  right  in  the  form  of  American  sovereignty  was  bound  to  triumph.  More  useful 
interpretations  are  now  available,  such  as  Gipson,  Jared  Ingersoll,  and  Morgan,  "Postpone- 
ment of  the  Stamp  Act." 

11  Miscellaneous  Representations  relative  to  Our  Concerns  in  America  Submitted  in  1761 
to  the  Earl  of  Bute,  by  Henry  M'Culloh.  .  .  ,  edited  by  William  A.  Shaw  (London,  n.  d.),  12, 
hereafter  cited  as  McCulloh,  Miscellaneous  Representations. 

12  British  Museum,  Hardwicke  Papers,  Additional  Manuscripts,  35910:137.  "Minutes  and 
observations  taken  in  conference  with  Mr.  McCulloh  upon  considering  of  his  scheme  for 
an  American  Stamp  law,"  October  12,  1763,  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts, 
36226:357. 

13  McCulloh,   "General  Thoughts.  .   .  ,"  13. 

14  McCulloh,  "General  Thoughts.  .  .  ,"  passim. 

15  McCulloh,  "General  Thoughts.  .  .  ,*'  passim.  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts, 
32874:308. 


Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act       27 

McCulloh's  career  has  been  obscured  by  time  and  the  glitter 
of  great  names.  In  English  records  he  first  appears  as  a  minor 
official  in  the  Plantation  Office  in  1733.16  The  next  notice  of  his 
existence  was  in  1738,  when  he  presented  two  memorials  to 
the  Treasury  Board  concerning  the  improvement  of  quitrent 
collection  in  the  Carolinas.  He  attempted  to  expose  an  alleged 
land  fraud  in  the  newly  made  crown  colonies.17  The  next  year 
he  was  made  "Inspector  for  improving  quit  rents  in  North  and 
South  Carolina."18  Apparently  he  failed  to  collect  enough  to  pay 
his  own  salary,  because  the  North  Carolina  Assembly  refused 
his  petition  for  back  pay  in  1741.19  He  styled  himself  at  that 
time,  "Commissioner  for  supervising,  inspecting,  and  controlling 
His  Majesty's  revenues  and  grants  of  lands  in  the  province  of 
North  Carolina."20  His  name  next  appears  in  1744,  when  the 
Treasury  Board  in  England  refused  to  appropriate  his  still 
unpaid  arrears  out  of  the  "4%  P  cent  duty"  on  the  West  Indian 
trade.21 

In  financial  desperation,  McCulloh  returned  to  England  in 
1745,  to  seek  a  commission  in  the  navy.  In  his  request  to  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle  for  letters  of  recommendation  to  Governor 
William  Shirley  of  Massachusetts,  he  wrote:  "I  rely  wholly 
upon  your  friendship  for  my  support,"  and  expressed  intention 
to  board  the  "Foulston  man-of-war"  for  Virginia,  and  so  to 
Cape  Breton.22  He  remained  in  the  garrison  of  Fort  Louisbourg 
until  it  was  returned  to  France  by  treaty  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.23 

If  McCulloh's  life  in  England  was  quite  prosaic,  his  American 
activities  were  spectacular.  He  entered  colonial  records  with  a 
grand  flourish  in  1737,  as  Henry  McCulloh  of  Chiswick  Parish, 
Middlesex,  England,  grantee  of  1,200,000  acres  of  land  in  North 
Carolina.24  The  terms  of  this  princely  grant  required  him  to 


!6  Public  Record  Office,  Treasury  Board  Papers,  CCXCVIII,  Number  38. 

17  Public  Record  Office,  Colonial  Office  5,  Plantations  General,  Number  30  (old  style  cita- 
tion, before  the  program  of  Project  A  was  started). 

M  Treasury  Minute  of  Appointment,  January  2,  1738/39  (O.  S.);  Royal  Warrant  issued 
May  16,  1739  (O.  S.),  King's  Warrant  Book:  Treasury,  XXXIII,  281-282,  hereafter  referred 
to  as  King's  Warrant  Book:  Treasury. 

19  His  instructions  appear  in  King's  Warrant  Book:  Treasury,  XXXIII,  282-291.  Conflict 
with  North  Carolina  first  appears  in  Calendar  of  Treasury  Books  and  Papers  .  .  .  preserved 
in  the  Public  Record  Office,  edited  by  William  A.  Shaw   (London,  1905-         ),  IV,  503. 

20  Calendar  of  Treasury  Books  and  Papers,  IV,   (introduction)   viii. 

21  Calendar  of  Treasury  Books  and  Papers,  V,  674. 

^McCulloh  to  Andrew  Stone  [1745],  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts,  32709, 
Newcastle  Papers,  119. 

23  McCulloh  to  Newcastle,  February  13,  1753,  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts, 
32731:177. 

24  The  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  edited  by  William  L.  Saunders  ( 10  vols. 
Raleigh,  1886-1890),  VI,  533,  hereafter  cited  as  Colonial  Records. 


28  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

settle  on  it  "6,000  Protestants"  within  ten  years.25  The  scheme 
he  had  to  "improve  his  Majesty's  quit  rents  was  to  sub-grant 
his  land  in  great  seignories,  collecting  annually  four  shillings 
for  each  one  hundred  acres.  The  promoter  was  to  keep  half  of 
the  proceeds  for  his  trouble.26  The  plan  was  a  failure,  and  within 
three  years  McCulloh  was  in  sharp  conflict  with  the  colonial 
Assembly  over  the  question  of  local  sovereignty  versus  Parlia- 
mentary supremacy.  They  would  neither  pay  his  royal  salary, 
nor  would  they  admit  that  the  king  had  any  right  to  grant  away 
great  tracts  of  their  colony.27  This  land  speculator  and  servant 
of  the  crown  was  learning  the  mettle  of  the  Americans,  and 
why  they  spoke  of  Englishmen  as  "foreigners." 

By  1745,  McCulloh  had  almost  despaired  of  turning  his  land 
speculation  to  much  account,  but  he  still  held  his  claims  in  North 
Carolina,  now  in  conjunction  with  a  group  of  Dublin  entre- 
preneurs including  Arthur  Dobbs.28  Dobbs  later  became  royal 
governor  of  the  colony,  and  by  1761,  had  succeeded  in  wresting 
from  his  former  friend  the  whole  vast  acreage.29  McCulloh, 
however,  acquired  a  smaller  tract  on  the  Cape  Fear  River  in 
1745.  It  was  only  71,160  acres:  a  pocketful  as  compared  to  the 
fabulous  grant  of  1737.  During  his  absence  from  North  Carolina 
(for  now  he  spoke  of  it  as  his  home),  he  delegated  a  relative, 
Alexander  McCulloh,  to  sell  outright  this  land.30  By  that  time 
he  had  less  personal  interest  in  the  king's  revenues. 

It  is  not  apparent  that  he  made  any  profit  from  this  venture 
either,  because  in  1753  he  petitioned  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  for 
relief.31  He  had  been  out  of  a  job  for  five  years,  since  the  term- 
ination of  his  service  at  Louisbourg. 


25  Colonial  Records,  V,  xxxii,   769.   Grant  was   made   May   19,   1737. 

26  Colonial  Records,  V,  770-771.  Governor  Gabriel  Johnston  directed  that  the  subdivisions 
be  not  less  than  12,000  acres  each.  At  least  three  such  grants  were  made  to  Arthur  Dobbs, 
Murry  Crymble,  and  James  Huey. 

27  Colonial  Records,   V,   xxxii,   104;   VI,   533. 

28  Colonial  Records,  V,  xxxii,  104;  VI,  533. 

29  Colonial  Records,  VI,  560.  Herbert  L.  Osgood,  The  American  Colonies  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century  (4  vols.  New  York,  1924),  VI,  201,  204,  says  that  McCulloh,  with  his  influence 
in  the  Board  of  Trade,  obtained  the  position  of  governor  of  North  Carolina  for  Dobbs. 

30  Colonial  Records,  VI,  574.  This  grant  was  tied  up  with  Governor  Johnston's  quarrel 
with  the  Assembly  over  the  right  to  issue  land  patents.  The  Assembly  held  that  they  had 
the  sole  jurisdiction  over  the  lands  of  the  former  proprietors  of  the  colony.  The  dispute 
was  ended  only  by  the  American  Revolution. 

31  McCulloh  to  Newcastle,  June  22,  1753,  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts,  32732:86. 
Thomas  Pelham-Holles  (1693-1768)  was  made  Viscount  Haughton  and  Earl  of  Clare  and 
Suffolk  upon  the  accession  of  George  I  and  Duke  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne  two  years  later 
in  1715.  He  and  his  brother,  Henry  Pelham,  figured  in  English  politics  until  1768.  One  or 
the  other  headed  or  was  prominent  in  every  ministry  after  1717  until  the  end  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War. 


Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act       29 

For  the  next  four  years  McCulloh  besieged  the  duke  for  a 
position.  He  wanted  especially  the  royal  secretaryship  of  North 
Carolina.32  With  that  job  he  could  collect  a  salary  from  the 
crown,  and  still  be  in  a  position  to  exploit  his  land  grant  which 
had  been  extended  for  ten  more  years  in  1748.33  He  kept  track 
of  the  health  of  the  incumbent  secretary,  and  informed  New- 
castle of  developments:  ".  .  .  there  is  a  further  account  of 
Mr.  Rice's  death,  who  was  given  over  by  the  physicians,  when 
the  last  ship  came  thence,  .  .  .  with  the  gout  in  his  bowels  and 
stomack."34  Secretary  Rice  failed  the  new  aspirant  and  lived 
until  1756.35 

In  1753  McCulloh,  in  hard  financial  straits,  had  to  beg  ".  .  . 
Mr.  Pelham  that  he  will  pleased  to  grant  me  a  small  sum  of 
money  for  a  present  relief  untill  I  succeed,  which  is  the  only 
means  of  hope  I  now  have  left  to  preserve  my  little  family  and 
self  from  utter  ruin."36  Failing  to  get  the  position  in  North 
Carolina,  he  applied  for  one  in  the  Naval  Office  of  the  Lower 
District  of  the  James  River  in  Virginia;  and  subsequently  for 
his  old  clerkship  at  the  Board  of  Trade.  He  reported  to  his 
patron  that  the  Earl  of  Halifax  had  rebuked  him  for  his  im- 
portunity, and  wrote  ".  .  .  that  I  kept  running  teasing  your 
Grace  so  .  .  .  and  that  I  asked  everything,  and  that  he  supposed 
I  wanted  twenty  places,  and  that  I  was  one  of  those  sort  of 
people  that  could  never  be  contented."37 

Finally,  in  1756,  his  name  appears  as  Secretary  and  Clerk 
of  the  Crown  of  North  Carolina.  He  retained  the  position  until 
1761,  when  he  was  reinstated  in  the  Plantation  Office.38  At  the 
same  time  he  finally  lost  all  claim  to  his  great  grant  of  land  in 
America;  but  an  entry  in  colonial  records  shows  Henry  Eustare 
McCulloh,  son  of  "Henry  McCulloh,  late  of  Soracty  in  North 
Carolina,"  attempting  to  exploit  475,000  acres  in  "Lord  Gran- 
ville's tract."39 


32  McCulloh  to  Newcastle,  April  6,  1753,  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts,  32731:338. 

33  Petition  of  Henry  McCulloh,  May  16,  1739,  Colonial  Records,  V,  488,  628-629. 

34  McCulloh     to     Newcastle,     March     26,     1753,     British     Museum,     Additional     Manuscripts, 
32731:410. 

30  Court  and  City  Register,  1756.  Thomas  Falkner  appears  as  secretary  in   1761. 

36  McCulloh  to  Newcastle,  April  6,  1753,  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts,   32732:86. 

37  McCulloh     to     Newcastle,     April     6,     1753,     British     Museum,     Additional     Manuscripts, 
32731:338. 

38  Henry   McCulloh,    Miscellaneous   Representations    .    .    .    ,    introduction. 

39  Board  of  Trade  to  Dobbs,  May  6,  1761,  Colonial  Records,  VI,  559-561,  indicates  that  they 
intended  to  direct  Dobbs  to  seize  all  of  the  land  not  actually  settled.  Colonial  Records,  V,  621. 


30  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

This  was  the  man,  then,  whom  one  person  has  called  ".  .  . 
responsible  for  the  financial  proposal  which  provoked  the 
American  War  of  Independence."40  By  a  little  further  examina- 
tion it  may  be  seen  that  his  American  experience  had  taught 
him  that  there  were  certain  points  upon  which  the  colonists 
would  not  compromise.  His  interest,  sympathy,  and  intelligence 
prompted  him  to  translate  this  experience  into  imperial  policy 
when  he  had  the  chance.  He  almost  succeeded. 

Just  before  the  Stamp  Act  was  finally  drafted  in  1764,  the 
Treasury  Board  recorded  "Minutes  and  observations  taken  in 
conference  with  Mr.  M'Culloh."41  This  included  a  ".  .  .  state 
of  the  several  articles  proposed  by  Mr.  M'Culloh  to  be  stamped, 
and  the  duties  thereon;  likewise  a  state  of  all  the  different 
articles  which  are  now  stamped  in  Great  Britain,  in  order  to 
fix  upon  the  articles  which  are  to  be  inserted  in  the  law  intended 
for  imposing  Stamp  duties  in  America  and  the  West  Indies."42 
The  manuscript  carries  the  following  endorsement  on  the  back 
of  the  last  sheet:  "10th  October  1763,  was  presented  to  Mr. 
Green vill,  who  approved  it."  Sometime  during  the  following  year 
the  measure  was  expanded  to  include  the  "duties  intended  by 
the  Treasury,"  and  McCulloh's  scheme  to  stabilize  colonial 
currency  was  eliminated.43  He  was  sure  that  this  would  "defeat 
the  whole  of  what  is  proposed."44 

Henry  McCulloh,  co-author  of  the  Stamp  Act,  knew  in  advance 
that  it  was  foredoomed,  because,  as  he  wrote,  ".  .  .  there  are 
several  clauses  inserted  therein  which  are  very  Exceptionable, 


40  Henry  McCulloh,  Miscellaneous  Representations  .  .  .  ,  introduction. 

41  Minutes  and  Observations  taken  in  conference  with  Mr.  McCulloh  .  .  .  ,  British 
Museum,   Additional  Manuscripts,   30226:357. 

42  British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts,  35910:137.  Edmund  S.  Morgan,  "Postponement 
of  the  Stamp  Act,"  353#.,  points  out  that  Grenville  was  not  decided  on  the  matter  of  a 
stamp  duty  in  America  until  1764,  and  then  he  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded  to  substitute 
the  Sugar  Act.  He  is  supposed  to  have  deferred  action  on  an  internal  tax  until  the  Americans 
had  been  given  a  chance  to  perfect  a  plan  of  their  own  choosing.  The  manuscript,  including 
"duties  intended  by  the  Treasury,"  and  endorsed  by  Grenville  on  October  10,  1763,  tends  to 
undermine  this  point  of  view.  It  is  further  weakened  by  the  fact  that  such  men  as  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Jared  Ingersoll,  Charles  Garth,  and  the  rest  of  the  colonial  agents  found  no 
fault  with  the  Stamp  Act  until  after  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  held  in  New  York  in  October, 
1765.  See  Verner  W.  Crane,  Benjamin  Franklin's  Letters  to  the  Press,  1758  to  1775  (Chapel 
Hill,  1950),  35-75  (on  repeal,  25,  54-57).  See  also  Jared  Ingersoll,  Ingersoll  Stamp  Act 
Correspondence    (n.  p.,  1776),  26. 

43  Benjamin  Franklin's  land  bank  scheme  for  supporting  a  colonial  currency  was  turned 
down  at  the  same  time.  Parliament  was  dominated  by  men  interested  in  trade,  and  steeped 
in  the  beliefs  of  mercantilism.  It  was  very  difficult  for  them  to  envisage  America  as  anything 
but  an  appanage  of  British  trade.  They  failed  generally  to  perceive  the  sovereign  aspirations 
of  the  colonists.  The  fact  was  that  the  mercantile  system  was  toppling  of  its  own  cumbersome 
weight.  The  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  Secretary  of  State,  wrote  to  Governor  Horatio  Sharpe 
of  Maryland,  that  trade  was  being  ".  .  .  diverted  from  its  natural  course,"  which  was  from 
colony  to  mother  country.  He  was  bewildered,  and  he  probably  represented  the  majority  of 
his  contemporaries.  Hillsborough  to  Sharpe,  October  10,  1763,  Maryland  Historical  Society 
Manuscripts. 

44  Henry  McCulloh,  Miscellaneous  Revresentations  .  .  .  ,  8. 


Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act       31 

and  have  .  .  .  passed  upon  wrong  Information."45  He  even 
proposed  that  ".  .  .  the  Ladies  in  America"  had  emulated  the 
plan  of  Lysistrata,  and  "that  they  have  formed  a  kind  of  Con- 
federacy in  all  the  Colonies,  not  to  Permit  any  Officer  concerned 
in  the  Stamp  Duties  to  Visit  them,  or  be  Entertained  at  their 
Houses."46 

The  main  points  of  potential  failure  that  he  brought  up  were : 

(1)  interference  in  the  American  ecclesiastical  arrangements; 

(2)  the  threat  to  local  courts  and  the  constitutional  right  of 
habeas  corpus;  (3)  the  lack  of  any  reform  in  the  circulation  of 
specie;  and  (4)  the  mistaken  concept  of  colonial  unification 
and  the  need  for  mutual  understanding  of  the  sovereignty  of 
Parliament. 

The  manuscript  which  contains  these  "General  Thoughts 
.  .  .  with  respect  to  the  late  America  Stamp  Duty  Bill  .  .  ." 
was  presented  for  the  "Consideration  of  the  Honourable  Thomas 
Townsend  by  Henry  McCulloh"  in  1765.47  If  Townsend  or  anyone 
else  ever  considered  it,  no  knowledge  of  the  matter  has  come 
down  to  the  present.  The  manuscript  has  remained  unnoticed 
for  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  years.  It  is  a  significant  illustra- 
tion of  the  bumbling  administration  of  the  English  colonies  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  it  shows  that  it  was  possible  in 
1765  for  an  Englishman  to  understand  the  quality  of  feeling  in 
America.  He  must,  however,  have  had  a  deep  interest  in  the 
New  World  and  long  experience  among  its  inhabitants. 

McCulloh  touched  the  core  of  the  constitutional  struggle  that 
was  to  develop  between  America  and  the  mother  country  when 
he  wrote  concerning  the  application  of  stamps  to  wills  and 
other  documents  of  "Courts  Exercising  Ecclesiastical  jurisdic- 
tion: There  is  not  in  America  any  Ecclesiastical  Courts,  but 
the  people  Settled  there,  who  are  mostly  Dissenters  or  Sectarys 
of  various  other  Denominations,  look  upon  [the  Stamp  Act] 
.  .  .  as  a  prelude  to  the  Establishment  of  such  Courts;  and 
many   of   them   would   sooner   fforfeit   their   lives   than    pay 


45  McCulloh,   "General  Thoughts   .   .   .    ,"    Huntington   Manuscripts,    1480. 

48  McCulloh,  "General  Thoughts  .  .  .  ,"  12,  Huntington  Manuscripts,   1480. 

47  Thomas  Townshend  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  related  to  the  more  famous 
and  more  inept  Charles  Townshend  (1725-1767),  who  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  tried 
to  enforce  import  duties  on  glass,  tea,  lead,  paint,  etc.,  in  America  with  as  little  success 
as  Grenville  had.  Thomas  Townshend  usually  voted  on  the  Board  of  Trade  as  Soame  Jenyns 
did.  Jenyns  gave  classic  form  to  the  idea  that  no  one  would  willingly  tax  himself  and  that 
therefore  Parliament  had  the  right  to  perform  that  function  for  all  British  subjects. 


32  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Obedience  to  such  Establishment."48  His  experience  as  an  of- 
ficer in  the  British  navy  in  Massachusetts  would  have  taught 
him  that,  when  he  sailed  with  the  force  under  Sir  William 
Pepperell.  He  continued:  "Their  Teachers  are  likewise  very 
Active  in  inflaming  the  Minds  of  the  People,  and  will,  from  their 
dislike  to  the  above  Clause,  give  as  much  Opposition  to  the 
Stamp  Duty  Bill  as  if  there  was  a  Clause  in  it  for  Establishing 
a  Court  of  Inquisition  amongst  them."49  He  pointed  out  that 
the  Church  of  England  had  failed  to  transport  to  America  its 
prerogative  in  the  probate  of  wills  and  issuance  of  marriage 
licenses.  The  bishop  failed  to  migrate  to  the  New  World,  and 
as  McCulloh  knew,  "The  Governors  in  most  of  the  Colonies 
act  as  Ordinary,  in  the  probate  of  Wills:  and  in  .  .  .  Such 
Colonies  where  the  Governors  do  not  Exercise  this  power  it 
is  left  to  the  County  Courts."50 

He  touched  the  canker  of  resentment  again  when  he  com- 
mented on  the  provision  of  the  Stamp  Act  that  "When  any  Suit 
of  prosecution  shall  be  Commenced  in  the  Courts  of  Admiralty 
or  Vice  Admiralty,  the  said  courts  are  .  .  .  Authorized  and 
required  to  proceed,  hear  and  determine  the  same,  at  the  Election 
of  the  Enformer  or  Prosecutor."  This  seemed  to  impinge  on 
the  ancient  right  of  habeas  corpus.  "The  Colonies  insist,  that 
by  the  above  Clause,  they  are  denied  the  Privileges  they  are 
Intitled  to  as  ffree  born  Subjects  of  the  Mother  Country;  That 
they,  as  Colonists,  are  Intitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  Common 
Law  of  England,  and  to  the  Privileges  Granted  by  Magna 
Charta,  and  that  even  admitting  that  our  Parliament  has  a 
Right  to  Tax  them,  It  cannot  be  inferred  from  thence  that  the 
Parliament  has  a  Right  to  Disfranchise  them,  and  bar  them 
from  their  natural  Rights  as  Englishmen:  That  all  power  is, 
or  ought  to  be,  bounded  by  reason,  by  Justice,  and  by  the 
Principles  of  the  Constitution,  And  that  if  it  goes  further,  it  is 
Tyranny.  They  likewise  Alledge,  that  if  an  Act  was  to  pass  here 
which  drew  Lines  of  Distinction  between  those  who  had  Votes 
in  Counties  and  Boroughs,  And  those  who  had  not  any  Votes 
in  Choosing  Members  of  Parliament,  that  the  Bulk  of  the  Sub- 


48  McCulloh,   "General  Thoughts   .   .   .   ,"   Huntington   Manuscripts,   1480. 

10  McCulloh,  "General  Thoughts  .  .  .  ,"  Huntington  Manuscripts,  1480.  See  Clinton 
Rorisiter,  "The  Life  and  Mind  of  Jonathan  Mayhew,"  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  VII 
(October,  1950),  which  illustrates  well  how  the  dynamic  religious  movements  in  America  in- 
fluenced  men  to  adopt  revolutionary  principles. 

50  McCulloh,   "General  Thoughts  .  .  .  ,"   Huntington  Manuscripts,   1480. 


Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act       33 

jects  in  this  Kingdom  would  hold  themselves  Excused  from 
paying  Obedience  to  so  Arbitrary  and  Unconstitutional  a  Law."51 
McCulloh  could  have  learned  this  when  he  was  special  collector 
of  His  Majesty's  quitrents  in  the  Carolinas  in  1738,  or  when 
he  was  Crown  Secretary  for  North  Carolina  from  1756  to  1761. 

Always  one  of  the  thorniest  problems  that  confronted  the 
colonists  and  their  administrators  was  the  shortage  of  medium 
of  exchange.  During  the  period  of  settlement  imperial  "neglect" 
had  allowed  each  colony  to  develop  its  own  method  of  furnishing 
money  to  meet  the  necessities  of  everyday  life.  The  result  was 
a  mixture  of  the  various  notes  of  colonial  legislatures,  British 
coins,  and  foreign  gold  and  silver.  No  uniformity  existed,  and 
colonial  issues  were  invariably  discounted  heavily  in  favor  of 
English  pounds  sterling.  Colonial  trade  was  often  hampered, 
and  by  1765  inflation  was  becoming  ominous.  If  a  regular  British 
tax  was  to  be  levied,  the  need  for  currency  reform  was  evident, 
at  least  to  McCulloh. 

He  wrote  that  ".  .  .  under  their  present  Circumstances  it  is 
impossible  for  many  of  the  Colonists  to  pay  Obedience  to  the 
said  Law,"  because  of  the  shortage  of  circulating  cash.  He 
deprecated  the  deletion  of  his  provision  against  this  dilemma. 
Concerning  the  curtailment  of  colonial  money  issues,  he  said 
that  ".  .  .  it  will  be  found  that  those  Sudden  Revolutions  in 
Trade,  and  in  Government,  without  Substituting  any  thing  as 
a  Medium  in  the  Course  of  Payments,  will  have  a  fatal  Tendency, 
both  with  respect  to  the  public  Concerns  of  the  Colonies,  and  to 
Trade  and  Commerce.  There  is  nothing  can  be  Offered  on  this 
Subject  but  will  be  attended  with  some  Difficulties,  and  be 
liable  to  Objections,  but  the  necessity  of  the  case  is  such  that 
something  must  be  done  in  Relief  of  the  Colonies,  And  .  .  . 
it  will  be  wise  and  Prudent  to  take  that  course  which  will  be 
found  liable  to  the  fewest  Inconveniences."52 

He  followed  this  preface  with  a  plan  so  simple  and  apparently 
feasible  that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  now  why  it  was  not 
adopted.  His  own  words  are  so  clear  that  they  may  be  quoted 
at  length: 


51  McCulloh,  "General  Thoughts  .  .  .  ,"  Huntington  Manuscripts,  1480.  He  may  have  been 
referring  here  to  Grenville's  ill-fated  Cider  Bill  of  1764,  which  met  rigorous  opposition 
from  the  groups  in  Durham  not  represented  in  Parliament.  See  Soame  Jenyns's  statement 
on  Parliamentary  sovereignty,  Objections  to  the  Taxation  of  our  American  Colonies  by  the 
Legislature  of  Great  Britain,  briefly  consider' d    (London,   1765). 

52  McCulloh,   "General  Thoughts  .  .  .  ,"  Huntington  Manuscripts,   1480. 


34  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

I  have  Often  Considered  this  Matter,  and  have  had  great 
Opportunities  of  being  Acquainted  with  the  General  Concerns 
of  America ;  and  the  only  Method  which  seems  to  be  practicable 
is,  .  .  .  by  Issuing  Exchequer  Orders  in  the  Payment  of  the 
Army,  and  all  other  contingent  Charges  in  America,  which  will 
Obtain  a  Circulation  by  receiving  the  said  Orders  in  payment 
of  Customs,  Stamp  Duties,  Quit  Rents  &ca.  .  .  ,  [or]  else  there 
should  be  a  New  Coinage  for  America,  to  be  Transmitted  there 
for  payment  of  the  Troops,  and  other  Contingent  Charges ;  And 
as  by  the  6th  of  Queen  Anne  ff  oreign  Silver  is  to  pass  in  America 
at  the  rate  of  6s  8d  p  Ounce,  in  the  new  Coinage  for  America 
there  should  be  an  Alloy  of  14th  Given  to  each  Ounce  of  Silver, 
but  I  would  not  be  Understood  to  pass  it  as  Sterling,  but  accord- 
ing to  the  Real  Value. 

If  this  Proposal  is  Approved  of,  the  Stamp  Duty  and  other 
Revenues  arising  in  America  will  at  different  Periods  of  time, 
be  Sufficient  to  Raise  four  or  ffive  Millions  Sterling  .  .  .  and 
by  this  means  America  will  be  Supplied  with  Silver  Specie  so 
as  to  Answer  all  payments,  both  of  a  Public  and  of  a  Private 
Nature. 

The  only  Objection  that  I  have  heard  mentioned  is,  that  if 
the  Colonies  are  not  at  Liberty  to  Issue  any  further  Bills  of 
Currency,  and  their  Silver  as  Coined  upon  the  Credit  of  the 
above  Fund,  it  will  not  remain  in  America,  But  be  Shipped  home, 
which  I  conceive  to  be  a  mistake,  for  if  the  Money  is  really 
Circulated,  so  much  as  is  needed  for  the  Course  of  Business  there 
will  remain. 

McCulloh  did  not  try  to  deny  Gresham's  Law,  but  he  main- 
tained that  a  proper  circulation  of  money  would  tend  to  offset 
its  effects:53 

The  Principal  reason  why  the  Money  Shipped  from  thence  in 
the  late  War,  for  the  payment  of  the  Troops  in  America,  speedily 
returned  again,  was  Owing  to  the  Money  not  being  Circulated 
in  Payment  of  the  Troops,  as  the  Subaltern  Officers  and  Soldiers 
were  paid  in  Provincial  Bills  of  Currency  and  consequently  the 
Commanding  Officers  and  merchants  found  their  Account  in 
returning  it  home.  Provincial  Bills  of  Currency  are  like  Pha- 
roah's  Lean  Kine:  while  they  remain,  Silver  Specie  will  always 
be  exported  as  Merchandize,  but  when  a  Stop  is  put  to  the  Cir- 
culation of  Bills  of  Currency,  Silver  Specie  will  become  the 
proper  Medium,  or  Course  of  payment  in  all  the  Intercourses  of 
Trade.  But  even  admitting  that  a  great  part  of  the  Silver  re- 
turned to  England,  there  will  be  a  Constant  and  fresh  Supply  of 
Money  in  the  payment  of  the  Army  &ca,  and  it  will  be  for  the 
Service  of  this  Kingdom  to  have  frequent  Coinages  of  Silver, 

53  Sir  Thomas  Gresham  (1519  ?-1579),  Elizabethan  philosopher  who  gave  his  name  to  the 
principle  that  ".  .  .  of  two  currencies  .  .  .  the  lesser  will  drive  out  the  better  which 
will  be  hoarded  or  exported."  This  became  a  tenet  of  mercantilism. 


Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act       35 

upon  the  credit  of  an  American  ffund,  which  will  Strengthen 
the  hand  of  the  Administration  in  Enabling  them  to  Settle  and 
Improve  our  new  Acquisitions  in  America.54 

It  was  estimated  that  £80,000  could  be  collected  annually  under 
optimum  operation  of  the  new  law.  McCulloh  thought  that  by 
eliminating  the  obnoxious  portions  and  instituting  a  new  cur- 
rency system,  the  total  revenue  would  be  about  £4,000  less,  but 
that  the  act  would  be  a  total  failure  otherwise.  It  is  easy  to  look 
back  and  see  the  mistakes  that  other  people  have  made,  but  Henry 
McCulloh  discerned  the  weak  points  of  the  Whigs'  Stamp  Act 
long  before  it  became  law.  His  analysis  came  closer  to  the  truth 
than  even  those  of  Daniel  Dulany  and  James  Otis  in  America.55 
He  agreed  with  the  official  attitude  of  the  Board  of  Trade  insofar 
as  admitting  that  no  one  would  willingly  tax  himself,  but  at  the 
same  time  he  was  able  to  devise  a  measure  that  he  thought  would 
collect  a  reasonable  proportion  of  the  taxes  expected  by  the 
crown.  He  was  more  realistic  than  either  Parliament  or  the 
ministry. 

He  had  written  a  tract  ten  years  earlier  that  leaves  no  doubt 
of  his  belief  in  the  sovereignty  of  Parliament.56  He  thought  that 
legislative  action  should  be  translated  into  systematic  adminis- 
tration of  the  whole  empire,  ".  .  .  by  making  one  Part  of  Use  in 
the  Improvement  of  another."57  He  wrote  in  1761  that  "as  the 


^McCulloh,    "General   Thoughts    .   .   .   ,"    Huntington   Manuscripts,    1480. 

55  James  Otis  (1725-1783)  was  already  famous  in  Massachusetts  for  his  resistance  to  the 
writs  of  assistance  issued  by  the  General  Court  of  his  colony.  He  advanced  the  theory  of 
the  natural  rights  of  Americans — this  phrase  might  include  anything  that  its  user  desired. 
Otis  exploited  the  New  Englanders'  interest  in  trade  and  consequent  dislike  of  restrictions 
on  it,  to  appeal  to  their  sense  of  independence.  See  Charles  Mullett,  Some  Political  Writings 
of  James  Otis  (1929).  Daniel  Dulany  (1722-1797)  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Dulany,  the  elder 
(1685-1753),  Irish  immigrant  to  Maryland  who  became  very  wealthy  and  influential  in  that 
colony.  The  younger  Dulany  gave  written,  logical  form  to  Stamp  Act  resistance  in  his 
Considerations  .  .  .  ,  already  cited.  It  was  written  however,  in  October,  1765,  and  is  a 
legalistic,  opportunistic  utilization  of  spurious  logic  and  unusual  arithmetic.  Dulany  was  a 
Loyalist  in  1776.  Cf.  Charles  Albro  Barker,  The  Background  of  the  Revolution  in  Maryland 
(New  Haven,  1940),  165,  305-306. 

5o  Henry  McCulloh,  A  Miscellaneous  Essay  concerning  the  Course  pursued  by  Great  Britain 
in  the  Affairs  of  her  Colonies  (London,  1755).  See  Clark,  British  Opinion  and  the  American 
Revolution,  34w.  It  is  interesting  to  note  here  that  in  1755  no  one  seriously  questioned 
British  sovereignty,  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic,  except  the  proprietary  family  of  Maryland. 
When  Governor  Sharpe  suggested  a  stamp  duty  for  America  to  finance  the  French  and 
Indian  War  (Sharpe  to  Cecilius  Calvert,  September  15,  1754,  Archives  of  Maryland,  "Cor- 
respondence of  Governor  Sharpe,  1753-1757,"  edited  by  William  Hand  Browne,  Baltimore, 
1888,  VI,  99,  ".  .  .  it  should  be  thought  proper  to  bring  in  a  Bill  .  .  .  the  next  Session 
of  Parliament  .  .  .  for  raising  a  Fund  in  the  several  Provinces  .  .  .  By  a  Stamp  Duty 
.  .  .  on  Deeds  &  Writings.  .  .  ."),  he  was  dissuaded  from  his  idea  by  Secretary  Calvert, 
uncle  of  the  young  Lord  Baltimore.  By  1765  Calvert  regretted  the  passage  of  the  Stamp 
Act  and  blamed  it  on  the  "whimsies"  of  the  Maryland  Assembly,  which  "has  brought  on 
them  the  Lex  Parlimenti  .  .  ."  Calvert  to  Sharpe,  February  26,  1765,  Calvert  Papers 
(Maryland  Historical  Society),  573.  Sharpe  thought  in  1765  that  "Parliament  indeed  seems 
to  be  considered  throughout  North  America  as  calculated  to  distress  the  Colonies  without 
doing  the  least  Service  to  the  Mother  Country."  Sharpe  to  Calvert,  February  26,  1765, 
Maryland  Archives,  XIV,  196. 

57  McCulloh,    Miscellaneous   Representations   .   .    .    ,    6. 


36  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

want  of  System  was  the  main  Inlett  to  the  present  War,  if  we  do 
not  regulate,  or  establish  a  proper  Course  or  Rule  of  Proceeding, 
all  the  Advantages  we  fondly  hope  for,  will  vanish  into  Air  .  .  . 
As  all  lesser  Systems  must  depend  upon  the  System  observed  in 
the  Mother  Country,  nothing  proposed  can  have  it's  due  Effect, 
unless  the  Offices  abroad  are  so  regulated  as  to  transmit  every 
Matter  of  Importance  ...  in  America,  to  the  Plantation  Office: 
And  then,  the  Success  of  the  whole  depends  upon  the  R*  Honbl 
the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations  making  a  due  and  full  Report 
to  the  Crown  of  all  Matters  that  come  under  their  Inspection. 
For,  if  the  Channels  of  Information  can  be  obstructed,  or  varied 
by  different  Modes  of  Application,  it  will  leave  Room  for  Con- 
nections which  may  defeat  the  whole  of  what  is  proposed."  He 
then  suggested  a  stamp  duty  to  pay  the  cost,  and  a  system  of 
strict  accounting.58 

In  1765,  he  reiterated  his  belief  in  the  supremacy  of  Parlia- 
ment, saying  that  the  colonies  ".  .  .  are  under  the  protection  of 
the  Legislature  here,  and  in  some  Degree  in  the  Character  of 
Wards,  .  .  .  And  altho'  many  persons  in  the  Colonies  have  often 
insisted,  that  as  they  have  no  proper  Representative  here,  they 
ought  not  to  be  Taxed  by  our  Legislature,  Yet  this  Plea  may  with 
equal  Reason  be  Urged  by  many  Men  of  Fortune  in  this  Kingdom, 
whose  fortunes  are  in  Trade  or  in  the  Public  Funds;  and  the 
same  Plea  may  be  Urged  by  nine  tenths  of  the  Common  People. 
But  as  both  there  and  here  such  persons  Enjoy  the  Privilege  of 
Subjects,  and  the  Protection  of  the  Laws,  they  are  indispensably 
bound  to  Conform  their  Conduct  to  the  Rules  prescribed  to  them 
by  the  Laws  and  Consitutions  of  this  Kingdom."59  McCulloh  still 
felt  that  a  "Stamp  Duty  on  Vellum  parchment  and  Paper  in 
North  America"60  was  the  only  "Tax  or  fund  from  which  any 
Considerable  Duty  [could]  arise  in  relief  of  the  Mother  Country," 
but  it  must  be  a  wise  measure  based  on  deliberation,  considera- 
tion, and  experience.61 

Concluding  his  appeal  for  revision  of  the  Stamp  Act,  McCulloh 
wrote:  "I  was  desired  to  assist  ...  in  drawing  the  Stamp  Duty 
Bill,  but  I  left  out  the  above,  and  several  other  Clauses  that  are 
now  incerted  therein,  However  that  Affair  was  taken  out  of  my 


58  McCulloh,  Miscellaneous  Representations  .   .  .   ,   13. 

59  McCulloh,  "General  Thoughts  .  .  .  ,"   Huntington   Manuscripts,   1480. 

60  McCulloh,  Miscellaneous  Representations  .   .   .   ,   12. 

61  McCulloh,   "General   Thoughts   .   .   .   ,"   Huntington   Manuscripts,    1480. 


Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act       37 

Hands,  and  the  Bill  was  afterwards  drawn  upon  the  plan  of 
Business  in  use  here  which  is  very  different  from  what  ought  to 
have  been  observed  in  America."  He  thought  that  the  law  would 
".  .  .  be  another  great  means  of  introducing  much  Disturbance 
and  Confusion  in  the  .  .  .  Colonies."  To  allow  the  colonies  to  unite 
themselves  without  Parliamentary  authority,  or  enforce  an  ob- 
noxious tax  measure,  he  knew  was  inept.  He  said  that  ".  .  .  there 
could  not  be  a  more  effectual  Method  taken  to  render  the  said 
Colonies  in  Process  of  time,  independent  of  their  Mother  Coun- 
try."62 He  was  right. 

Such  an  attempt  as  McCulloh's  in  1765  was  more  to  the  point 
of  preserving  the  British  empire  than  all  the  extra-Parliamentary 
bugling  about  American  "rights"  by  William  Pitt,  General  Con- 
way, and  John  Wilkes.  The  American  colonists  were  not  looking 
for  "friends"  in  England.  They  looked  for  sound  leadership  from 
the  mother  country,  and  they  were  disappointed.  Franklin,  in 
1769,  could  say  that  the  Americans  had  not  "asked"  for  help  in 
expelling  the  French,  that  they  had  actually  done  it  all  alone  ;63 
but  that  was  in  1769,  after  American  affairs  had  been  caught  in 
"the  Grand  Wheel  of  Government."64  In  1765,  he  and  Thomas 
Pownall  had  a  plan  of  their  own  to  finance  the  Stamp  Act  excise. 
They  could  see  no  reason  why  it  would  not  work.65 

It  is  useless  to  study  historical  "might  have  beens"  unless  they 
help  to  clarify  understanding  of  our  actual  history.  The  Stamp 
Act  has  been  accepted  as  the  starting  point  of  the  American 
Revolution,  and  a  sense  of  inevitability  has  grown  up  about  that 
war.  No  war  is  inevitable,  and  a  statement  of  Revolutionary 
origin  in  1765  is  too  glib.  There  were  persons  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic  who  knew  what  was  at  stake:  the  dissolution  of 
mercantilism  and  the  growth  of  colonial  sovereignty.  This  little 
study  does  not  change  the  interpretation  of  the  Revolution,  but 
it  is  hoped  that  it  may  help  to  bring  about  a  brighter  clarification 


62  McCulloh,    "General   Thoughts    .    .    .    ,"    Huntington    Manuscripts,    1480. 

63  William  Knox,  Controversy  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  Reviewed  (London, 
1769),  109;  "Dr.  Franklin  thus  delivers  himself  before  the  House  of  Commons  .  .  .  Having 
been  asked,  'Is  it  not  necessary  to  send  troops  to  America  to  defend  the  Americans  against 
the  Indians?'  The  Doctor  replies,  'No;  by  no  means:  it  never  was  necessary.  They  defended 
themselves  when  they  were  but  an  handful,  and  the  Indians  much  more  numerous.  They 
continually  gained  ground,  and  have  driven  the  Indians  over  the  mountains  without  any 
troops  sent  to  their  assistance  from  this  country.'  " 

6*  Cecilius  Calvert  to  Horatio  Sharpe,  March  1,  1763,  Archives  of  Maryland,  XXXI,   530. 

65  Verner  W.  Crane,  Benjamin  Franklin's  Letters  to  the  Press,  35-75.  Thomas  Pownall 
(1722-1805)  became  more  alive  to  the  need  for  Anglo-American  cooperation  as  the  years 
went  by  and  in  1803  suggested  an  Atlantic  pact.  John  A.  Schutz,  "Thomas  Pownall's 
Proposed  Atlantic  Federation,"  The  Hispanic  American  Review,  XXVI    (May,   1946),  263-268. 


38  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

of  the  problem  of  colonial  administration.  It  may  help  to  show 
that  American  independence  rested  on  something  more  than 
American  efforts  and  inspiration.  The  destiny  of  the  American 
nation  was  not  God-given,  nor  is  it  self -perpetuating. 


i 


SOME  ASPECTS  OF  SOCIETY  IN  RURAL  SOUTH 

CAROLINA  IN  1850 

By  Joseph  Davis  Applewhite 

Nearly  ninety  years  ago  a  book  was  written  which  attempted 
to  bring  before  the  reading  public,  especially  in  the  North,  a 
picture  of  the  complexity  of  southern  society.  Too  many  Ameri- 
cans, said  the  author,  were  "totally  unconscious  that  her  [the 
South's]  citizens  were  ever  divided  into  other  than  three  classes 
— Cavaliers,  Poor  Whites,  and  Slaves."1  Before  the  effect  of  D.  R. 
Hundley's  work  could  be  felt  the  Civil  War  destroyed  a  great 
part  of  the  social  structure  of  this  section.  Succeeding  genera- 
tions of  students  and  writers  have  continued  to  accept  the  old 
three-class  picture  of  the  South,  either  from  romantic  sentiment 
or  for  dialectic  advantage.2 

Thus,  almost  a  century  after  the  publication  of  Hundley's 
Social  Relations  in  Our  Southern  States,  it  has  seemed  wise  to 
consider  in  detail  some  phases  of  life  in  the  rural  sections  of 
South  Carolina.  This  state  has  long  been  considered  a  model  of 
southern  life,  and  the  conditions  which  held  true  for  its  farm 
population  should  obtain  for  similar  rural  peoples  in  most  of 
the  lower  South. 

In  analyzing  this  group  the  unpublished  census  for  1850  was 
of  invaluable  assistance.  It  furnished  a  wide  variety  of  facts 
about  the  production  of  the  farm  population  and  gave  some  in- 
formation about  the  individuals  as  well.  While  there  were  certain 
gaps  in  the  material,  as  the  superintendent  of  the  census  ad- 
mitted, the  general  picture  was  correct,  and  "anyone  who  takes 
the  trouble  to  compare  results  on  certain  points,  will  perceive 
how  strikingly  and  truly  the  several  enumerations  harmonize," 
he  concluded.3 


1  Daniel  R.  Hundley,  Social  Relations  in  Our  Southern  States    (New  York,  1860),   10. 

2  Recent  studies  which  recognize  the  importance  of  the  large  class  of  small-  and  middle- 
sized  farmers  are:  Frank  L.  and  Harriet  C.  Owsley,  "The  Economic  Basis  of  Society  in  the 
Late  Antebellum  South,"  Journal  of  Southern  History,  VI  (1940),  41-54;  Harry  L.  Coles,  Jr., 
"Some  Notes  on  Slaveownership  and  Landownership  in  Louisiana,  1850-1860,"  Journal  of 
Southern  History,  IX  (1943),  381-394;  Blanche  Henry  Clark,  The  Tennessee  Yeomen,  18U0- 
1860  (Vanderbilt  University  Press,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1942);  Herbert  Weaver,  Mississippi 
Farmers,  1850-1860   (Vanderbilt  University  Press,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1945). 

3  Statistical  View  of  the  United  States  .  .  .  Being  a  Compendium  of  the  Seventh  Census 
(J.  D.  B.  De  Bow,  Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Census,  A.  O.  P.  Nicholson,  Public 
Printer,  Washington,  1854),  10. 

[39] 


40  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Since  a  study  of  the  entire  farm  population  of  the  state  would 
have  been  impossible,  it  is  fortunate  that  South  Carolina  can  be 
divided  into  four  distinct  sections.  In  each  of  these  areas  several 
counties  were  found  suitable  for  detailed  consideration  by  refer- 
ence to  the  published  census  for  1850  and  by  soil  studies.  Further 
checking  determined  the  following  counties  as  adequate  samples : 
Georgetown  for  the  tidewater  area,  Richland  in  the  middle 
country  between  the  fall  line  and  the  tidewater,  Fairfield  County 
in  the  piedmont,  and  Anderson  County  in  the  mountain  area. 
While  the  generalizations  made  on  such  a  basis  may  not  be  com- 
pletely correct  in  every  case,  to  paraphrase  De  Bow,  the  results 
are  strikingly  harmonious. 

The  results  of  the  study  can  be  classified  most  easily  under 
three  major  heads:  economic  basis  of  society,  the  general  agri- 
cultural picture,  and  the  social  life  of  the  rural  people.  It  must 
be  noted  that  the  groups  dealt  with  almost  exclusively  are  the 
farm  operators  with  small  acreage.  The  plantation  owners  have 
received  more  than  adequate  treatment  elsewhere,  often  to  the 
extent  of  completely  overshadowing  the  much  larger  class  of 
farmers  in  the  mind  of  the  general  public.  Indeed,  one  of  the  pur- 
poses of  this  study  is  to  readjust  this  picture  to  something  nearer 
proper  perspective. 

That  such  a  readjustment  is  necessary  is  indicated  by  the 
statement  of  W.  T.  Couch  in  Culture  in  the  South  that  "Little  is 
known  about  the  great  majority  of  Southern  white  population 
in  former  times."4  The  truth  of  this  remark  is  amply  demon- 
strated by  a  survey  of  most  of  the  material  written  about  the 
South.  As  late  as  1900,  one  scholar  said  that  "the  non-slaveholders 
were  a  poor  class  of  people,  a  sort  of  proletariat."5  The  unpub- 
lished census  records  throw  much  light  on  the  composition  of  the 
farm  population  and  help  to  revise  the  careless  estimate  of  earlier 
times. 

In  considering  the  population,  it  is  important  to  learn  of  the 
place  of  origin  of  individuals.  Almost  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the 
rural  population  was  born  within  the  state  or  in  the  near-by 
states  of  Georgia,  North  Carolina,  and  Virginia.6  This  created 


*W.  T.  Couch   (ed.),  Culture  in  the  South   (Chapel  Hill,  1934),  ix. 

5  William  A.  Schaper,  "Sectionalism  and  Representation  in  South  Carolina."  Reports 
American  Historical,  I    (Washington,  1900),  254. 

"Seventh  Census  of  the  United  States,  Schedule  I,  Free  Inhabitants  (unpublished),  for 
Anderson,  Fairfield,  Georgetown,  and  Richland  counties. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  41 

an  unusually  homogeneous  group  with  a  common  language,  cus- 
toms, and  a  generally  Protestant  religious  heritage.  The  small 
percentage  of  the  farm  population  born  outside  the  continental 
United  States  was  largely  from  English-speaking  countries, 
chiefly  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  was  thus  easily  assimilated. 
While  this  picture  is  valid  only  for  the  sample  counties,  excluding 
the  cosmopolitan  population  of  the  seaport  towns,  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  it  was  rather  generally  true  for  the  whole  rural 
area. 

This  homogeneity  was  further  accentuated  in  1850  by  two  addi- 
tional factors.  Almost  all  of  the  farmers  followed  the  same  pat- 
tern of  agriculture.  Outside  the  narrow  belt  of  rice  land,  the 
farmers  of  the  whole  state  were  interested  in  the  growing  of 
short  staple  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  potatoes,  and  livestock,  par- 
ticularly hogs.  The  soil  and  climate  of  the  state  made  these 
crops  possible  and  usually  profitable.  Differences  in  the  sorts  of 
crops  raised  were  more  apt  to  exist  on  farms  of  different  sizes 
rather  than  between  farms  of  the  same  size  in  different  counties.7 

The  second  factor  making  for  unity  was  the  large  body  of 
Negroes  in  society.  The  most  natural  question  to  arise  in  con- 
sidering any  study  of  the  rural  population  of  the  Old  South  is  the 
ratio  of  slaveholders  to  nonslaveholders.  The  information  supplied 
by  the  census  records,  when  organized  and  properly  correlated, 
provides  an  adequate  basis  for  generalizing  on  this  matter.  The 
general  population  of  the  state  in  1850  was  668,507,  divided  be- 
tween 274,563  whites,  384,984  Negroes,  and  8,960  freemen.8  The 
sample  counties,  each  of  them  of  about  twenty  thousand  total 
population,  showed  the  following  percentage  of  slave  population : 
Anderson  County  thirty-five  per  cent,  Fairfield  County  sixty-six 
per  cent,  Richland  County  eighty-one  per  cent,  and  Georgetown 
County  eighty-nine  per  cent.9 

The  picture  becomes  somewhat  more  interesting  with  the  addi- 
tion of  the  percentage  of  the  white  population  in  each  of  the 
above  counties  which  was  slaveholding.  Anderson  County,  in  the 


7  Seventh  Census  of  the  United  States  (1850),  Schedule  IV,  Production  of  Farms  (un- 
published). 

8  A  chart  showing  the  comparative  populations,  production,  and  acres  of  improved  and 
unimproved  land  has  been  compiled  from  the  published  census  of  1850  and  1860  for  all  of 
the  counties  of  the  state  by  Mrs.  Harriet  Owsley.  Since  this  has  been  found  more  usable  than 
references  to  the  census  reports,  hereinafter  references  to  these  statistics  will  be  cited  as  the 
Owsley  Chart. 

9  Owsley  Chart. 


42  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

upper  part  of  the  state,  presents  a  more  nearly  balanced  society 
where  only  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  population  was  slave  and 
forty-two  per  cent  of  the  whites  owned  slaves.  This  suggests  a 
relatively  large  number  of  small  slaveholders.  The  two  middle 
counties,  though  lying  next  to  one  another  geographically,  dif- 
fered in  ratio  of  slaveowners  to  those  without  slaves.  Fairfield, 
the  piedmont  area,  showed  a  three-fourth  to  one-fourth  ratio 
in  favor  of  slaveholders,  while  Richland,  largely  below  the  fall 
line,  had  a  two-thirds  to  one-third  majority  of  non-slaveholders. 
Only  about  a  quarter  of  the  white  population  owned  slaves  in 
Georgetown  County  which  was  nearly  ninety  per  cent  Negro  in 
composition,  thus  making  it  more  nearly  like  the  generally  held 
picture  of  a  three-class  society.10 

By  considering  the  statistical  information  available  from  the 
census  figures  it  becomes  apparent  that  in  1850  the  pattern  of 
slaveholding  in  the  whole  state,  as  represented  by  the  sample 
counties,  was  one  of  many  small  farmers  owning  less  than  ten 
slaves  in  all  and  generally  with  fewer  than  five  slaves  able  to 
work  in  the  fields.  The  counties  differed  widely  from  one  another 
in  this  matter.  In  Anderson  County  more  than  seventy-five  per 
cent  of  all  slaveholders  owned  fewer  than  ten  slaves;  Fairfield, 
forty-five  per  cent,  Richland,  thirty-five  per  cent;  and  George- 
town twenty-eight  per  cent.11 

Only  in  this  latter  county  was  there  a  definite  trend  toward 
the  concentration  of  many  slaves  in  a  few  hands.  Here  twenty-two 
men,  making  up  about  twenty  per  cent  of  the  slaveholding 
population,  each  owned  between  one  hundred  and  two  hundred 
slaves.12  Obviously  the  type  of  land  and  the  growing  of  rice  and 
sea-island  cotton,  both  of  which  required  considerable  investment 
of  money  and  labor,  prevented  the  small  farmer  from  expanding 
in  this  tidewater  area.  Even  in  Georgetown  County  a  few  non- 
slaveholders  owned  a  great  deal  of  improved  land  and  produced 
good  crops  of  rice;  some  thirteen  of  such  men  were  listed  as 
growing  more  than  half  a  million  bushels  of  rice  each  in  1850.13 

As  any  farmer  in  the  state  would  have  agreed,  however,  the 
mere  number  of  slaves  owned  was  scarcely  an  accurate  guide  to 


10  Seventh  Census,  Schedules  I  and  II   (unpublished),  Anderson,  Fairfield,  Georgetown,  and 
Richland  counties. 

11  Seventh  Census,  Schedule  II   (unpublished). 

12  Seventh  Census,   Schedule  II    (unpublished),  Georgetown  County. 

18  Seventh  Census,  Schedule  II,  IV   (unpublished),  Georgetown  County. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  43 

the  economic  status  of  the  master.  The  figures  for  total  slave- 
holding  are  deceptive  since  they  suggest  a  large  working  force. 
The  average  proportion  of  working  slaves  in  the  total  number, 
even  in  the  sugar  and  rice  areas  where  the  slaves  were  chosen 
with  care,  was  generally  one-half.  In  the  old  plantations  where 
the  slaves  were  largely  inherited,  the  workers  would  be  no  more 
than  a  third  of  the  total  number.14 

Many  of  the  non-slaveholding  farmers  preferred  to  hire  slaves 
rather  than  to  bother  with  the  responsibility  of  owning  them. 
Many  a  man  is  listed  in  the  census  as  owning  many  acres  of  im- 
proved land  and  producing  larger  crops  than  could  be  explained 
by  his  own  efforts.  This  situation  leads  one  to  suspect  that  such 
a  farmer  hired  either  slaves  or  white  laborers  or  that  he  was  a 
prodigious  worker.  Such  facts  are  difficult  to  ascertain  exactly  and 
generalizations  about  possibilities  are  dangerous. 

The  practice  of  hiring  slaves  is  amply  substantiated  by  a 
variety  of  records,  particularly  wills  and  inventories.  One  of  the 
more  illuminating  scraps  of  such  information  comes  from  a  note 
written  by  a  widow  with  three  small  children.  "I  am  living  to 
myself  now  and  I  have  a  little  place  of  my  one  (close  to  a  kins- 
man) .  I  haired  a  little  negro  boy  to  work  my  land  and  help  me."15 

There  is  some  evidence  that  the  class  of  white  laborers  may 
have  been  larger  than  is  ofteu  realized.  A  great  many  males  are 
found  on  the  census  rolls  listed  as  "farm  worker"  or  "laborer." 
Unfortunately  the  average  person  of  this  class  was  neither  a 
letter  writer  nor  a  diarist.  In  a  few  cases  he  might  be  a  newly 
arrived  immigrant,  though  Governor  Paul  Hamilton  was  com- 
plaining as  early  as  1805  that  too  few  white  workers  were  coming 
into  the  state  to  counteract  the  great  increase  in  the  number  of 
Negroes.16 

One  South  Carolinian,  after  having  tried  the  wonders  of  the 
West,  expressed  a  desire  to  return  from  the  wilds  of  Ohio. 

I  am  bound  to  come  to  South  Carolina  as  soon  as  I  can  get  my 
business  fixt.  ...  I  can  do  very  well  in  Ohio  I  can  get  from  ten 
to  twelve  dollars  per  month  for  working  on  a  farm  and  goods  is 
low  in  Ohio.  .  .  . 


14  Frederick  L.  Olmsted,  A  Journey  in  the  Seaboard  Slave  States    (New  York,   1856),   63. 

15  Note  dated  March  7,  1855,  Fulmer-Clark  Papers    (South  Caroliniana  Library,  University 
of  South  Carolina,  Columbia ) . 

18  Quoted  from  the  Charleston  Courier,  December  2,  1805,  in  Theodore  D.  Jervey,  The  Slave 
Trade  (The  State  Company,  Columbia),  54. 


44  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

But  I  have  always  worked  hard  on  a  farm  or  driving  a  team 
and  if  I  can  get  lighter  employment  in  your  state  I'd  bee  pleased 
to  come.  I'd  like  stage  driving  very  well,  I  think.  .  .  ,17 

It  may  be  assumed  from  this  letter  that  a  worker  in  South 
Carolina  would  receive  less  than  one  in  Ohio,  but  not  much  less 
or  the  writer  would  scarcely  have  considered  returning  to  work 
in  the  state. 

An  authority  on  agriculture  in  the  South  concludes  from  a 
study  of  the  published  census  records  that  in  1850  there  was  an 
average  of  one  free  white  laborer  for  every  2.2  farms  in  the 
area.18  This  is  a  factor  overlooked  in  the  general  stereotype  of 
the  Old  South. 

Somewhere  in  the  picture  must  come  the  overseer.  There  seems 
no  reason  to  deny  Hundley's  assertion  that  most  of  the  overseers 
came  from  the  yeoman  class.  They  filled  a  useful  and  important 
function  on  the  larger  plantations  and  were  often  not  drunken 
brutal  drivers  but  men  "of  sterling  worth  and  incorruptable 
integrity' '  who  might  even  display  gentlemanly  instincts  "though 
but  little  polished  in  speech  and  manners."19 

Generally  the  small  farmer  had  little  need  for  an  overseer,  and 
if  his  slaves  grew  numerous  enough  to  require  additional  manage- 
ment he  used  one  of  his  older  sons  or  nephews  for  this  work.  If 
he  did  hire  an  overseer  the  man  was  generally  considered  a 
member  of  the  family  as  far  as  social  status  went,  ate  with  the 
family,  and  "in  many  cases  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  employer 
from  employee."20 

In  addition  to  the  subtle  classification  from  planter  down  to 
white  laborer,  there  existed  a  class  which  has  received  attention 
from  a  variety  of  sources,  the  poor  white.  Literature  of  the 
nineteenth  century  is  full  of  references  to  such  a  class  of  whites, 
depressed  economically,  ignored  socially,  and,  according  to  later 
writers,  weakened  physically  by  fever,  hookworm,  and  pellagra. 
Still,  since  the  enumerators  failed  to  characterize  this  class 
separately  it  is  difficult  to  separate  the  poor  whites  from  the  body 
of  agricultural  workers. 


17  Oliver  Clark  to  Henry  B.  Clark,  Fulmer-Clark  Papers. 

18  Lewis  C.  Gray,  History  of  Agriculture  in  the  South  to  1860    (Washington,   1933),  I,   501. 

19  Hundley,  Social  Relations,  203. 

20  Hundley,  Social  Relations,  85. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  45 

There  exists  no  really  satisfactory  basis  for  deciding  who  was 
a  "poor  white"  and  who  was  merely  a  poor  farmer.  Slaveholding 
is  the  first  point  of  separation,  for  none  of  the  first  group  could 
have  owned  slaves.  But  there  is  a  tremendous  portion  of  the 
farming  class  which  did  not  own  slaves.  Landowning,  which 
would  certainly  be  a  key,  is  not  easily  discovered  since  there  is  no 
direct  statement  in  the  census  of  whether  land  is  owned  or  rented. 
It  is  thus  scarcely  possible  that  the  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the 
non-slaveholding  farmers  without  land  in  Georgetown  County 
were  "poor  whites."21  And  the  thought  of  using  as  a  basis  the 
lack  of  any  farm  implements  and  any  staple  crop  is  negated  by 
the  frequent  examples  of  young  men  beginning  to  farm  with 
tools,  stock,  and  even  land  loaned  by  friends  and  relatives. 

One  clearly  expressed  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  poor  whites 
is  that  they  are  "the  wrecks  left  by  an  unfortunate  industrial 
system."  The  author  further  asserts  that  with  the  disappearance 
of  the  dignity  of  labor  and  the  lack  of  family  connections  to  make 
good  credit  to  buy  slaves,  the  poor  but  honest  white  fell  lower 
in  the  social  scale.  "The  ignorance  and  poverty  alone  were  suf- 
ficient to  crush  the  laboring  white.  .  .  .  add  to  this  the  lack  of  a 
useful  and  respectable  employment,  the  origin  and  perpetuation 
of  the  poor  whites  becomes  plain  enough."  In  the  tidewater  area 
this  situation  forced  these  whites  into  less  desirable  land.22 

Perhaps  a  study  of  the  size  of  the  landholdings  will  give  some 
further  basis  for  better  classification  of  the  rural  peoples.  An 
intensive  comparison  of  both  the  total  landholdings  and  the  total 
improved  acreage  of  the  farmers  living  in  the  sample  counties 
leads  to  interesting  generalizations.  The  comparisons  between 
the  slaveholding  farmers  and  their  non-slaveholding  neighbors 
adds  further  detail  to  the  picture. 

In  considering  the  holdings  of  improved  land  in  the  sample 
counties  several  factors  appear.  First  of  all,  the  differences  be- 
tween these  basic  groups  was  much  greater  for  total  land  held 
than  for  improved  land.  Secondly,  while  in  almost  every  classifi- 
cation of  improved  land  holding  (under  fifty  acres,  fifty  to  one 


21  Seventh  Census,  Schedule  I    (unpublished),  Georgetown   County. 

22  Schaper,  "Sectionalism,"  306.  A  further  note  to  this  effect  is  found  in  the  comment  of 
the  British  traveler,  James  Sterling,  Letters  From  the  Slave  States  (London,  1857),  65-66.  He 
suggests  that  whenever  a  whole  class  of  people  are  grouped  together  as  poor  white,  or  the 
Irish  and  Scotch  cotter,  and  the  English  "Chawbacon,"  their  state  is  the  result  of  some 
abuse  of  land  owning. 


46  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

hundred  acres,  and  the  like)  the  non-slaveholder  was  behind  his 
neighbor  with  Negroes,  the  difference  was  generally  not  great. 
In  other  words,  both  the  slaveholder  and  non-slaveholder  with 
small  acreages  tended  to  have  only  as  much  land  as  the  owner 
could  work  with  his  family  or  with  his  slaves.  And  a  farmer  with 
several  sons  of  working  age  might  produce  more  than  a  neighbor 
with  several  slaves  and  no  sons. 

Farmers  with  less  than  one  hundred  acres  of  improved  land 
make  up  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  non-slaveholders  and  more 
than  one-half  of  the  slaveowners  in  the  sample  counties.23  It  is 
safe  to  generalize  from  a  detailed  study  of  the  census  figures  and 
to  suggest  that  as  a  rule  in  South  Carolina  the  majority  of  the 
non-slaveholding  farmers  worked  less  than  fifty  acres  of  im- 
proved land  while  those  with  slaves  were  apt  to  have  twice  as 
much  land.  The  produce  of  this  increased  acreage  was  often  no 
more  profitable  at  the  end  of  the  year  when  it  became  necessary 
to  deduct  the  increased  expense  of  labor  from  the  total  income. 

There  is  little  doubt,  however,  that  in  1843  the  majority  of 
farmers  in  the  state  were  satisfied  with  the  system  of  slavery 
and  were  anxious  to  follow  at  least  a  part  of  the  advice  of  a 
speaker  before  the  Agricultural  Society  who  felt  that  the  first 
duty  of  a  farmer  was  to  clear  himself  of  debt  by  rigid  economy. 
When  this  was  done,  continued  the  speaker,  "I  see  no  surer  way 
to  profit,  than  through  the  improvement  of  their  lands  and  the 
increase  of  their  slaves."24 

While  the  Charleston  area  may  have  some  claim  to  an  aristoc- 
racy based  on  family,  there  is  little  evidence  to  support  the  theory 
that  the  rest  of  the  state  was  very  conscious  of  class  differences. 
Even  in  the  tidewater  sections  of  the  state,  R.  F.  W.  Allston  com- 
mented on  one  wealthy  old  gentleman  in  the  neighborhood:  "He 
was  formerly  the  overseer  (having  begun  as  cattle  drover  just  as 
Foxworth  did  with  me)."25  And  Allston,  certainly  a  member  of 
the  aristocracy  if  one  existed,  related  the  story  of  a  man  who 
began  his  career  as  a  wood  sawyer  with  his  only  slave  in  the  pit 
at  the  other  end  of  the  saw.  When  passers-by  jeered  at  such 
exertions,  the  laborer  answered  defiantly,  "Never  mind,  damn  ye, 


23  Seventh  Census,  Schedule  I   (unpublished). 

2i  Proceedings  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  November  30,  1843  (Columbia,  S.  C, 
1844),  410. 

25  R.  F.  W.  Allston  Family  Papers,  April  24,  1858  (typed  copies,  South  Carolina  Library, 
University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  47 

I  will  own  your  property  yet."  In  1858  he  held  more  than  40,000 
acres.26 

But  mere  ownership  of  land  even  in  vast  quantities  was  not 
enough  to  change  a  farmer  into  a  planter.  The  land  must  be  tilled 
productively  and  with  a  minimum  of  waste.  The  earliest  settlers 
of  the  Carolinas  were  filled  with  the  expectation  that  the  area 
would  soon  produce  all  manner  of  exotic  plants,  especially  citrus 
fruits,  olives,  mulberry  trees  for  silk  culture,  and  fine  grapes  for 
wine.  Some  of  the  more  conservative  farmers  who  had  never 
expected  success  in  silk  plantations  tried  tobacco.  The  staple 
grew  well  in  the  interior  of  the  state,  but  that  section  was  isolated 
from  market  by  poor  roads,  and  getting  the  tobacco  down  to 
Charleston  "was  attended  by  an  expense  of  labor  almost  equal 
to  its  value,  and  a  loss  of  time  equal,  at  least,  to  a  voyage  to 
Europe."27 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  only  really 
successful  crops  for  export  were  rice  and  laboriously  produced 
indigo.  A  few  settlers  in  the  pine  regions  were  able  to  gather 
and  market  naval  stores,  but  as  late  as  1850  this  enterprise  was 
limited  to  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  population.  That  more 
farmers  in  this  area  did  not  undertake  the  business  is  surprising, 
for  in  good  years  the  profits  were  generally  about  $300  per  hand. 
Even  when  the  turpentine  had  to  be  carried  some  distance  to 
market  the  profits  were  more  than  $200  for  each  worker.28 

By  early  nineteenth  century,  however,  a  pattern  for  the  agri- 
culture of  the  state  was  established  which  continued  for  nearly 
a  hundred  years.  Sea-island  cotton  flourished  in  the  narrow  strip 
of  land  adjacent  to  the  ocean.  Once-profitable  indigo  had  disap- 
peared with  the  advent  of  chemical  dyes,  and  rice  plantations 
spread  over  most  of  the  swampy  sections  of  the  low  country. 
The  area  above  the  tidewater  was  increasingly  a  cotton  and  corn 
producing  country. 

In  the  lower  tier  of  counties  in  South  Carolina  for  almost  half 
a  century  the  production  of  long-staple  cotton  seemed  a  more  im- 
portant part  of  the  economy  than  the  amount  raised  would 
justify.  When  properly  handled,  the  average  fibres  were  about 


26  R.  F.  W.  Allston  Family  Papers,  April  24,  1858. 

27  Message  of  Governor  David  Johnson,  November  29,  1843,  Reports  and  Resolutions  of  the 
General  Assembly   of  South   Carolina,    18U7    (Columbia,    South   Carolina,    1847),    159-160. 

28  De  Bow's  Review,  VIII   ( January- June,  1848),  450. 


48  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

two  inches  long  and  commanded  a  fancy  price,  but  the  planting 
and  harvesting  of  the  crop  demanded  excessive  amounts  of  labor 
and  the  profits  from  it  were  little  higher  than  from  the  more 
ordinary  varieties  grown  inland.29 

Rice,  though  very  laborious  to  grow,  was  a  very  marketable 
crop.  The  average  acre  of  well-tilled  rice  land  would  commonly 
produce  from  thirty-five  to  sixty  bushels  of  rice  of  about  forty- 
five  pounds  each.  In  the  rough  state  this  rice  sold  for  about  one 
dollar  a  bushel.30 

The  total  rice  production  for  the  state  in  1850  was  approxi- 
mately 159,930,613  pounds;  that  of  the,  state  of  Georgia,  38,- 
950,691  pounds,  of  which  Chatham  County  produced  almost 
one-half;  and  that  of  Louisiana,  4,425,349  pounds.  With  a  total 
of  46,765,040  pounds,  Georgetown  County  grew  more  rice  than 
the  states  of  Georgia  and  Louisiana  combined.31 

In  the  sample  counties,  with  the  exception  of  Georgetown,  rice 
was  a  very  minor  consideration  as  the  land  was  not  suitable  for 
this  cereal.  Even  in  Georgetown  County  a  majority  of  non- 
slaveholders  grew  no  rice,  although  those  who  did  were  in  the 
upper  bracket  of  producers.  Of  the  slaveholders,  6.66  per  cent, 
and  of  the  non-slaveholders,  4.44  per  cent,  raised  between  250,000 
pounds  and  500,000  pounds  of  rice.32 

Early  settlers  in  the  upcountry  had  secured  the  most  fertile 
spots  along  the  river  bottoms  and  had  begun  to  wear  out  the  soil 
with  intensive  cultivation.  A  great  part  of  the  land  was  devoted 
to  cotton,  a  practice  which  was  meeting  with  increased  disfavor 
from  reformers  of  agriculture.  William  Gregg,  in  attempting  to 
wean  his  fellow  South  Carolinians  away  from  this  devotion  to 
cotton,  added  the  following  judgment: 

Cotton  has  been  to  South  Carolina  what  the  mines  of  Mexico 
were  to  Spain — it  has  produced  us  such  an  abundant  supply  of 
all  the  luxuries  and  elegancies  of  life,  with  so  little  exertion  on 
our  part  that  we  have  become  enervated  .  .  .  and  unprepared  to 
meet  the  state  of  things,  which  sooner  or  later  must  come  about.33 

The  advocates  of  continuing  cotton  culture  could  produce  some 
interesting  justifications  for  its  use,  however.  One  authority  felt 


29  Gray,  Agriculture,  I,  56. 

30  Olmsted,  Seaboard  Slave  States,  385-388. 

31  Owsley  Chart. 

32  Seventh  Census,  1850,   Schedule  IV    (unpublished). 

33  De  Bow's  Review,  VIII  (January- June,  1850),  138. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  49 

that  the  introduction  of  cotton  had  been  a  blessing  to  the  cause 
of  temperance  by  lessening  the  production  of  fruit  for  brandy. 
This  noxious  beverage  had  been  responsible  for  dotting  the  land- 
scape with  distilleries  which  had  demoralized  society  "to  a  fright- 
ful degree."34 

Not  only  did  this  crop  improve  the  morality  of  the  state  but  it 
added  to  the  dignity  of  labor.  "Wives  and  daughters  may  con- 
veniently and  safely  share  with  the  husband  and  father.  While 
he  traces  the  furrow,  they,  protected  by  their  sunbonnets,  eradi- 
cate the  weeds  with  a  light  hoe."35 

In  actual  practice  most  of  the  labor  of  tilling  the  soil  was  ex- 
ceedingly primitive.  A  description  by  Olmsted  of  a  gang  of  slaves 
readying  a  field  for  cotton  is  probably  more  typical  than  the 
"light  hoe."  The  slaves  carried  manure  to  the  field  in  baskets  and 
spread  it  with  their  hands  between  the  rows  of  last  year's  crop, 
while  other  slaves  with  clumsy  hoes  pulled  the  ridges  down  over 
the  manure  to  make  the  new  rows  for  planting.36 

Although  most  of  the  farmers  refused  to  try  out  the  new  plows 
and  skimmers  to  lighten  the  labor  of  cultivation,  they  did  experi- 
ment with  new  varieties  of  seed.  One  farmer  wrote  his  brother 
that  the  "mastodon  cotton  is  considered  a  humbug  &  is  not  half 
so  much  esteemed  in  the  southwest  as  it  is  here."  From  his  own 
experience  he  suggested  that  the  best  farmers  would  use  the  best 
common  seed  "&  don't  have  your  rows  more  than  3  feet  apart  & 
have  the  cotton  very  close  in  the  drill,  say  six  inches"  to  suit  the 
land.37 

Another  enterprising  farmer  in  the  Pendleton  district  made  in 
1848,  working  three  hands  on  twenty-five  acres  of  land,  twenty- 
seven  thousand  pounds  of  seed  cotton  and  provisions  for  family 
and  stock.  The  land  was  all  hilly  and  had  been  purchased  five 
years  previously  at  four  dollars  an  acre.  He  manured  the  land, 
planted  the  seed  previously  wet  and  rolled  in  ashes,  two  bushels 
to  the  acre.  Later  he  thinned  the  stock  to  a  stand  ten  inches  apart 
on  poor  land,  and  twenty  inches  on  the  best  of  his  soil.38 


34  Samuel  Dubose,   "Address  Delivered  at  the  17th  Anniversary  of  the  Black  Oak  Agricul- 
tural Society,"  April  27,  1858. 
^DuBose,  "Address." 

36  Olmsted,  Seaboard  Slave  States,  400. 

37  H.   H.   Townes  to  W   .A.    Townes,   March   29,    1847,   Townes    Papers    (South    Caroliniana 
Library,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 

38  De  Bow's  Review,  IX    (July-December,  1850),  106. 


50  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  average  small  farmer,  whether  as  careful  or  not  as  the  one 
mentioned  above,  depended  upon  his  cotton  for  most  of  his  yearly 
cash.  Seldom  was  his  production  more  than  a  few  bales,  as  many 
receipts  of  the  period  testify.  One  such  bill  from  a  small  store- 
keeper runs:  "Bought  of  Wm.  Fulmer  10  bales  of  cotton  .  .  . 
$205.25."  From  this  sum  was  subtracted  the  balance  due  for 
purchases  at  the  store  and  seven  dollars  insurance  on  the  cotton.39 
Another  small  farmer  sold  six  bales  of  cotton  averaging  three 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  each  for  a  total  of  $141.24.40 

With  such  prices  for  cotton  it  is  little  wonder  that  many  of  the 
farmers  both  large  and  small  were  turning  to  other  staple  crops 
by  1850.  At  least  one  of  the  Anderson  County  planters  wrote 
De  Bow's  Review  that  the  profit  from  a  well  cultivated  farm  in 
his  section  of  the  state  was  only  three  and  one-half  per  cent  on 
the  capital  invested,  and  that  in  the  lower  part  of  the  state  the 
profits  were  under  five  per  cent.41 

Nevertheless,  most  of  the  farmers  and  planters  continued  to 
grow  this  staple,  and  in  spite  of  bad  weather,  boll-worms,  crab 
grass,  and  low  prices,  believed  that  a  successful  crop  would  en- 
able them  to  clear  their  debts  and  perhaps  expand  their  holdings. 

There  was  not,  however,  the  complete  devotion  to  cotton  cul- 
ture present  in  the  state  that  is  generally  assumed.  Perhaps  the 
plea  for  general  diversification  noted  on  all  sides  by  the  middle 
of  the  century,  or  the  realization  of  the  small  returns  from  plant- 
ing cotton,  or  a  combination  of  both  factors  led  many  farmers  of 
the  state  away  from  cotton  entirely.  Whatever  the  reasons,  a 
survey  of  the  sample  counties  indicates  that  a  considerable  per- 
centage of  the  farmers  were  not  planting  any  cotton. 

It  can  be  seen  that  in  Anderson  County  more  than  ninety  per 
cent  of  the  non-slaveholders  raised  less  than  three  bales  of  cotton 
each  and  more  than  fifty-five  per  cent  of  the  farmers  with  slaves 
were  in  the  same  category.  Fairfield  County  farmers  with  three 
bales  of  cotton  or  less  each  showed  the  following  percentage: 
thirty-eight  per  cent  of  the  non-slaveholders  and  seventeen  per 
cent  of  the  slaveholders.  Richland  County  had  eighty-five  per 
cent  of  the  non-slaveholders  raising  three  bales  of  cotton  or  less 


39  Receipt  dated  July  12,  1848,  Fulmer-Clark  Papers. 

40  Receipt  dated  March  5,  1849,  Smith  Papers. 

41  Gray,  Agriculture,  II,  707. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina*  i  Si 

each  and  forty-one  per  cent  of  the  slaveholders;  Oeor&etcWn 
County  farmers  raised  practically  no  cotton.42 

A  careful  study  of  the  comparative  production  of  cotton  and 
corn  per  acre  among  farmers  having  the  same  amounts  of  im- 
proved land  indicates  that  the  production  per  acre  was  almost 
identical  for  those  with  slaves  and  without  slaves.  Actually  a 
comparison  of  fifteen  farmers  from  both  classes  taken  at  random 
from  the  sample  counties  shows  that  the  farmers  with  slaves 
grew  less  cotton  and  slightly  more  corn  than  their  non- 
slaveholding  neighbors.43  This  was  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  former  had  more  hands  and  stock  to  feed. 

This  dependence  upon  corn  for  food  was  universal  in  the  state, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  the  rice  counties.44  In  the  low 
country  the  prize  yield  of  corn  per  acre  had  gone  to  R.  F.  W.  All- 
ston  for  105  bushels  per  acre.45 

These  figures  do  not  seem  very  important  until  they  are  com- 
pared with  the  generally  accepted  provisions  for  an  average  farm. 
In  the  will  for  an  Anderson  County  farmer,  the  provisions  for  a 
year  for  his  farm  of  165  acres  and  two  slaves  included  only  one 
hundred  bushels  of  corn,  twenty-five  bushels  of  wheat,  five  hun- 
dred pounds  of  pork,  and  two  hundred  pounds  of  "good  cotton 
seed."46 

Wheat,  the  other  major  grain  crop,  is  of  less  importance  in 
the  economy  of  South  Carolina.  In  only  Anderson  and  Fairfield 
counties,  of  the  samples  studied,  was  any  considerable  amount  of 
wheat  grown,  and  much  of  it  was  doubtless  for  sale  to  the  planters 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  state. 

Occasionally  the  farmers  found  it  necessary  to  buy  flour  out- 
side South  Carolina,  as  one  wrote  in  1845 : 

Many  persons  in  our  district  .  .  .  will  feed  their  negroes  on 
flour  &  save  their  little  corn  entirely  for  their  horses.  Tell  Mother 
she  had  best  do  this  &  if  she  is  compelled  to  buy,  to  get  flour 
cheap  from  Tennessee.  Bake  the  flour  into  hard  biscuit  or  light 
bread,  &  way  out  the  rations  to  the  negroes.47 

^Seventh  Census,  1850,  Schedule  IV  (unpublished). 
^Seventh  Census,  1850,  Schedule  IV   (unpublished). 

44  Report  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  1844,  Omniad,  IX,  73. 

45  Pendleton  Farmers'   Society,  Records,   1826-1920,  Minutes,   October  12,   1860    (typed  copy 
in  South  Caroliniana  Library,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 

48  Anderson   County  Will   Book,   1854-1876,   57    (typed  copy   in    South   Caroliniana   Library, 
University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 

47  H.  H.  Townes  to  wife,  August  16,  1845,  Townes  Papers. 


52  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

T6  continue  further  this  sort  of  study  for  each  of  the  minor 
crops  would  prove  of  little  value.  Almost  every  farmer  in  both 
classes  grew  some  oats,  hay,  peas  and  beans,  and  potatoes,  usually 
sweet  potatoes,  for  the  needs  of  his  family  and  stock. 

To  a  much  greater  extent  than  has  been  known  the  average 
farmer  with  small  acreage  was  self-sufficient.  It  is  true  that  he 
might  buy  meat  or  hay  to  supplement  his  own  production,  but 
this  was  generally  done  only  when  it  was  cheaper  to  buy  than 
to  raise  the  animals.  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1848,  one  farmer 
wrote  that  Kentucky  pork  was  selling  at  eight  cents  a  pound  and 
was  expected  to  be  even  cheaper.  "I  have  bought  two  thousand 
pounds  &  will  make  my  own  raising  supply  the  balance  of  my 
wants."48  Why  should  an  intelligent  farmer  divert  a  part  of  his 
labor  to  a  less  profitable  crop  when  it  better  suited  his  economy 
to  purchase  more  cheaply  a  part  of  his  supplies? 

It  is  possible  that  much  of  the  misconception  about  the  one-crop 
economy  of  the  state  is  derived  from  the  emphasis  which  the 
various  Agricultural  Societies  of  South  Carolina  placed  upon 
diversification.  As  early  as  1784  there  had  been  enough  active 
interest  in  some  sort  of  farmers'  organization  to  bring  together 
members  to  talk  over  their  common  problems,  thus  providing 
a  "useful  capital  from  which  to  draw  benefit."49 

In  spite  of  the  literary  language  used  in  the  reports,  the  forma- 
tion of  county  agricultural  societies  had  been  advantageous  to 
the  state.  There  were  at  least  eleven  such  groups  by  1823.  Some 
of  them  were  little  more  than  dinner  clubs  for  the  wealthier 
planters,  for  one  of  these  was  forced  to  put  a  limit  on  the  number 
of  dishes  and  wine  offered  by  each  host  in  turn  "to  put  the  richer 
and  poorer  contributors  on  the  same  footing."50  And  the  forma- 
tion of  a  state  organization  helped  persuade  the  state  legislature 
to  authorize  a  soil  survey  by  Edmund  Ruffin  in  1839.51 

The  main  emphasis  of  this  society  and  of  all  the  county  organi- 
zations was  the  improvement  of  the  soil  and  the  practicing  of 
better  methods  of  farming.  To  this  end  speeches  filled  the  air, 
competitions  were  encouraged,  and  prizes  were  offered.  One 
speaker  urged  all  farmers  to  join  their  local  societies  whether  or 


48  Note  from  H.  H.  Townes,  November  29,  1848,  Townes  Papers. 

49  Introduction   to   Proceedings    of    the    Agricultural    Convention    of    the    State    Agricultural 
Society  of  South  Carolina  from  1839  to  1845    (Columbia,  S.  C,   1846),   Omniad,  IX. 

m  David  Doar,  A  Sketch  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  St.  James,  Santee,  23. 
D1  Introduction,  Proceedings  of  Agricultural  Convention,  5. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  53 

not  they  felt  able  to  write  and  speak  well.  "For  he  who  under- 
stands a  matter  can  make  it  understood  by  another,"  and  many 
of  the  most  valuable  suggestions  had  come  from  plain  farmers 
unpracticed  at  writing.52 

Governor  George  McDuffie  directed  all  of  his  noted  eloquence  in 
a  speech  before  the  State  Agricultural  Society  stressing  the 
necessity  for  conserving  the  land.  The  lands  of  South  Carolina 
could  not  compete  with  the  fresh  lands  of  the  Southwest.  Even 
in  that  favored  area  the  planters  were  abusing  their  soil  and 
driving  their  slaves  in  an  effort  to  obtain  more  profits,  an  example 
which  this  state  should  note  and  avoid.53 

From  this  study  of  the  small  farmers  in  South  Carolina  it  is 
seen  that  many  of  these  warnings  were  unnecessary.  Perhaps 
the  examples  of  the  larger  planters  who  were  trying  to  make 
money  as  rapidly  as  possible  and  the  constant  reiteration  of  this 
problem  by  speakers  tended  to  give  a  picture  of  the  farmers  of 
the  state  as  devoted  to  cotton  alone.  The  passage  of  time  has 
exaggerated  the  problem  even  more.  No  doubt  there  were  many 
farmers  who  profited  by  Joel  Poinsett's  advice  to  cultivate  only 
as  much  land  as  could  be  properly  manured  and  tended.  It  should 
be  seen,  he  continued,  that  a  farmer  saves  more  labor  and  expense 
in  raising  one  hundred  bushels  of  corn  from  five  acres  than  he 
does  from  ten  acres  with  less  productive  methods.  To  further 
this  idea,  the  farmer  should  learn  the  real  value  of  manure  in- 
stead of  merely  counting  the  initial  cost.54 

Further  evidence  that  many  of  the  farmers  were  willing 
to  try  new  experiments  is  supplied  by  Daniel  Lee,  editor  of  the 
Southern  Cultivator,  himself  a  northerner.  In  discussing  the 
plantations  which  he  had  seen  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina 
he  added  that  nothing  had  impressed  him  so  much  as  the  well- 
constructed  terraces  and  ditches.  "In  this  matter,  the  planters 
of  these  states  have  excelled  all  we  have  witnessed  elsewhere 
in  the  Union,  and  we  have  seen  most  of  it."55 

But  even  skillful  rebuilding  of  the  soil  and  careful  rotation  of 
crops  could  not  solve  all  of  the  problems  of  the  farmer.  One  of 
the  most  serious,  and  at  times  almost  unmanageable,  of  these  was 


52  John  B.  O'Neall,  Proceedings  of  Agricultural  Convention,  215. 

53  George  McDuffie,  Proceedings  of  Agricultural  Convention,  98. 

54  Joel  R.  Poinsett,  Proceedings  of  Agricultural  Convention,  249. 

55  Quoted  in  Gray,  Agriculture,  801. 


54  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  question  of  credit.  Many  farmers,  hoping  to  improve  their 
lot  by  increased  landholdings  or  larger  numbers  of  slaves,  would 
borrow  on  the  land  and  slaves  already  owned.  Just  enough  of 
them  were  able  to  make  sufficient  profits  to  pay  off  their  debts 
and  thus  encourage  those  less  able  to  follow  the  practice.  The 
latter  either  lost  their  land  immediately  or  were  able  to  stave  off 
their  creditors  through  a  good  many  agonizing  years,  always 
hoping  for  better  times  and  higher  profits.  Meanwhile,  in  such 
cases,  the  land  was  seriously  worn  in  the  attempt  to  turn  out  im- 
mediate profits,  and  neither  the  debtor  nor  the  creditor  was 
likely  to  achieve  any  return. 

The  system  of  signing  notes  often  involved  some  friend  who 
had  agreed  to  support  the  note  in  a  moment  of  mistaken 
generosity.  In  times  of  depression  a  great  many  otherwise  thrifty 
farmers  were  severely  strained  to  meet  such  an  obligation.  It  was 
quite  a  common  practice  to  ask  a  friend  to  become  co-signer  on 
a  personal  note  as  casually  as  one  would  ask  the  loan  of  a  horse 
for  the  afternoon.  And  the  request  in  both  cases  was  generally 
granted. 

In  discussing  a  note  for  $380  due  an  Augusta  firm  by  a  country 
merchant,  the  manager  suggested  that  a  twelve-month  note 
would  be  acceptable  "with  the  endorsement  of  Richard  Harris. 
We  have  no  doubt  Mr.  Harris  will  do  this  as  he  seems  to  have 
dealings  with  you."56 

The  most  frequent  form  of  credit  was  that  between  members 
of  a  family.  In  one  illuminating  note  between  brothers,  the  debtor 
was  asking  that  the  addressee  use  his  influence  with  still  another 
brother  to  prevent  his  having  the  farm  sold  for  money  owed  him. 
Since  there  were  older  debts  than  that  owed  brother  George,  any 
cash  received  from  the  forced  sale  would  be  absorbed  by  the 
creditors  having  prior  claim.  The  other  creditors,  however,  were 
willing  to  allow  the  debtor  to  pay  a  little  each  year,  if  George 
would  just  hold  his  temper  in  check  and  wait  for  his  money  as  the 
others  were  doing.57 

Some  of  the  farmers,  despairing  of  ever  paying  their  debts, 
took  the  relatively  simple  way  of  moving  into  another  state. 
Others  moved  to  seek  better  lands  and  higher  profits  from  their 


56  Bill  to  H.  B.  Clark,  May  31,  1858,  Fulmer-Clark  Papers, 
w  W.  Smith  to  E.  P.  Smith,  October  13,  1854,  Smith  Papers. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  55 

labor.  One  man  wrote  back  from  Mississippi  giving  glowing  re- 
ports of  corn  and  waist-high  cotton,  though  he  added  that  chills 
and  fevers  had  determined  him  to  seek  more  healthful  lands  in 
Arkansas  or  Texas.58  Another  wrote  back  to  South  Carolina  that 
the  land  around  Kosciusco,  Mississippi,  was  fine  for  growing 
cotton,  corn,  and  hay.  In  addition,  a  clever  man  could  make  a 
fortune  by  training  dogs  to  run  Negroes  at  twenty-five  dollars  for 
each  runaway  caught.59 

The  general  pattern  of  the  migration  from  east  to  west  by  1850 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  nearly  200,000  Southern  whites  in 
other  states  gave  South  Carolina  as  their  birthplace.  This  is 
brought  to  a  more  personal  level  by  a  badly  spelled  note  from  an 
old  lady. 

My  children  is  all  scatring  of  from  me.  Elithebeth  is  gone  to 
Texes  last  fall  there  went  by  land  Tuck  them  7  weeks  to  git 
there.  .  .  .  Martha  is  gone  to  Alabamer  My  son  Nelson  is  gon  to 
Alabamer  and  are  living  close  together.  .  .  .  My  daughter  Mary 
and  companion  is  living  with  me  this  year.60 

Just  as  this  old  lady  and  her  daughter's  family  were  trying  to 
run  a  farm  despite  all  of  the  disadvantages  of  agriculture  in  this 
state,  so  were  many  thousands  of  small  farmers.  And  their  life 
at  home,  neither  that  of  poor  whites  nor  of  "aristocrats"  with 
traditional  columned  mansion,  deserves  some  attention  at  this 
point,  for  the  yeomen  farmers  are  generally  ignored.  Discounting 
the  simple,  untidy  cabins  which  gave  many  travelers  the  im- 
pression that  all  the  farmers  were  shabby  folk,  the  majority  of 
farm  homes  in  the  state  were  comfortable  and  reasonably  well 
kept.  One  very  clear  description  of  a  small  place  with  forty-five 
acres  of  cotton  comes  from  a  letter  of  this  period: 

I  have  as  good  a  double  log  cabin  as  I  ever  saw.  It  has  a  passage 
covered  of  12  feet  nailed  boards  for  a  roof,  a  good  plank  for 
floors  four  windows  with  good  framed  shutters  with  iron  hinges 
&  hooks  &  what  is  a  great  thing  in  this  country  both  of  my  chim- 
neys have  brick  backs  &  hearths.  ...  I  have  besides  the  Big  House 
two  good  negro  cabins  &  a  good  corn  crib  with  smoke  house  &  the 
negroes  have  3  chicken  pens.®1 

58  G.  T.  Brewton  to  Smith,  June  23,  1848,  Smith  Papers. 

59  Thomas  Priestly  to  Smith,  September  2,  1848,  Smith  Papers. 

60  Mrs.  Mary  Fulmer  to  sister,  March  7,  1855,  Fulmer-Clark  Papers. 

61  S.  A.  Townes,  undated,  Townes  Papers,  1846-1854. 


56  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

This  was  typical  of  the  semi-frontier  life  under  which  many 
of  the  farmers  began.  As  they  prospered,  the  average  farmer  was 
apt  to  cover  the  logs  with  boards  and  add  a  veranda.  In  some 
instances  the  women  of  the  family  were  apt  to  insist  on  columns 
as  a  mark  of  respectability.  The  Calhoun  family  added  this  touch 
to  "Fort  Hill"  long  after  the  original  structure  was  completed.62 

D.  R.  Hundley,  in  a  considerate  vein,  explained  that  while  many 
middle-class  farmers  were  negligent  in  keeping  up  their  homes 
and  outbuildings,  the  average  farmer  was  frequently  "anxious 
to  have  everything  look  neat  and  comfortable."63  And  the  home 
of  the  average  farmer  was  undeniably  pleasant  and  comfortable. 
A  visitor  from  the  low  country  described  the  "old  farm  house" 
located  in  the  upcountry  and  approached  by  an  avenue  of  syca- 
mores. "The  house  is  surrounded  by  shade  trees  of  all  kinds 
which  throw  a  pleasant  coolness  even  in  the  hottest  part  of  the 
day."64 

The  interior  of  these  homes  can  be  rather  accurately  described 
from  the  inventories  and  wills  of  the  period.  The  keen  eye  of  a 
neighbor  appraising  an  estate  was  apt  to  reveal  details  about  the 
condition  of  many  of  the  household  treasures  in  noting  "one  worn 
cherry  bedsted,"  or  "old  walnut  falling  table,  leaf  missing." 

The  household  effects  of  a  free  woman  of  color  were  valued  in 
1855  at  less  than  fifty  dollars.  They  included  three  beds,  one 
chest,  three  chairs,  one  table,  one  candlestick,  a  cupboard,  flax- 
wheel,  and  "sundry  crockery,  jars,  and  potware."65  This  was 
certainly  a  minimum  household. 

It  is  not,  however,  the  individual  cases  of  this  sort  which  are 
valuable  but  the  composite  picture  which  they  furnish  of  the 
surroundings  of  the  average  farmer  in  South  Carolina.  A  variety 
of  wills  and  inventories  leave  definite  impressions  of  a  typical 
home.  One  such  contained  an  eight-day  clock,  a  rocking  chair, 
brass  fire  dogs  and  tools,  a  number  of  cooking  utensils,  all  care- 
fully noted  by  the  appraiser,  a  lot  of  dishes  generally  in  odd 
numbers,  glassware  usually  including  one  decanter.  The  furniture 
might  vary  in  quantity  but  this,  an  average  home,  had  five  beds 
and  bedding  including  "1  long  poplar  bedstead,  1  maple  camp  bed 


«2  Charles  M.  Wiltse,  John  C.   Calhoun,  Nullifier,   1829-1839    (Indianapolis,  1949),   157. 
03  Hundley,  Social  Relations,  85. 

«*  Christopher  Oeland  to  Mrs.   E.   P.   Smith,  July  30,   1848,   Smith   Papers. 
r'5  Appraisal  of  Theodosia  Strawther,  Anderson  Appraisals  and  Sales,  October  18,  1855,  vol. 
3    (Typed  copy  in   South  Caroliniana  Library,   University   of  South   Carolina,   Columbia). 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  57 

...  2  stands,  white  bed  curtains."  Five  hair  trunks,  one  chest,  six 
Windsor  chairs  with  split  bottoms,  and  three  with  wooden  bottoms 
just  about  furnished  the  home.66 

With  a  constant  round  of  tasks  to  be  done  on  the  farm,  no 
matter  what  its  size,  there  is  little  wonder  that  the  social  life 
of  the  average  farmer  was  centered  in  his  home.  As  society 
matured,  the  church  and  the  school  added  to  this  life  other  simple 
pleasures.  In  spite  of  travelers'  tales  of  a  constant  round  of 
house-raisings,  corn-shuckings,  gander-pullings,  and  the  like,  the 
small  farmer  was  not  apt  to  get  very  far  from  his  fields  except 
for  local  political  rallies,  fairs,  and  elections.  The  wild  excitement 
of  Christmas  holidays  was  apt  to  be  reflected  in  accounts  at  the 
local  store  for  brandy  and  cigars,  or  "1  bottle  Ma.  wine,  $1.00; 
4  rockets,  $2.00."67 

One  pastime  which  was  rather  general  among  all  classes  of 
farm  society  was  the  visiting  of  friends  and  relatives.  The  cordial 
attitude  of  hospitality  was  underscored  by  a  lady  who  wrote  a 
friend  urging  a  visit :  "You  need  not  have  the  least  fear  of  caus- 
ing any  trouble  or  fatigue  to  my  housekeeping,  for  I  am  a 
miserable  housekeeper  and  I  never  allow  my  domestic  affairs  to 
trouble  me."68  This  state  of  affairs  might  have  been  the  truth  or 
a  polite  fiction  to  allay  a  friend's  anxiety  over  causing  trouble. 

The  average  farmer's  home  was  well  supplied  with  food  and  an 
inexhaustible  number  of  chickens.  Beds  were  always  available 
for  numbers  of  guests  amazing  to  modern  hostesses,  especially 
at  family  reunions.  With  only  the  trouble  and  expense  of  trans- 
portation to  consider,  this  practice  of  visiting  relations  was 
probably  the  least  expensive  way  of  amusing  oneself  in  those 
days.  Certainly  the  presence  of  any  visitor  was  a  welcome  break 
in  the  monotony  of  isolated  country  homes,  large  or  small,  and 
almost  every  letter  written  during  this  period  closed  with  a 
sincere  invitation  for  the  recipient  to  come  for  a  visit. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  reason  for  visits  across  the  state 
was  a  family  wedding  or  funeral.  To  these  affairs  almost  all  of 
the  kinfolk  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation  were  asked,  and 
one  typical  account  mentions  that  only  the  relatives  were  present, 


66  Estate  of  Elizabeth  Sawyer,  September  4,  1850,  Anderson  Appraisals,  111,  163-4. 

67  Bill  dated  December  23,   1854,  Fulmer-Clark  Papers. 

68  M.   P.   Singleton   to  Augusta   Converse,    July   3,    1851,   Singleton    Family   Letters    (Manu- 
script Division,  Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C). 


58  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

"they,  you  know  are  numerous."69  Another  account  explains  that 
because  of  a  recent  death  in  the  family  only  relatives  were 
present  at  a  wedding.  Enough  of  them  managed  to  arrive,  how- 
ever, "to  fill  comfortably  two  very  large  rooms,"  and  the  following 
day  a  dinner  was  served  to  "30  sitting  down  at  one  table  which 
was  almost  too  much  for  the  large  dining  room."70 

During  the  time  spent  around  the  home  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  reading.  It  was  chiefly  newspapers,  often  agricultural  journals 
or  religious  books  judging  from  the  reports  gathered  in  ap- 
praisals of  households  effects.  Often  the  identity  was  hidden  by 
a  careless  evaluator  under  the  heading  "1  lot  old  books,  .75,"  or 
"2  books  history,  .50."  Fortunately  there  exist  more  explicit 
inventories.  One  farmer's  library  contained  "1  book  Life  of 
Christ,  1  do.  American  Lawyer,  1  farmer's  Barn  Book,  1  book 
Information  for  the  People,  ...  1  History  of  Sacred  Mountains."71 

The  appraisal  of  a  widow's  property  was  apt  to  mention  be- 
tween the  sheep  shears  and  the  turned  bedstead,  such  works  as 
"3  vol.  Children  of  the  Abbey,  15  vol.  Evangelical  Family  Library, 
1  Psalm  Book,  &  1  Village  Hymns."72 

It  is  not  possible  to  judge  the  taste  of  the  people  entirely  by 
the  contents  of  their  bookshelves,  for  too  many  of  the  books  had 
probably  been  inherited  with  the  bookcases  and  the  secretaries 
which  housed  them.  When  the  estate  contained  only  a  few  books, 
however,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  read  and  reread.  From  the 
surveys  of  various  libraries  among  the  farm  folk  of  this  state  it 
seems  that  the  general  reading  was  divided  chiefly  between 
religious  works,  some  history  and  biography,  notably  Weems's 
Franklin  and  Washington,  which  appeared  in  many  inventories, 
and  a  scattering  of  light  novels. 

The  libraries  of  lawyers  and  doctors  among  the  farmers 
naturally  contained  a  high  percentage  of  professional  books. 
Scattered  among  these  volumes  were  usually  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  classics.  Perhaps  these  were  inherited  from  an  earlier  day 
when  gentlemen  read  Horace  for  wit  and  Cicero  for  style,  or  they 
may  have  been  textbooks  of  the  owner's  youth.  It  is  doubtful 


69  H.  H.  Townes,  May  9,  1847,  Townes  Papers. 

70  B.  Coles  to  Marion  Converse,  March  11,   1853,  Singleton  Papers. 

71  Estate  of  David  Skelton,  April  23,  1856,  Anderson  Appraisals,  IV,  88-89. 

72  Estate  of  Jane  W.  McMurry,  November  29,   1852,  Anderson  Appraisals,   III,   38. 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  59 

whether  their  contents  made  much  impression  on  the  South 
Carolinian  of  1850. 

The  discussion  of  the  reading  matter  available  for  the  farm 
population  brings  up  the  natural  question  as  to  the  education 
available  to  them.  From  the  statistics  furnished  by  the  unpub- 
lished census  of  1850  almost  no  head  of  a  farm  family  admitted 
being  illiterate,  and  in  none  of  the  sample  counties  did  the  il- 
literacy rate  amount  to  as  much  as  ten  per  cent  of  the  farm  popu- 
lation.73 Even  considering  the  figures  in  the  published  census  for 
1850  which  lists  the  number  of  white  persons  over  twenty  who 
could  not  read  or  write,  the  state  stands  up  well  for  one  of  the 
"uneducated  Southern  states." 

Certainly  it  was  not  the  fine  school  system  which  was  responsi- 
ble for  the  low  rate  of  illiteracy.  Indeed  there  was  nothing  but 
criticism  for  the  state  schools  in  1850.  Three  years  before  this 
time  one  of  the  legislators  had  remarked  that  "there  is  scarce 
a  state  in  the  union,  in  which  so  great  an  apathy  exists  on  the 
subject  of  education  of  the  people,  as  in  the  state  of  South  Caro- 
lina." And  another  added  that  the  free  school  system  of  the  state 
was  a  failure.74 

The  plan  had  been  established  in  1848  to  offer  to  each  of  the 
counties  support  at  the  rate  of  $300  for  each  member  of  the 
legislature  from  each  county.  This  fund  was  to  be  administered 
by  a  local  board  of  commissioners  appointed  by  the  legislature 
and  serving  without  salaries.  The  amounts  granted  the  counties 
was  woefully  insufficient  for  the  numbers  of  children  to  be  edu- 
cated and  the  local  commissioners  were  not  anxious  to  work  at 
the  matter.  The  additional  stigma  of  "charity  school"  so  often 
clung  to  these  state  supported  institutions  that  many  a  poor  but 
sturdy  yeoman  farmer  refused  to  send  his  children  to  them. 

The  education  provided  for  the  rural  areas  were  generally  of 
two  types,  the  local  day  school  which  was  the  result  of  a  sub- 
scription in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  more  impressive  academy. 
The  first  type  might  develop  sufficient  reputation  to  draw  stu- 
dents from  the  whole  area  and  would  grow  into  an  academy,  as 
did  the  "old  field  school"  of  Moses  Waddell.  Usually  they  provided 


73  Seventh  Census,  1850  Schedule  I    (unpublished). 

74  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  Education,  Reports  and  Resolutions  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  South  Carolina,  1847   (Columbia,  1848),  206. 


60  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

simple  primary  classes  with  some  advance  instruction  for  the 
more  promising  pupils.  A  group  of  farmers  in  the  upcountry 
signed  an  agreement  to  contribute  a  total  of  $600  annually  to 
make  possible  an  academy  in  the  neighborhood.  The  building  was 
to  be  "32  by  20  feet  with  a  chimney  at  each  end."  The  rates  of 
tuition  for  the  basic  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  were  $15  a 
session,  with  English  grammar,  geography,  and  mathematics  $5 
extra.  The  addition  of  Latin  and  Greek  raised  the  total  tuition  to 
$30  a  session.75 

In  addition  to  the  local  schools,  there  was  usually  one  agency 
in  most  neighborhoods  which  attempted  to  educate.  This  was  the 
Sunday  school.  The  movement  began  with  great  vigor  in  many 
villages  of  the  state  and  soon  lost  its  impetus.  One  young  lady 
wrote  quite  frankly  to  a  friend  that  her  group  of  friends  had 
tried  to  conduct  such  schools  but  had  given  up.  "There  are  no  poor 
people,  &  those  of  the  better  class  were  as  well  qualified  to  teach 
their  children  at  home  as  those  who  would  go  to  the  church  to 
do  it "76 

The  Pendleton  Sunday  School  Society,  however,  began  a  broad 
program  to  "have  children  and  adults  taught  to  read  the  Holy 
Bible  and  give  them  other  instruction."  A  superintendent  and 
teachers  volunteered  and  the  society  began  classes  suitable  to  all 
stages  of  learning.  The  school  was  open  to  members  of  all  de- 
nominations. Perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  progress 
of  this  school  was  with  the  Negro  slaves  who  were  taught  the 
Bible  with  the  permission  of  their  masters.77 

Throughout  the  later  ante-bellum  period,  though  there  may 
have  been  little  attention  paid  to  educating  the  slaves  to  read, 
there  was  a  definite  concern  for  teaching  both  black  and  white 
to  know  the  Bible.  And  in  the  twenty  years  previous  to  the  Civil 
War  there  were  great  efforts  made  in  South  Carolina  to  organize 
the  Negroes  into  churches.  After  the  split  of  the  major  denomina- 
tions from  their  northern  brethren,  the  southern  branch  recruited 
Negro  members  with  great  vigor.  In  most  of  the  smaller  churches 
of  the  state  there  were  mixed  congregations  segregated  by  seats, 
but  at  that  time  it  was  also  a  practice  to  segregate  the  sexes 
among  the  whites. 


75  Notice  dated  August  3,  1848,  Smith  Papers. 

76  A.  W.  to  Harriet  Simons,  August  28,   1834,   Simons   Family  Letters    (South  Caroliniana 
Library,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 

77  Minutes  and  Accounts,  Pendleton  Sunday  School  Society,  1819-1934,  June  24,  1820   (typed 
copy  in  South  Caroliniana  Library,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  61 

It  is  believed  that  by  1860  South  Carolina  had  more  than  85,000 
Negroes  as  members  of  one  of  the  four  major  denominations, 
or  about  one-fifth  of  the  total  slave  population  of  that  state.78 
Undoubtedly  many  of  the  masters  encouraged  participation  of 
their  slaves  in  church  membership  not  only  as  a  spiritual  or 
moral  duty,  but  as  a  method  of  controlling  them,  for  the  primary 
lessons  taught  them  were  the  beauties  and  joys  of  the  future 
world  if  they  were  cheerful  and  obedient  in  this  present  vale  of 
tears. 

For  the  white  members  as  well  as  the  Negroes  the  churches 
were  both  a  restraining  force  and  an  emotional  outlet.  Even  a 
brief  survey  of  the  records  left  by  rural  churches  in  the  state 
reveals  this  fact. 

Some  of  the  white  members  were  disciplined  by  their  church 
for  "excess  drinking  of  spiritous  liquors/'  "Rumor  or  report  of 
intemperate  drinking,"  "bastardy  and  fornication,"  "Sins  of 
drunkeness,  offering  to  fite,  running  his  family  from  home,  also 
for  Contempt  of  the  Church  when  sent  for  to  ancer  the  above."79 

Perhaps  not  so  well  known  among  the  controls  which  the 
church  held  over  the  local  inhabitants  was  the  pressure  which 
the  congregation  exerted  toward  enforcing  payment  of  debts. 
Two  examples  will  serve  to  illustrate  this  point. 

Resolved  that  as  sister  Elizabeth  Telford  left  this  State  en- 
debted  to  Dr.  Senter  and  being  satisfied  that  she  could  have 
settled  the  same  and  has  not  done  so — that  the  letter  of  dismissal 
be  detained  until  Dr.  Senter  be  paid. 

Letter  refused  Br.  H.  E.  Mellichamp  until  he  should  make 
satisfactory  settlement  of  his  debts.80 

In  a  small  socially  knit  rural  area,  refusal  of  membership  in 
a  church  was  a  very  potent  factor  for  conformity  to  the  accepted 
folkways  and  mores  of  the  area.  For  a  really  important  function 
of  the  rural  churches  was  their  social  activity.  Not  only  were 
there  the  weekly  or  bi-weekly  services  often  followed  by  dinner 
on  the  ground,  but  also  the  protracted  meeting  and  the  larger 


78  Luther  P.  Jackson,  "Religious  Instruction  of  Negroes,  1830-1860,  With  Special  Reference 
to  South  Carolina,"  Journal  of  Negro  History,  XV    (1930),  107. 

79  Minutes,   Big  Creek  Baptist  Church,  Anderson   County,  II,   July   1,   1854    (typed  copy  in 
South  Caroliniana  Library,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 

80  Minutes,    Sandy    Level    Baptist    Church,    Fairfield    County,    49-50,     (typed    copy    in    South 
Caroliniana  Library,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 


62  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

camp  meetings.  These  affairs  attracted  crowds  from  all  over 
the  counties  and  often  from  neighboring  localities.  The  social 
aspect  of  such  a  gathering  was  important.  One  lady  wrote  to 
have  a  new  bonnet  made  for  her  and  sent  within  two  weeks,  "as 
I  have  none  that  is  decent  to  wear  to  the  campmeeting."81  An- 
other visitor  commented  that  a  meeting  of  this  nature  near 
Newberry  attracted  about  four  thousand  people  and  "a  great 
many  splendid  carriages  were  gathered."  The  scene  was  the 
usual  one  so  often  pictured,  though  here  the  "people  seemed  more 
temperate  in  the  expression  of  their  religious  frenzy."82  Perhaps 
the  owners  of  the  "splendid  carriages"  were  in  the  majority. 

The  protracted  meeting  was  usually  restricted  to  one  church 
with  the  other  local  church  members  invited  to  attend  the  serv- 
ices. The  custom  was  generally  to  hold  two  meetings  a  day  for  a 
week  or  two.  The  preaching  in  the  morning  and  evening  was 
broken  by  "a  social  meeting  and  an  opportunity  offered  for  new 
membership  at  four."83 

Often  among  the  rural  areas  the  pastor  was  apt  to  be  a  circuit 
rider  preaching  every  Sunday  at  a  different  charge,  or  a  local 
farmer  who  was  licensed  to  exhort.  In  more  settled  areas  the 
preacher  would  be  selected  to  reach  the  educational  level  of  the 
congregation,  and  the  more  formal  churches  prided  themselves 
on  having  highly  cultured  ministers. 

It  would  be  scarcely  possible  to  generalize  for  the  whole  popu- 
lation from  a  sampling  such  as  this  excerpt  that  many  of  the 
conditions  described  as  typical  in  1850  are  still  recognizable  at 
the  present  in  the  rural  South.  The  basic  picture  of  the  farm 
population  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  one  of  a 
people  working  to  improve  their  lot  individually  and  to  advance 
the  progress  of  their  state.  They  were  a  folk  largely  of  southern 
stock,  born  in  South  Carolina,  and  wedded  to  the  idea  of  an  agri- 
cultural economy  based  on  slavery.  Perhaps  they  were  not  pro- 
gressive enough  to  realize  the  balance  needed  by  the  state  in 
industrial  and  commercial  development.  But  as  long  as  rice  and 
cotton  culture  were  profitable  it  would  have  been  foolish  to  expect 


81  L.  Townes  to  sister,  July  24,  1841,  Townes  Papers. 

82  C.  Oeland  to  Mrs.  E.  P.  Smith,  August  4,  1848,  Smith  Papers. 

88  Churchbook,  Euhaw  Baptist  Church,  Beaufort,  1831-1870,  September  21,  1849,  84    (typed 
copy,  South  Caroliniana  Library,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia). 


Society  in  Rural  South  Carolina  63 

the  people  to  change  from  a  known  economy  to  one  unknown, 
even  with  Utopian  potentialities. 

The  state  was  improving  and  the  rural  areas  were  prospering 
in  1850.  This  is  attested  by  the  records  in  the  census  for  that 
year.  Since  this  census  material  has  been  of  such  value  to  this 
study  it  is  only  fitting  to  add  the  words  of  the  superintendent, 
J.  D.  B.  De  Bow,  on  the  value  of  such  records : 

Duty  to  coming  generations  requires  that  documents  containing 
so  many  proofs  relating  to  the  history  of  the  present  should  be 
carefully  guarded  from  injury  and  harm.  .  .  .  They  comprise  no 
insignificant  portion  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child  living;  and 
long  after  all  those  whose  names  they  contain  have  passed  from 
the  earth,  will  they  be  appealed  to  as  proof  of  our  having  lived, 
our  place  of  residence,  our  children,  and  our  property.84 

84  The  Seventh  Census:  Report  of  the  Superintendent  for  December  1,  1852    (Robert  Arm- 
strong, Printer,  Washington,  1853),  127. 


THE  FREEDMEN'S  BUREAU  AND  NEGRO  EDUCATION 

IN  VIRGINIA 

By  William  T.  Alderson 

On  March  3,  1865,  little  more  than  a  month  before  Lee's  sur- 
render to  Grant  at  Appomattox,  President  Lincoln  approved  an 
act  of  Congress  to  establish  a  Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen, 
and  Abandoned  Lands.  Better  known  as  the  Freedmen's  Bureau, 
this  agency  was  charged  with  the  supervision  and  management 
of  abandoned  lands  and  "the  control  of  all  subjects  relating  to 
refugees  and  freedmen."  The  President  was  authorized  to  ap- 
point a  Commissioner,  who  was  to  be  responsible  for  the  "man- 
agement and  control"  of  the  Bureau,  and  Assistant  Commission- 
ers, who  were  to  be  assigned  to  the  individual  states  to  administer 
Bureau  affairs.  Major  General  Oliver  Otis  Howard  was  appointed 
Commissioner  on  May  12,  1865,  and  on  his  recommendation 
Captain  Orlando  Brown  was  appointed  Assistant  Commissioner 
for  Virginia.1 

When  Captain  Brown  opened  his  headquarters  at  Richmond  on 
May  31,  1865,  one  of  his  first  responsibilities  was  to  assist  in  the 
establishment  of  a  system  of  education  for  a  mass  of  Negroes 
thirsting  for  the  formal  instruction  which  had  been  denied 
them  during  the  years  of  slavery.2  "The  extraordinary  eagerness 
of  the  freedmen  for  the  advantages  of  schools"3  was  reflected  in 
the  numerous  letters  to  the  Bureau  requesting  teachers,  schools, 
and  books.  Within  two  weeks  after  the  surrender  of  Richmond 
two  teachers  had  gathered  1,075  pupils  in  the  First  African 


1  Oliver  O.  Howard,  Autobiography  of  Oliver  Otis  Howard,  Major  General  United  States 
Army  (2  vols.,  New  York,  1907),  II,  215;  General  Order  91,  War  Department,  Adjutant 
General's  Office,  May  12,  1865,  in  Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen,  and  Abandoned  Lands, 
MSS.,  The  National  Archives,  Washington,  D.  C.  All  manuscript  sources  hereinafter  cited, 
unless  otherwise  noted,  are  from  the  Bureau  records  in  the  Archives.  The  abbreviation 
BRFAL  will  be  used  for  all  orders,  circulars,  and  letters  emanating  from  Virginia,  and 
BRFAL,  Washington,  for  all  orders,  circulars,  and  letters  from  the  headquarters  of  the 
Bureau  in  Washington,  or  from  the  War  Department. 

This  study  is  primarily  based  on  this  extensive  collection  of  Bureau  records,  comprising 
approximately  sixty-four  linear  feet  for  Virginia  alone.  No  exhaustive  survey  of  contem- 
porary newspapers  and  similar  material  has  been  attempted. 

1  wish  to  express  my  appreciation  to  Dr.  Henry  L.  Swint  who  made  available  to  me  much 
of  his  microfilm  of  these  records,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  B.  Drewry,  Miss  Elizabeth  Bethel,  and 
Miss  Sara  Dunlap  of  the  War  Records  Division,  National  Archives,  and  to  Miss  Gladys  Long 
of  Fisk  University  Library,  who  provided  assistance  in  locating  the  materials  used  in  this 
study. 

2  Brown  to  Lt.  Col.  Fullerton,  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  June  1,  1865,  BRFAL;  Circular 
2,  May  19,  1865,  BRFAL,  Washington.  Captain  (later  Colonel  and  Brigadier  General) 
Brown  was  Assistant  Commissioner  for  Virginia  from  May  31,  1865,  to  May  21,  1866,  and 
from  March  21,  1867,  to  April  30,  1869.  General  Alfred  H.  Terry  was  Assistant  Commissioner 
from  May  to  August,  1866,  and  was  followed  by  General  John  M.  Schofield  who  served  until 
March    21,    1867. 

3  Summary  Report  of  Virginia,   Brown  to  Howard,   November   30    [sic],   1865,   BRFAL. 

[64] 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  65 

Church  of  that  city.4  "No  children  of  the  North  look  happier," 
the  American  Missionary  Association  reported,  "and  no  books 
are  dearer  to  a  child's  heart  than  the  little  green-back  primer 
each  one  carries."  Even  adult  Negroes  flocked  to  the  night  schools 
which  had  been  established  in  various  cities  of  the  state.5 

The  desire  of  the  Negro  for  education  was  paralleled  by  the 
desire  among  many  northerners  to  provide  it  for  him.  The 
reforming  zeal  of  the  abolitionists  found  a  new  outlet  in  the 
uplifting  of  the  degraded,  newly-freed  slaves.  The  education  of 
the  freedmen  became  "the  great  work  of  the  day."6  Lyman 
Abbott,  an  industrious  worker  for  Negro  education,  perhaps 
typified  the  thought  of  many  northerners  when  he  wrote  in 
1864:  "We  have  not  only  to  conquer  the  South, — we  have  also 
to  convert  it.  We  have  only  to  occupy  it  by  bayonets  and  bullets, — 
but  also  by  ideas  and  institutions.  We  have  not  only  to  destroy 
slavery, — we  must  also  organize  freedom."7  The  backward  South 
of  slaves,  poor  whites,  and  haughty  aristocrats  must  be  con- 
verted, and  what  better  method  could  be  followed  than  the 
spreading  of  "New-England  ideas  and  New-England  education."8 
Another  large  group  of  northerners  seems  to  have  been  primarily 
motivated  by  religious  zeal,  and  for  this  group  the  school  became 
a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  mission.9  Still  others  were  influenced  by 
humanitarian  interests — a  desire  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  freedmen,  coupled,  perhaps,  with  a  sense  of  moral  responsi- 
bility toward  the  helpless  Negroes  whose  freedom  was  partially 
due  to  their  efforts. 

The  most  important  forces  in  organizing  northern  efforts  for 
Negro  education  and  collecting  the  necessary  funds  for  its  sup- 
port were  the  northern  benevolent  organizations.  These  societies, 
many  of  which  had  been  founded  during  the  abolitionist  crusade 
and  during  the  Civil  War,  attempted  to  relieve  the  wants  and 
protect  the  rights  of  the  freedmen,  and  provide  for  their  educa- 


4  American  Freedman,  I    (May,  1866),  29. 

"American  Missionary,  IX  (June,  1865),  124;  report  of  Reverend  H.  W.  Gilbert,  agent  of 
the  American  Bible  Society,  American  Missionary,  IX  (May,  1865),  103;  letter  of  Miss  J.  W. 
Duncan,  Richmond,  June  9,  1865,  American  Missionary,  IX  (August,  1865),  171.  When 
corroborative  evidence  is  sufficient,  the  full  names  of  teachers  and  Bureau  agents  and  the 
location  of  their  stations  will  be  supplied  if  this   information   is  lacking  in   the  source   itself. 

6  General  Samuel  C.  Armstrong,  quoted  in  Francis  G.  Peabody,  Education  for  Life:  the 
Story  of  Hampton  Institute    (New  York,  1919),  92. 

7  Lyman  Abbott,  "Southern  Evangelization,"  in  New  Englander,  XXIII  (October,  1864), 
701. 

8  Ednah  D.  Cheney  to  Edward  Atkinson,  July  7,  1865,  in  Freedmen' 's  Record,  I  (August, 
1865),   129. 

9  Report  of  the  Freedmen' s  Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (Cincinnati, 
1868),  6. 


66  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

tion;  and  it  was  by  co-operation  with  them  that  the  Bureau 
established  its  schools.  Prominent  among  these  associations  in 
the  work  of  freedmen's  education  in  Virginia  were  the  American 
Missionary  Association,  the  New  York  National  Freedmen's 
Relief  Association,  the  New  England  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  the 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  the  Friends  Freedmen's  Relief 
Association,  and  the  American  Freedmen's  Union  Commission. 
The  American  Missionary  Association  claimed  the  distinction  of 
being  the  first  organization  to  open  a  freedmen's  school,  having 
established  one  near  Fortress  Monroe  shortly  after  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  War.  Other  organizations  had  followed  the  Union 
armies  into  Virginia,  supplying  teachers  and  providing  schools.10 
Assistant  Commissioner  Brown  reported  that  during  the  school 
year  1864-1865  approximately  250  teachers  had  been  employed  in 
the  state11  and  although  this  figure  seems  high  it  at  least  gives 
some  indication  of  the  amount  of  activity  in  Negro  education. 

Until  the  establishment  of  the  Bureau  the  benevolent  organiza- 
tions had  supported  their  own  schools  and  there  had  been  little 
centralized  supervision  of  the  schools  and  teachers.  Thus,  for 
the  sake  of  efficiency  and  to  prevent  duplicated  effort,  it  was  to 
the  advantage  of  the  Bureau  to  co-ordinate  the  activities  of  the 
benevolent  organizations  and  to  formulate  a  uniform  system  of 
Negro  education.  With  this  object  in  mind,  Brown,  on  June  20, 
1865,  appointed  Professor  W.  H.  Woodbury  as  Superintendent  of 
Schools  for  Freedmen.12  Explaining  that  there  were  no  Bureau 
funds  with  which  to  pay  Woodbury's  salary,  the  Assistant  Com- 
missioner expressed  the  hope  that  the  various  benevolent  societies 
of  the  North  would  see  that  he  was  properly  reimbursed  for  his 
services.13  Woodbury  served  for  a  short  period  and  was  then 
replaced  by  Chaplain  Ralza  Morse  Manly  of  the  1st  U.  S.  Colored 
Cavalry,  who  had  been  assigned  to  duty  at  Brown's  headquarters 
on  June  22,  1865.14  Manly  was  eminently  qualified  for  the  posi- 


10  Histories  of  the  Benevolent  Organizations,  Office  of  the  Commissioner,  Educational 
Division,  Synopsis  of  School  Reports,  BRFAL,  Washington.  See  also  A.  D.  Mayo,  "The 
Work  of  Certain  Northern  Churches  in  the  Education  of  the  Freedmen,  1861-1900,"  in 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  for  the  Year  1902   (Washington,  1903),  285-314. 

For  an  indication  of  their  lack  of  sympathy  for  the  destitute  "rebels"  of  the  state,  see 
E.  C.  Estes,  Secretary,  National  Freedmen's  Relief  Association  of  New  York,  to  Manly, 
September  20,  22,  26,  1866,  BRFAL.  Estes,  anxious  to  insure  that  society's  Richmond 
schools  against  loss  due  to  fire,  desired  Manly  to  "get  the  Policy  from  a  Richmond  Company 
so  that  the  loss  would  fall  on  the  citizens  of  Virginia." 

11  Brown  to  Howard,  June  27,  1865,  BRFAL. 
^Special  Order  3,   June  20,   1865,   BRFAL. 

13  Brown  to  Woodbury,  June  20,  1865,  BRFAL. 
"Special  Order  8,  June  22,  1865,  BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  67 

tion.  In  addition  to  his  work  with  Negroes  during  the  war,  he 
also  had  served  as  Principal  of  the  Troy  Conference  Academy  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at  Poultney,  Vermont,  and  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  of  the  same  church,  at 
Northfield,  New  Hampshire.15  "An  unusually  well-balanced  and 
sane  school  official,"16  Manly  displayed  a  better  than  average 
understanding  of  the  whites  of  the  state,  and,  in  line  with  Bureau 
policy,17  worked  diligently  for  a  system  of  free  public  schools  in 
Virginia.  His  record  as  Superintendent  of  Education  for  the 
Bureau  is  a  testimonial  to  the  effectiveness  of  his  leadership. 

When  the  Bureau  was  established  it  had  been  provided  that 
the  abandoned  and  confiscated  lands  might  be  set  apart  "for  the 
use  of  loyal  refugees  and  freedmen,"  and  Bureau  superintendents 
were  authorized  to  requisition  such  lands  as  might  be  necessary 
for  schools  and  quarters  for  teachers.18  Under  this  provision 
ample  lands  and  buildings  would  have  been  available  for  the  sup- 
port of  schools  but  this  design  was  thwarted  by  President 
Johnson's  amnesty  proclamation  of  May  29,  1865.  Under  the 
terms  of  this  proclamation  thousands  of  Confederates  were 
pardoned  by  taking  a  simple  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United 
States.  Once  pardoned,  they  were  entitled  to  the  return  of  lands 
which  they  had  "abandoned' '  and,  as  a  result,  the  vast  acreage 
over  which  the  Bureau  had  expected  to  hold  jurisdiction  shrank 
rapidly  to  those  lands  owned  by  men  not  within  the  provisions 
of  the  proclamation,  plus  those  lands  which  had  belonged  to  the 
Confederate  government  and  were  considered  confiscated  and 
not  returnable.19 

Deprived  of  the  revenues  from  these  lands,  the  Bureau  limited 
its  financial  support  of  Negro  education  to  the  rental  and  repair 
of  school  buildings20  and  the  benevolent  organizations  undertook 
to  pay  the  salaries  of  teachers.  In  order  to  improve  the  distribu- 
tion of  effort  and  to  avoid  a  conflict  of  interests,  each  organiza- 
tion was  invited  to  undertake  educational  work  in  a  specified 


15  Alumni  Record  of  Wesleyan  University,  fourth  edition  (Middletown,  Conn.,  1911),  class 
of  1848,  as  quoted  in  a  letter  from  Ida  M.  Moody,  Secretary  to  Bishop  John  Wesley  Lord, 
in  the  possession  of  the  author. 

16  Henry  L.  Swint,  The  Northern  Teacher  in  the  South,  1862-1870    (Nashville,  1941),  131. 

17  Circular  11,  July  12,  1865,  BRFAL,  Washington. 

18  General  Order  91,  War  Department,  Adjutant  General's  Office,  May  12,  1865,  BRFAL, 
Washington;  Special  Order  14,  July  3,  1865,  BRFAL. 

19  Circular  15,  September  12,  1865,  BRFAL,  Washington,  in  House  Executive  Documents, 
39  Cong.,  1  Sess.,  no.  70   (Serial  1256),  193. 

20  O.  O.  Howard  to  Lyman  Abbott,  August  18,  1865,  in  Pennsylvania  Freedmen's  Bulletin 
and  American  Freedman,  I    (September,  1866),  82. 


68  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

district  of  the  state  and  to  assign  its  own  local  superintendent 
of  schools.  Bureau  agents  sought  to  determine  the  most  favorable 
localities  for  the  establishment  of  schools,  and  were  ordered  to 
submit  reports  on  the  possible  attendance  at  the  schools  and  on 
facilities  available  for  schoolhouses  and  quarters  for  teachers.21 
Assistant  Commissioner  Brown  addressed  the  freedmen  on  their 
new  status  and  responsibilities,  and  urged  them  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  educational  facilities  which  would  be  available  to 
them.  "You  will  remember,"  he  wrote,  "that  in  your  condition 
as  freedmen,  education  is  of  the  highest  importance."22 

Although  a  few  schools  were  in  operation  during  the  summer 
months  most  schools  did  not  open  until  October,  1865.23  Nearly 
one-half  of  the  teachers  and  pupils  in  freedmen's  schools  in  the 
state  were  concentrated  at  four  leading  points:  Norfolk  and 
vicinity,  Fortress  Monroe  and  vicinity,  Petersburg,  and  Rich- 
mond. These  areas  contained  approximately  one-eighth  of  the 
Negro  population  in  the  state.  Richmond,  with  one-twentieth  of 
the  Negro  population,  contained  one-fifth  of  the  total  number  of 
schools.  The  presence  of  the  army  in  these  areas,  Superintendent 
Manly  reported,  rendered  it  easier  to  secure  school  rooms  and 
quarters  for  teachers,  and  assured  more  quiet  and  "lawful"  work. 
Many  schools  were  convened  in  "basement  vestries,  in  audience 
rooms  of  churches — in  rough  barrack  buildings,  or  hospital 
wards,  without  suitable  furniture  and  appliances,  often  with 
from  two  to  six  teachers  and  several  hundred  children  in  the 
same  room."24  Their  poor  material  condition  was  somewhat 
recompensed  by  the  glorified  titles  applied  to  the  schools.  Hamp- 
ton had  one  school  named  for  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler  and 
another  for  Lincoln.  One  of  the  schools  at  Danville  was  known 
as  "The  Manly  Division,"  and  another  at  Alexandria  was  called 
"L'Ouverture  School,"  apparently  for  the  "Black  Napoleon."  A 
teacher  at  Poplar  Grove  even  went  so  far  as  to  give  names  to 
the  various  classes.  The  ABC  class  was  termed  the  "McClellan" 
class;  those  who  were  engaged  in  tablet  reading  with  words  of 
two  or  three  letters  belonged  to  the  "Sheridan"  class ;  beginners 


21  Manly,  report  for  the  year  ending  October  31,   1866,   BRFAL;   General   Order  10,   August 
18,    1865,   BRFAL. 

22  To  the  Freedmen   of  Virginia,   July   1,   1865,   BRFAL. 

23  State  Superintendent's  Monthly  School  Reports,   1865.   BRFAL. 

24  Manly,  report  for  the  year  ending  October  31,   1866,   BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  69 

at  primer  reading  composed  the  "Sherman"  class;  and  "the 
best  readers  glory  in  being  subject  to  'Grant'."25 

The  teachers  who  conducted  these  schools  were,  for  the  most 
part,  natives  of  the  Northeast,  particularly  Massachusetts  and 
New  York.  Motivated  by  humanitarian  and  religious  sentiment 
and  abolitionist  experience,  they  entered  their  work  with  en- 
thusiasm and  zeal,  working  for  what  would  have  been  a  "pittance 
in  the  North,"  and  often  adding  night  schools  and  Sunday  schools 
to  their  regular  duties.26  Bringing  with  them  a  feeling  of  con- 
tempt for  the  whites  and  particularly  for  the  "proud  aristocratic 
F.  F.  Vs.,"27  they  sought,  by  their  actions  and  by  their  teaching, 
to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  freedmen  the  social,  political, 
and  abolitionist  attitudes  of  the  victorious  North.  Coming  into 
conflict  with  the  mores  and  attitudes  of  the  white  Virginians, 
and  probably  flaunting  their  Union  victory  in  the  faces  of  the 
defeated  Confederates,  they  seem  to  have  been  the  most  impor- 
tant cause  of  white  opposition  to  Negro  schools.28 

The  attitude  of  the  whites  toward  the  freedmen's  schools  in 
the  school  year  1865-1866  ranged  from  amused  tolerance  to 
violent  hostility.  The  Charlottesville  Chronicle,  for  example, 
boasted  that  Charlottesville  well  might  claim  to  be  the  literary 
center  of  the  South  on  the  basis  of  the  presence  there  of  the 
University  of  Virginia,  two  female  seminaries,  half  a  dozen 
academies  for  boys,  several  other  select  schools,  and  the  "whole 
colored  population  of  all  sexes  and  ages"  which  repeated  "from 
morning  to  night  a-b — ab,  e-b — eb,  i-b,  ib ;  c-a-t — cat ;  d-o-g — dog ; 
c-u-p — cup ;  etc."  It  facetiously  announced  a  future  evening  edi- 
tion "in  monosyllables,  to  increase  our  circulation — perhaps  a 
pictorial . . .  like  the  primers."29  Many  whites  apparently  doubted 


25  M.  F.  Armstrong  and  Helen  W.  Ludlow,  Hampton  and  Its  Students  (New  York,  1875), 
67;  George  Dixon,  Danville,  to  Manly,  May  21,  1868,  BRFAL;  report  of  Henry  Fish,  Alexan- 
dria, December,  1865,  in  National  Freedman,  I  (December  15,  1865),  353;  letter  of  Miss 
Carrie  E.  Blood,  Poplar  Grove,  April  30,  1866,  in  National  Freedman,  II    (May,  1866),  145. 

26  Swint,  The  Northern  Teacher  in  the  South,  ch.  Ill,  passim,  Appendix  III,  175-200; 
Mayo,  "Churches  in  the  Education  of  the  Freedmen,"  290;  Freedmen's  Record,  I  (May,  1865), 
70.  One  teacher  reported  that  she  and  her  associate  were  giving  "concerts  and  exhibitions" 
to  raise  money  for  their  school;  letter  of  Bessie  L.  Canedy,  Richmond,  February  12,  1868,  in 
Freedmen's  Record,  IV    (March,   1868),  42-43. 

27  Letter  of  J.  S.  Banfield,  Alexandria,  March  31,  1865,  in  Freedmen's  Record,  I  (May, 
1865),  75;  letter  of  W.  S.  Coan,  Richmond,  May  25,  1865,  in  American  Missionary,  IX  (July, 
1865),  156;  S.  K.  Whiting,  Petersburg,  to  Manly,  December  1,   1865,   BRFAL. 

28  Letter  of  Susan  H.  Clark,  Slabtown  (near  Fortress  Monroe),  January,  1867,  in  American 
Missionary,  XI  (March,  1867),  64;  Samuel  Lloyd,  Rappahannock  County,  to  General  John 
M.  Schofield,  July  22,  1867,  BRFAL;  Richmond  Republican  [May  ?,  1865],  quoted  in  National 
Freedman,  I  (June  1,  1865),  162;  L.  A.  Birchett,  Petersburg,  to  Manly,  June  12,  1869, 
BRFAL;  letter  of  Bessie  L.  Canedy,  Richmond,  April  3,  1868,  in  Freedmen's  Record,  IV 
(May,  1868),  79;  Swint,  The  Northern  Teacher  in  the  South,  ch.  IV,  passim. 

29  Charlottesville  Chronicle,  no  date  given,  quoted  in  American  Missionary,  IX  ( November, 
1865),   242. 


70  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  efficacy  of  instructing  the  laboring  population,  particularly 
in  regard  to  some  of  the  subject  matter.  The  Richmond  Times 
of  January  16,  1866,  indicated  this  sentiment: 

White  cravatted  gentlemen  from  Andover,  with  a  nasal  twang, 
and  pretty  Yankee  girls,  with  the  smallest  of  hands  and  feet,  have 
flocked  to  the  South  as  missionary  ground,  and  are  communi- 
cating a  healthy  moral  tone  to  the  'colored  folks/  besides  instruct- 
ing them  in  chemistry,  botany,  and  natural  philosophy,  teaching 
them  to  speak  French,  sing  Italian,  and  walk  Spanish,  so  that  in 
time  we  are  bound  to  have  intelligent,  and,  probably,  intellectual 
labor.30 

During  the  year  eight  schoolhouses  and  churches  were  burned 
and  several  teachers  were  assaulted  or  threatened.31  Available 
evidence  seems  to  indicate  that  the  school  and  church  burnings 
were  primarily  the  result  of  vandalism,  and  General  Howard 
stated  that  they  had  not  involved  "the  better  portion  of  the  com- 
munities/'32 The  seriousness  of  the  assaults  on  teachers  often 
was  magnified  by  the  multiplicity  of  reports  thereon,  and  some 
were  the  result  of  boyish  pranks  rather  than  adult  vandalism.33 
White  opposition  to  freedmen's  schools  usually  was  expressed, 
not  in  assaults,  threats,  or  burnings,  but  by  obstructing  the  ef- 
forts of  the  Bureau  and  benevolent  organizations  to  secure  meet- 
ing places  for  schools  and  quarters  and  board  for  teachers.  The 
teacher  at  Bermuda  Hundred  who  secured  board  with  a  "gal- 
vanized rebel,"  as  he  called  his  landlady,  was  more  fortunate 
than  most,  and  even  in  such  a  case  social  pressure  might  force 
an  eviction.34  One  teacher  reported  that  he  had  been  able  to 
find  accommodations  in  only  two  places  in  three  counties,  and 
one  of  those  was  with  a  Negro  family.35  Particularly  galling  to 
these  northern  teachers  was  the  social  ostracism  to  which  they 
were  subjected.  Often,  in  their  association  with  whites,  they 


30  Richmond  Times,  January  16,  1866,  quoted  in  William  H.  Brown,  The  Education  and 
Economic  Development  of  the  Negro  in  Virginia,  Publications  of  the  University  of  Virginia, 
Phelps-Stokes  Fellowship  Papers,  Number  Six  ([Charlottesville,  1923?]),  43;  see  also  Manly, 
report  for  the  year  ending  October  31,  1866,  BRFAL;  and  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months 
ending  June  30,  1869,  BRFAL. 

81  Manly,  report  for  the  year  ending  October  31,   1866,   BRFAL. 

32  Howard,  Autobiography,  II,  375-76;  Baltimore  Sun,  no  date  given,  quoted  in  National 
Freedman,  I   (May,  1866),  149. 

33  Captain  A.  S.  Flagg,  Norfolk,  to  Brown,  May  18,  1866,  BRFAL:  Major  James  Johnson, 
Fredericksburg,  to  Brown,  February  23,  1866,  BRFAL;  Major  G.  B.  Carse,  Lexington,  to 
W.  Stover  How,  February  26,  and  March  20,  1866,  BRFAL;  W.  Stover  How,  Winchester, 
to  Brown,  March  23,  1866,  BRFAL;  C.  Thurston  Chase,  Warrenton,  to  Brown,  April  2,  6, 
1866,   BRFAL. 

•"^Willard  S.  Allen  to  Manly,  November  11,  1865,  BRFAL;  Jenny  E.  Howard  and  Mary  M. 
Nichols,  Stanardsville,  to  Brown,   June  13,   1866,   BRFAL. 

86  N.  Coleman  to  [Manly?  or  Brown?],  October  5,   1865,  BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  71 

encountered  "the  averted  eye  and  silent  contempt  ...  or  that 
feminine  accomplishment,  peculiar  to  Southern  gentility,  of 
'gathering  up  their  skirts,'  that,  in  passing,  their  dresses  shall 
escape  the  hated  contact."36 

Despite  the  scattered  instances  of  open  violence  and  a  general 
opposition  to  freedmen's  schools  and  their  teachers,  the  school 
program  thrived  and  expanded.  Opening  in  October,  1865,  with 
67  schools,  136  teachers,  and  8,528  pupils,  by  March,  1866,  there 
were  145  schools,  225  teachers,  and  17,589  pupils.  A  report  in 
April  reveals  that  the  American  Missionary  Association  was 
supporting  53  teachers;  the  New  York  National  Freedmen's 
Relief  Association,  36 ;  the  New  England  Freedmen's  Aid  Society, 
20;  the  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  24;  the  True  Friends 
Society  of  Philadelphia,  49 ;  and  the  Episcopal  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 5.  Twenty-nine  teachers  and  1,057  pupils  were  in  self- 
supporting  schools.37 

At  the  close  of  the  school  year  General  Alfred  H.  Terry,  who 
had  succeeded  Brown  as  Assistant  Commissioner,  reported  that 
despite  a  gradual  enlarging  of  the  school  system  there  had  been 
"a  considerable  number  of  earnest  calls  for  teachers  and  books 
for  Freedmen,"  which  could  not  be  met  due  to  the  "lack  of  means 
at  the  control  of  the  benevolent  associations.  .  .  .  No  appreciable 
amount  of  sympathy  or  assistance  from  citizens  is  to  be  looked 
for,"  he  continued. 

Many  of  the  better  class  of  white  citizens  . . .  favour  the  education 
and  elevation  of  the  negro,  while  all  the  religious  conventions 
of  the  state  have  endorsed  the  same  idea — But  the  controling 
[sic']  classes  have  neither  the  disposition  nor  the  ability  to  under- 
take any  part  of  the  practical  work,  beyond  a  very  little  in 
Sunday  Schools.38 

The  lack  of  "disposition"  to  aid  the  education  of  Negroes  was 
ably  explained  by  one  Bureau  agent,  who  wrote : 

On  no  other  subject  are  the  white  citizens  so  sensitive  as  on 
that  of  educating  the  Freedpeople,  although  many  of  the  more 
sagacious  are  ready  to  advocate  it  when  conducted  with  pro- 
priety or,  in  other  words,  without  instilling  bad  manners  and 


36  American  Missionary,  X    (August,  1866),  173. 

37  State  Superintendent's  Monthly   School  Reports,   1865-1866,   BRFAL;   Consolidated  Report 
for  Schools,  April,   1866,   BRFAL. 

35  Terry  to  Howard,  July  13,  1866,  BRFAL. 


72  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

prejudices  against  their  former  owners  into  the  minds  of  the 
Blacks,  or  encouraging  in  them  habits  of  indolence  or  disobedi- 
ence of  lawful  orders — 39 

The  "inconsolable"  grief  of  the  Norfolk  Virginian  over  the 
impending  departure,  in  July,  1866,  of  the  Negro  "school-marms" 
who  had  taken  "shelter,  with  their  brood  of  black-birds,  under 
the  protecting  wings  of  that  all-gobbling,  and  foulest  of  all  fowls, 
the  well  known  buzzard  yclept  Freedmen's  Bureau,"  doubtless 
became  even  more  inconsolable  with  the  passage  by  Congress  of 
a  bill  extending  the  life  of  the  Bureau  for  an  additional  two 
years.  The  return  of  the  "impudent  women"  whose  real  object, 
said  the  Virginian,  "was  to  disorganize  and  demoralize  still  more 
our  peasantry  and  laboring  population,"  was  assured.40 

During  the  summer  months  of  1866  the  Bureau  renewed  its 
efforts  to  improve  the  educational  system.  An  extensive  question- 
naire was  sent  to  superintendents  of  the  various  districts  of  the 
state  requesting  a  report  on  the  probable  number  of  pupils  for 
the  coming  year,  facilities  for  school  rooms  and  teachers'  lodg- 
ings, extent  of  local  aid  to  be  expected,  amount  of  government 
lands  available  for  school  purposes,  and  public  sentiment  toward 
the  Negro  schools.41  New  buildings  were  constructed  and  many 
repairs  were  made  on  old  buildings  to  replace  or  improve  the 
small  and  over-crowded  school  rooms  of  the  previous  year.  It 
was  expected  that  more  than  one-half  of  the  schools  for  the  com- 
ing session  would  occupy  new  or  improved  rooms.42 

Superintendent  Manly  approached  the  new  school  year  with 
confidence.  The  desire  of  freedmen  for  education  showed  no 
decline  and  the  attitude  of  the  whites  had  improved  to  the  extent 
that  they  had  substituted  "toleration,  for  ill-disguised  hostility." 
He  had  been  very  pleased  by  the  frank  acknowledgment  of 
"prominent  citizens"  of  the  "wonderful  results"  that  had  been 
achieved.  The  success  of  the  schools  had  been  "unquestioned  and 
ample,"  and  he  believed  that  no  children  were  more  tractable  to 
discipline  and  few  more  apt  to  learn.  Looking  forward  toward 
his  goal  of  free  public  education  for  all,  and  to  the  time  when  the 


88  J.  W.  Sharp  to  Terry,  July  21,  1866,  BRFAL. 

40  Norfolk  Virginian,  July  2,  1866,  quoted  in  American  Missionary,  X  (August,  1866), 
174;  General  Order  61,  War  Department,  Adjutant  General's  Office,  August  9,  1866,  BRFAL, 
Washington. 

41  Circular  23,   July   18,   1866,   BRFAL. 

42  Manly,  report  for  the  year  ending  October  31,  1866,  BRFAL. 


43  Manly,  report  for  the  year  ending  October  31,  1866,  BRFAL. 

4*  State  Superintendent's  Monthly  School  Reports,  1866-1867,  BRFAL;  Manly,  report  for 
the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1867,  BRFAL.  The  average  total  enrollment  in  the  school 
year  1865-1866  was  13,975,  while  during  1866-1867  it  had  declined  to  13,005. 

45  J.  W.  Alvord,  General  Superintendent  of  Education  of  the  Bureau,  to  Mrs.  Dr.  [?] 
Brown,  March  11,  1867,  BRFAL,  Washington;  Brown  to  Howard,  March  25,   1867,  BRFAL. 

46  Manly,  report,  May  22,  1867,  BRFAL;  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30, 
1867,  BRFAL.  Sixty-three  existed  in  June;  Manly  to  Brown,  June  30,  1867,  BRFAL. 

47  Charles  A.  Raymond,  Inspector  of  Schools,  to  Manly,  July  20,  1866,  BRFAL;  Manly, 
report  for  the  year  ending  October  31,  1866,  BRFAL;  Lyman  Abbott,  General  Secretary, 
American  Freedmen's  Union  Commission,  to  Manly,  August  7,  1866,  BRFAL;  Hannah  E. 
Stevenson,  New  England  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  to  Manly,  August  18,  1866,  BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  73 

benevolent  organizations  would  withdraw  their  support,  he  be- 
lieved that  no  measure  was  of  "more  present  importance  than 
the  establishment  of  one  good  training  school  for  teachers  in 
each  of  the  larger  cities.,,43 

The  schools  began  to  reopen  in  September,  1866,  and  by 
December  192  schools  were  in  operation,  a  new  record.  Although 
the  total  enrollment  for  the  period  from  October,  1866,  to  June, 
1867,  was  lower  than  during  the  previous  year  the  average  daily 
attendance  was  higher.  The  schools  had  shown  great  improve- 
ment, Manly  reported.  Approximately  8,000  students  had  learned 
the  alphabet  and  passed  through  the  primer  by  June,  1867.  About 
10,000  were  now  studying  geography,  arithmetic,  reading,  and 
writing,  and  some  had  advanced  to  the  study  of  United  States 
history,  grammar,  physiology,  algebra,  and  Latin!44  Although 
the  Bureau  now  could  construct  as  well  as  rent  and  repair  school- 
houses,  applications  for  assistance  far  outran  the  ability  of  the 
benevolent  organizations  to  supply  teachers.45  Consequently 
many  private  schools  were  established  in  the  state,  particularly 
in  rural  districts.  Manly  considered  these  rural  schools  only 
better  than  none  at  all  and  the  city  schools  "worse  than  none" 
because  of  the  inadequate  education  of  the  teachers,  most  of 
whom  were  freedmen.46 

The  importance  of  establishing  teacher-training  institutions 
was  clearly  recognized  by  the  Bureau  and  the  benevolent  organi- 
zations.47 The  hiring  of  Negro  teachers  would  permit  the  pene- 
tration of  freedmen's  schools  into  localities  where  white  teachers 
were  unable  to  obtain  board,  provide  schools  under  qualified 
teachers  to  replace  the  inadequate  private  schools,  and  provide 
a  nucleus  of  teachers  to  instruct  freedmen  when  the  Bureau  and 
the  benevolent  organizations  withdrew  from  the  state.  Progress 
in  this  direction  was  slow  but  by  June  Manly  reported  that  he 
was  preparing  to  establish  high  schools,  each  with  a  normal  de- 


74  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

partment,  in  Richmond,  Petersburg,  Norfolk,  Hampton,  Alex- 
andria, and  Danville.48 

The  attitude  of  whites  of  the  state  toward  Negro  education 
seems  to  have  improved  during  the  school  year  1866-1867.  "A 
better  state  of  public  feeling  toward  the  schools,  prevails,"  Manly 
reported,  "and  the  improvement  is  believed  to  be  permanent  and 
reliable.  This  is  conclusively  indicated  by  the  fact,  that  many 
white  citizens  of  Virginia,  both  male  and  female,  have  recently 
sought  positions  as  teachers  of  freedmen  under  the  Bureau."  It 
was  "almost  universally  conceded  among  intelligent  citizens" 
that  it  was  necessary  to  educate  the  Negro  in  view  of  his  new  re- 
lation to  the  state.  Some  planters  were  building  schoolhouses  for 
them  and  "some  ladies  of  refinement"  were  "giving  them  gra- 
tuitous lessons."  Newspapers  of  the  state  were  generally  "sym- 
pathetic" toward  freedmen's  schools  and  not  only  treated  them 
with  a  "fair  measure  of  courtesy,"  but  "sometimes  offered  words 
of  commendation  and  encouragement."49  Social  ostracism  of 
teachers  and  refusal  to  board  them  or  rent  school  buildings  still 
prevailed,  but  these  actions  seem  to  have  reflected  opposition  to 
the  teachers  rather  than  opposition  to  Negro  education  per  se.m 

October,  1867,  ushered  in  one  of  the  most  significant  years  of 
Freedmen's  Bureau  activity  in  the  field  of  education  in  Virginia. 
The  number  of  schools,  teachers,  and  enrolled  pupils  reached  new 
highs  of  269,  353,  and  16,403,  respectively,  and  the  average 
monthly  cost  of  freedmen's  education  was  greatly  increased. 
Benevolent  organizations  again  bore  the  bulk  of  the  expense  of 
maintaining  the  freedmen's  schools.  Out  of  a  total  cost  for  the 
year  of  $132,399,  charity  supplied  $78,766  and  the  Bureau 
$42,844.  The  freedmen  contributed  $10,789  and,  in  May,  wholly 
sustained  seventy-two  schools.  The  teachers,  many  of  whom  were 
Negroes  who  had  progressed  far  enough  in  their  own  education 
to  enable  them  to  teach  other  members  of  their  race,  were,  said 
Manly,  more  experienced  and  more  carefully  selected.  Better 


48  James  M.  Stradling  to  Manly,  June  18,  1867,  BRFAL;  Manly  to  Brown,  June  30,  1867, 
BRFAL;  Manly,   report  for  the  six  months  ending  June   30,   1867,   BRFAL. 

4n  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1867,  BRFAL;  Report  of  Operations, 
April,   1867,   Brown  to  Howard,   BRFAL. 

50  Letter  of  Anna  Gardner,  Charlottesville,  October  1,  1866,  in  Freedmen' s  Record,  II 
(November,  1866),  201;  letter  of  John  W.  Pratt,  Orange  Court  House,  January  2,  1867,  in 
Freedmen's  Record,  III  (February,  1867),  26;  letter  signed  P.  C.  [Philena  Carkin?],  Char- 
lottesville, February  9,  1867,  in  Freedmen's  Record,  III  (March,  1867),  43;  letter  of  G.  H. 
Morse,  Warrenton,  January  28,  1867,  in  Freedmen's  Record,  III  (March,  1867),  38;  John  W. 
Pratt,  Orange  Court  House,  to  Manly,  October  29,  1866,  BRFAL;  Benjamin  P.  Chute, 
Superintendent   of   Schools,   7th   District,   to   Manly,   November   14,    1866,    BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  75 

school  buildings  were  available,  including  many  new  ones,  al- 
though almost  one-half  were  without  desks  and  many,  especially 
those  owned  by  the  freedmen,  were  cheap  log  structures.  At- 
tendance was  "more  uniform  and  classification  and  grading  of 
the  Schools  more  complete."51 

The  desire  of  freedmen  to  acquire  an  education  continued  un- 
abated. The  total  capacity  of  all  school  buildings  in  April,  1868, 
was  15,060,  and  not  only  were  they  entirely  filled  but  10,000 
primers  were  distributed  by  the  Bureau  in  those  areas  where 
schools  were  not  available.  Manly  noted  many  cases  of  "remark- 
able sacrifice  to  secure  the  benefit  of  the  Schools,"  students  often 
walking  long  distances  in  all  but  the  foulest  weather  to  reach 
the  schoolhouse.  He  had  been  greatly  impressed  by  the  examina- 
tions he  had  been  able  to  hear,  and  believed  that  not  less  than 
50,000  freedmen  had  learned  to  read.  "Christian  charity  and 
Government  Aid,"  he  wrote,  had  never  been  "more  wisely  or 
profitably  expended"  than  in  this  educational  work.52 

Although  353  teachers  were  in  the  field  by  April,  1868,  the 
demand  for  them  far  outreached  the  supply.  Manly  estimated 
that  2,000  teachers  would  be  required  to  provide  sufficient  edu- 
cational facilities  for  instruction  of  children  in  rural  areas,  and 
three-fourths  of  these  would  have  to  be  Negroes  because  of  the 
difficulty  of  procuring  board  and  lodgings  for  white  teachers  and 
because  of  limitations  on  the  financial  support  from  the  Bureau 
and  benevolent  organizations.  The  critical  need  for  teachers' 
training  schools  for  Negroes  was  partially  met  during  the  school 
year  1867-1868  by  the  founding  of  Richmond  Normal  and  High 
School  and  Hampton  Institute.  The  former  opened  in  October, 
1867,  with  two  teachers  and  sixty-five  pupils,  and  was  described 
by  Manly  as 

well  constructed,  well  provided  with  the  best  modern  school 
furniture,  and  supplied  with  all  necessary  educational  appli- 
ances— philosophical  apparatus,  maps,  charts,  globes,  books  of 
reference,  [and]  a  new  and  well  selected  miscellaneous  library, 
with  some  historical  pictures  and  other  works  of  art  to  add  to  the 
attractiveness  of  the  rooms. 


51  Educational  Division  Synopsis  of  School  Reports,  November,  1867,  to  June,  1868, 
BRFAL;  State  Superintendent's  Monthly  School  Reports,  1866-1868,  BRFAL;  Reports  of 
Operations,  1866-1868,  Assistant  Commissioners  to  Howard,  BRFAL;  Manly,  report,  April  15, 
1868,   BRFAL. 

52  Manly,  report,  April  15,  1868,  BRFAL;  Educational  Division  Synopsis,  November,  1867, 
to  June,  1868,  BRFAL. 


76  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  methods  of  instruction  and  course  of  study  were  those  "com- 
mon to  the  best  Normal  Schools.' '  Manly  believed  that  this  school 
was  extremely  useful  not  only  for  "instruction  and  discipline"  of 
its  pupils,  but  also  "for  its  effect  upon  the  community,  in  elevat- 
ing the  aspirations  of  the  colored  youth  of  the  city,  and  in  con- 
quering some  prejudices  among  the  white  citizens."53 

The  Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute  at  Hampton  went  into 
operation  on  April  1,  1868,  under  the  auspices  of  the  American 
Missionary  Association.  Its  purposes,  as  stated  by  its  founder, 
Samuel  Chapman  Armstrong,  a  Sub-Assistant-Commissioner  of 
the  Bureau,  were 

to  train  selected  Negro  youths  who  should  go  out  and  teach  and 
lead  their  people,  first  by  example,  by  getting  land  and  homes; 
to  give  them  not  a  dollar  that  they  could  earn  for  themselves; 
to  teach  respect  for  labor,  to  replace  stupid  drudgery  with 
skilled  hands,  and  to  those  ends  to  build  up  an  industrial  system 
for  the  sake  not  only  of  self-support  and  intelligent  labor,  but 
also  for  the  sake  of  character. 

Under  Armstrong's  plan,  the  students  studied  four  days  per 
week,  and  worked  two  days  for  the  school  at  a  rate  of  eight  cents 
per  hour.  The  pay  for  their  labor  was  credited  toward  their 
books,  while  the  tuition  of  seventy  dollars  per  year  was  borne  by 
the  school.  By  removing  the  pupils  from  "their  old  world  of 
semi-heathenism"  and  making  each  a  "responsible  member  of  a 
well  ordered  Christian  home,"  Manly  felt  that  it  would  train 
them  in  better  habits  and  more  refined  tastes,  and  would  make 
them  better  citizens.54  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  long  active  in 
southern  education,  felt  that  Armstrong,  because  of  this  school, 
stood  "next  to  Lincoln  in  effective  work  for  the  negro."  His  work, 
said  Hayes,  "hits  the  nail  on  the  head.  It  solves  the  whole  negro 
problem."55 

In  describing  the  attitude  of  Virginia's  citizens  toward  freed- 
men's  schools  in  March,  1868,  Manly  wrote :  "To  the  whites  the 
Schools  are  medicine,  to  the  blacks  a  cordial."56  The  improvement 


53  Educational  Division  Synopsis,  November,  1867,  to  June,  1868,  BRFAL;  Manly,  Secretary, 
Richmond  Educational  Association,  to  J.  W.  Alvord,  General  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  the 
Bureau,   July   22,    1869,    BRFAL. 

5i  Edith  Armstrong  Talbot,  Samuel  Chapman  Armstrong,  A  Biographical  Study  (New 
York,  1904),  157,  167;  Educational  Division  Synopsis,  November,  1867,  to  June,  1868,  BRFAL. 

55  Hayes  to  E.  E.  Hale,  January  5,  1892,  in  Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes,  Diary  and  Letters 
of  Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes,  ed.  by  Charles  R.  Williams  (5  vols.  Ohio  State  Archaeological 
and   Historical   Society,    1926),   V,   46-47. 

r,°  State  Superintendent's  Monthly  School  Report,  March,   1868,   BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  77 

in  public  opinion  toward  Negro  education  during  the  previous 
school  year  had  been  more  than  counteracted  by  the  political 
campaign  of  the  summer  and  autumn  months  of  1867  to  elect 
delegates  to  a  constitutional  convention,  in  compliance  with  the 
reconstruction  acts  of  March  2  and  23,  1867,  and  the  meeting  of 
the  convention  itself  from  December  3,  1867,  to  April  17,  1868. 
This  convention  inserted  into  the  proposed  constitution  an  able 
provision  for  a  system  of  free  public  schools ;  and  a  vigorous  but 
unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  educate  whites  and  Negroes 
together  in  the  same  schools.  Civil  equality  was  guaranteed  to 
both  races.  Men  who  had  taken  oaths  as  congressmen,  officers  of 
the  United  States,  members  of  any  state  legislature,  or  executive 
or  judicial  officers  of  any  state  and  had  engaged  in  the  rebellion 
or  given  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy  were  disfranchised,  and 
all  persons  before  entering  upon  office  were  required  to  take 
the  "iron-clad"  oath.57 

In  light  of  the  revolutionary  and  discriminatory  provisions 
of  the  proposed  constitution  it  is  not  surprising  that  nine-tenths 
of  the  white  population  were,  as  Manly  put  it,  "thoroughly  or- 
ganized, politically,  against  Negro  suffrage  and  political  equal- 
ity," and  that  this  same  movement  tended  "strongly  against  all 
attempts  to  improve  and  elevate  the  freedmen."58  Opposition  to 
freedmen's  schools  increased  noticeably,  probably  because  of  the 
activities  of  many  teachers  who,  while  motivated  by  religious  and 
humanitarian  enthusiasm  to  educate  the  Negro,  felt  that  their 
instruction  should  teach  the  Negro  "to  recognize  his  friends,  to 
support  with  his  ballot  the  party  of  his  friends,  and  to  assume 
his  place  as  the  social  and  political  equal  of  the  Southern  white 
man."59  Since  the  ballot  and  spelling  book  "must  go  hand  in 
hand,"60  retaliation  was  inevitable.  Some  whites,  apparently 
realizing  the  political  influence  of  freedmen's  schools,  undertook 
to  provide  education  for  their  laborers.  Others  caused  schools  to 
be  ejected  from  buildings  in  which  they  had  been  meeting. 
Retaliation  of  a  more  violent  nature  manifested  itself  in  Ku 
Klux  Klan  activity  and  other  outrages.  While  the  Klan  seems 


57  For  a  discussion  of  this  campaign  and  convention  see  Hamilton  J.  Eckenrode,  The 
Political  History  of  Virginia  During  the  Reconstruction,  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies 
in  Historical  and  Political  Science,  Series  XXII,  nos.  6-7-8    (Baltimore,   1904),   chs.  V,   VI. 

58  Manly  to  Brown,   February  20,   1868,   BRFAL. 

59  Swint,  The  Northern  Teacher  in  the  South,  82-83;  see  also  George  E.  Stephens,  a  Union 
League  canvasser,  to  Manly,  October  24,   1867,   BRFAL. 

60  Speech  of  J.  M.  McKim,  Corresponding  Secretary,  Northwest  Branch  American  Freed- 
men's Union  Commission,  in  American  Freedman,  I   (March,  1867),  181. 


78  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

primarily  to  have  been  interested  in  coercing  the  Negro  with 
respect  to  suffrage,  several  schoolhouses  were  broken  into  and 
several  teachers  were  assaulted.61 

Manly  saw  the  solution  to  the  problem  when,  in  April,  1868,  he 
wrote:  "With  both  classes  [aristocracy  and  poor  whites]  move- 
ments for  the  education  of  the  blacks  would  be  received  with 
comparent  [?]  complacency  if  Southern  white  teachers, — the 
Widows,  Wives  and  Daughters  of  confederate  [sic]  soldiers,  were 
exclusively  employed."  Even  had  Manly  desired  exclusively  to 
employ  native  Virginians  as  teachers  he  probably  could  not  have 
done  so.  The  state  was  unable  to  supply  funds  for  teachers' 
wages  and  was  not  expected  to  be  able  to  do  so  until  at  least 
1869.62  It  is  improbable  that  the  Bureau,  controlled  as  it  was  by 
the  Radical  Congress,  would  have  consented  to  such  a  policy, 
even  if  it  had  possessed  the  necessary  funds,  since  the  present 
teachers  were  an  invaluable  force  for  organizing  the  Negro 
vote  in  favor  of  the  party  in  power.63  Furthermore,  Manly  was 
largely  dependent  upon  northern  benevolent  organizations  for 
financial  support  of  his  school  system,  and  it  is  highly  improb- 
able that  these  organizations,  many  of  which  had  been  founded 
in  the  interests  of  abolition  and  had  fought  first  the  southern 
"slaveocracy"  and  then  the  southern  "rebels,"  would  have  con- 
sented to  furnishing  financial  support  for  southern  teachers  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  Yankee  "school-marms." 

One  apparent  solution  of  the  problem  of  antipathy  toward 
freedmen's  education  was  a  state  public  school  system  for  both 
whites  and  Negroes,  such  as  that  provided  for  in  the  proposed 
constitution.  That  constitution  had  not  yet  been  adopted,  but  the 
Bureau  sought,  by  its  work  in  individual  cities,  to  facilitate  the 
establishment  of  the  proposed  state  system.  It  made  an  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  to  organize  a  public  school  system  in  Richmond, 
and  in  other  cities  it  attempted  to  set  up  such  a  systematic  or- 


61  American  Missionary,  XI  (November,  1867),  245;  Matthew  W.  Jackson,  Charlotte  Court 
House,  to  [Manly?],  October  26,  1867,  BRFAL;  James  Johnson,  Fredericksburg,  to  Terry, 
August  8,  1866,  BRFAL;  Sanford  M.  Dodge  to  Howard,  December  10,  1867,  BRFAL;  Edgar 
Allan  to  Howard,  December  10,  1867,  BRFAL;  S.  P.  Lee,  Alexandria,  to  Brown,  April  10,  1868, 
BRFAL;  Charles  W.  McMahon,  Appomattox  Court  House,  to  Captain  J.  F.  Wilson,  April  30, 
and  May  4,  1868,  BRFAL;  Report  of  Operations,  April,  1868,  Brown  to  Howard,  BRFAL; 
Report  of  Outrages,  Warrenton,  April,  1868,  BRFAL;  J.  N.  Murdock,  Willville,  to  Manly, 
January  14,'  1867,  BRFAL.  The  latter  appears  to  be  incorrectly  dated,  and  should  read 
January   14,    1868. 

62  Manly,  report,  April  15,   1868,  BRFAL. 

63  See  Richard  L.  Morton,  The  Negro  in  Virginia  Politics,  1865-1902,  Publications  of  the 
University  of  Virginia,  Phelps-Stokes  Fellowship  Papers,  Number  Four  (Charlottesville, 
1919),    31,   for   an    opinion    on   the   political   character   of   the    Bureau. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  79 

ganization  of  schools  as  could,  with  little  change,  be  taken  over 
by  state  and  municipal  authorities  when  they  became  sufficiently 
able  to  assume  such  responsibility.  This  was  most  satisfactorily 
accomplished  in  Alexandria,  Norfolk,  Hampton,  Petersburg, 
and  Richmond,  each  of  which  contained  primary,  intermediate, 
and  high  or  normal  schools.64 

With  a  presidential  election  in  the  fall  and  the  election  on  the 
proposed  constitution  tentatively  scheduled  for  August,  though 
subsequently  postponed,  the  summer  and  autumn  months  of 
1868  witnessed  intensive  campaigning.65  A  number  of  Negro 
schools  and  teachers  of  freedmen  felt  the  wrath  of  the  aroused 
tempers  of  the  whites.  Several  schools  were  burned  and  a  teach- 
er at  Bacon's  Castle  not  only  was  beaten  "unmercifully"  by  four 
whites  but  his  house  was  burned.66  It  seems  probable  that  this 
violence  was  occasioned  by  the  political  activity  of  teachers, 
many  of  whom  were  supported  by  various  benevolent  organiza- 
tions which  expressed  their  approval  of  and  desire  for  the 
political  education  of  the  Negro.67  Miss  Anna  Gardner,  in  Char- 
lottesville, readily  admitted  the  dual  purpose  of  her  teaching. 
James  C.  Southall,  editor  of  the  Charlottesville  Chronicle,  wrote 
her:  "The  idea  prevails,  that  you  instruct  them  [the  students] 
in  politics  and  sociology ;  that  you  come  among  us  not  merely  as 
an  ordinary  school  teacher,  but  as  a  political  missionary;  that 
you  communicate  to  the  colored  people  ideas  of  social  equality 
with  the  whites."  Miss  Gardner  replied,  "I  teach  in  school  and 
out,  so  far  as  my  influence  extends,  the  fundamental  principles 
of  'Politics'  and  'sociology'  viz: — 'Whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  you  even  so  unto  them.'  Yours  in  behalf 
of  truth  and  justice."68  The  constitution  with  its  drastic  dis- 
franchisement and  "test-oath"  clauses  naturally  was  repugnant 
to  most  whites.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  efforts  to 
prevent  its  ratification  would  include  attempts  to  intimidate  such 
people  as  Miss  Gardner  who  were  influencing  the  tractable 
Negroes  to  vote  for  it. 


64  Brown  to  Howard,  June  18,  1868,  BRFAL;  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending 
June  30,  1869,  BRFAL;  Educational  Division  Synopsis,  November,  1867,  to  June,  1868, 
BRFAL. 

65Eckenrode,  Virginia  During  the  Reconstruction,  106-109.  The  election  on  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution  was  postponed  until  July  6,  1869;  Eckenrode,  Virginia  During  the  Recon- 
struction,  125. 

66  Report  of  Outrages,  Bacon's  Castle,  October,  1868,  P.  H.  McLaughlin  to  Brown,  BRFAL; 
William  P.  Austin,  Wytheville,  to  Brown,  July  22,  1868,  BRFAL;  Brown  to  P.  H.  McLaughlin, 
December   7,   1868.   BRFAL. 

67  Swint,  The  Northern  Teacher  in  the  South,  82-85. 

68  Swint,  The  Northern  Teacher  in  the  South,  82-85;  see  also  chapter  IV,  passim. 


80  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

During  the  new  school  year  the  benevolent  organizations  ex- 
tended their  policy,  begun  during  the  previous  year,  of  requiring 
freedmen  to  aid  in  supporting  their  schools.  In  many  places  they 
required  the  Negroes  to  contribute  ten  to  fifty  cents  per  month 
which,  though  not  always  willingly  paid,  tended  to  "eliminate 
the  worthless  material,  to  improve  the  average  attendance  and 
punctuality,  to  increase  the  interest  both  of  pupil  and  parent, 
and  to  develop  in  them  a  legitimate  feeling  of  self-respect,  in 
place  of  the  debasing  sense  of  entire  dependence.' '  Full  charity, 
in  Manly's  opinion,  was  "a  false  pernicious  lesson,  which,  must 
some  day,  be  most  painfully  unlearned."69 

Many  rural  schools  drew  all  or  most  of  their  financial  support 
from  freedmen  alone.  By  June,  1869,  the  freedmen  owned  121 
schools,  an  increase  of  fifty  oyer  the  previous  year ;  and  they  were 
contributing  $19,000  toward  support  of  the  school  system.  The 
Peabody  Fund  also  supplied  needed  assistance,  furnishing  $4,000 
during  the  school  year  1868-1869.  This  was  disbursed  to  seventy 
schools  not  otherwise  adequately  provided  for,  to  supplement 
what  the  freedmen  were  doing  themselves.  The  Bureau  and 
northern  benevolent  organizations,  of  course,  continued  to  pro- 
vide most  of  the  support  for  the  schools.70 

With  freedmen  assuming  a  greater  share  of  the  expense  of  the 
school  system,  it  was  possible  to  divert  some  funds  of  benevolent 
organizations  into  the  establishment  of  new  schools  in  rural 
areas.  In  December,  1868,  Manly  reported  that  at  the  present 
rate  of  progress  schools  soon  would  be  in  operation  in  nearly 
every  county  of  the  state.  Much  of  this  expansion  into  rural  dis- 
tricts was  due  to  the  diffusion  of  Negro  teachers  "fresh  from 
the  schools"  into  these  areas.  Though  they  lacked  experience,  this 
hindrance  was  more  than  offset  by  the  "wonderful  zeal  of  the 
people  and  the  pupils."  Each  school  gathered  "the  brightest 
children  from  a  territory  equal  to  two  or  three  New  England 
townships,"  many  children  setting  out  from  home  without  break- 
fast on  their  long  journey  to  school.71 


09  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,   1868,   BRFAL. 

70  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1868,  BRFAL;  Manly,  report  for 
the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1869,  BRFAL.  The  Peabody  Fund  was  established  by  a  gift 
of  $2,000,000  made  by  George  Peabody  for  the  "promotion  and  encouragement  of 
intellectual,  moral,  or  industrial  education  among  the  young  of  the  more  destitute  portions 
of  the  South."  It  was  distributed  among  these  schools  by  giving  the  teacher  twenty-five  cents 
per  month  for  each  pupil  of  average  attendance;  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending 
December  31,  1868,  BRFAL. 

71  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1868,  BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  81 

The  Freedmen's  Bureau,  with  the  exception  of  its  offices  for 
payment  of  bounties  and  pensions,  and  its  educational  depart- 
ment, which  was  to  continue  in  operation  until  the  state  made 
"suitable  provision  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  freed- 
men," was  withdrawn  from  the  state  on  January  1,  1869.72  This 
action  seems  to  have  had  little  effect  upon  the  educational  de- 
partment except  for  an  administrative  reorganization.  General 
Brown  replaced  Manly  as  Superintendent  of  Education  but  was 
mustered  out  on  April  30,  1869,  and  Manly  resumed  his  position. 
The  state  was  divided  into  Educational  Sub-Districts  but  these 
too  were  soon  discontinued.  The  only  permanent  change  of  any 
consequence  was  that  teachers,  instead  of  sending  their  reports 
to  local  agents,  now  sent  them  direct  to  Manly.73 

Despite  the  diminished  resources  of  the  benevolent  organi- 
zations the  aggregate  number  of  schools,  teachers,  and  pupils, 
and  the  average  daily  attendance  in  the  school  year  1868-1869 
reached  new  highs.  The  year  showed  an  increase  of  sixty  schools, 
forty-seven  teachers,  and  six  hundred  pupils.  A  still  more 
gratifying  fact  was  the  increase  in  average  attendance,  which 
was  80  per  cent  of  the  total  enrollment,  as  compared  to  72  per 
cent  during  the  previous  year.  Manly  attributed  these  increases 
to  "a  true  professional  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  teachers,"  a  "lively 
interest"  and  growing  "spirit  of  self-help  among  the  freedmen," 
and  increased  financial  assistance  from  the  Bureau.  During  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1869,  benevolent  organizations  had  supplied 
approximately  $60,000  as  compared  to  $78,766  during  the  pre- 
vious year.  The  freedmen,  however,  had  contributed  $19,000,  an 
increase  of  more  than  $8,000  over  1867-1868,  while  the  Bureau 
appropriation  had  increased  by  nearly  the  same  amount  to  $50,- 
000.  With  the  addition  of  $4,000  from  the  Peabody  Fund  and 
$2,200  from  miscellaneous  sources,  the  total  amount  spent 
annually  on  f reedmen's  education  in  Virginia  had  increased  from 
$132,399  to  approximately  $135,200.74 


72  Special  Order  165,  December  30,  1868,  BRFAL;  see  also  Circular  6,  July  17,  1868,  BRFAL, 
Washington;  Circular  10,  November  17,  1868,  BRFAL,  Washington;  Act  of  July  6,  1868,  in 
U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  Public  Laws  .  .  .  Second  Session  of  the  Fortieth  Congress, 
1867-1868,  83. 

73  War  Department  to  Brown,  April  1,  1869,  BRFAL,  Washington;  Manly  to  Howard, 
May  1,  1869,  BRFAL:  Circular  33,  December  30,  1868,  BRFAL;  Circular  1,  January  1,  1869, 
BRFAL;  Circular  2,  March  9,  1869,  BRFAL;  Circular  3,  March  19,  1868,  BRFAL.  The  latter 
is  incorrectly  dated  and  should  have  read  March   19,   1869. 

74  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1869,  BRFAL;  Educational  Division 
Synopsis,  November,  1867,  to  June,  1868,  BRFAL. 


82  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Many  local  school  systems  received  special  praise  from  Manly. 
In  Richmond  the  schools  were  of  "unusual  excellence,"  the  best 
teachers  of  former  years  having  been  retained,  and  the  less 
successful  replaced  by  "those  of  better  skill  or  greater  devotion." 
As  a  result,  these  schools  secured  "unqualified  public  approval," 
according  to  Manly.  "The  opposition  which  formerly  existed,  and 
which  found  expression  in  violence  to  the  school  houses,  insults 
to  the  teachers,  and  ribald  jests  in  the  News  paper  press,"  had, 
said  the  Superintendent,  "entirely  disappeared."  Because  of  their 
uniformly  high  character  the  schools  for  loyal  whites  conducted 
by  the  Soldiers  Memorial  Society  of  Boston  had  also  done  much 
to  reconcile  the  people  of  Richmond  to  the  introduction  of  the 
public  school  system.  The  schools  at  Lynchburg,  Hampton,  Dan- 
ville, Charlottesville,  and  Alexandria,  each  of  which  had  normal 
schools,  were  also  very  successful,  their  normal  schools  being 
especially  valuable  as  a  source  for  future  teachers.75 

Although  the  people  of  Richmond  gave  "unqualified  public  ap- 
proval" to  the  public  schools,  the  people  of  the  state  apparently 
were  not  as  enthusiastic.  Obstacles  to  the  education  of  f reedmen 
were  "undoubtedly  diminishing"  but  Manly  felt  that  there  was 
not  another  southern  state  in  which  the  ruling  class  had  such  a 
poor  opinion,  "not  only  of  public  free  schools  as  a  means  of  edu- 
cation, but  of  education  itself,  for  the  masses."  To  support  this 
opinion  he  quoted  a  "learned  Virginia  Judge"  as  saying:  "You 
Northern  people  have  gone  as  mad  as  'March  hares'  on  the  sub- 
ject of  education.  What  does  the  laboring  class  want  of  knowl- 
edge? Give  them  meal  and  bacon  to  make  more  muscle,  and,  we'll 
direct  the  muscle."76  Despite  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  some 
individuals,  a  considerable  number  of  native  whites,  "generally 
women  in  reduced  circumstances,  or  broken  down  School  Mas- 
ters," opened  schools  for  freedmen.  Most,  said  Manly,  were 
forced  to  humble  themselves  to  earn  the  bare  necessities  of  life 
and  though,  as  teachers,  they  were  not  the  best,  they  were  better 
than  none.77 

The  constitution  which  had  been  drawn  up  by  the  state  con- 
vention in  1868  was  finally  submitted  to  a  vote  on  July  6,  1869, 
with  a  provision  for  a  separate  vote  on  the  disfranchisement  and 


75  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,   1869,   BRFAL. 

76  Manly,   report  for  the  six   months   ending   June   30,    1869,   BRFAL. 

77  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,   1869,   BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  83 

"test-oath"  clauses.  These  two  clauses  were  defeated  and  the 
constitution  with  its  provision  for  a  system  of  free  public  schools 
was  adopted.78  This  was  a  source  of  great  personal  satisfaction 
to  Manly  who  long  had  advocated  free  public  schools  and  had 
sought  to  organize  the  Bureau  schools  in  such  a  way  that  they 
easily  could  become  part  of  the  system.  "The  new  Constitution," 
he  wrote, 

with  its  public  free  school  system  which  has  been  standing  on 
the  table  of  the  sick  man  for  fifteen  months, — a  nauseous  but 
wholesome  draught — has  just  been  swallowed,  not  willingly,  it 
is  true,  but  angrily  and  ruefully.  The  patient's  dislike  for  the 
medecine  [sic']  and  hate  for  the  doctor  that  compounded  it,  may 
retard  and  somewhat  modify  the  effect  of  the  dose,  but  cannot 
destroy  it. — Ample  provision  is  made  in  that  instrument  for  the 
gradual  introduction  and  permanent  support  of  a  comprehensive 
system  of  public  free  schools.  The  wealthy  and  aristocratic  will 
oppose  and  retard  the  movement,  but  it  will  certainly  go  forward 
until  the  free  school  shall  be  as  common,  as  excellent,  and  as 
honored,  as  before  the  war,  it  was  scarce  and  contemptible.79 

Evidence  was  already  available  to  indicate  a  future  support 
of  the  public  school  system,  particularly  in  the  cities.  Petersburg 
had  finished  its  first  year  of  trial  of  the  system,  and  the  city, 
in  Manly's  opinion,  was  "happy  with  the  success  of  the  experi- 
ment." Its  teachers,  most  of  whom  were  native  Virginians,  had 
taught  an  enrollment  of  over  2,000  children,  of  whom  more  than 
half  were  Negroes.  Norfolk,  which  for  some  years  had  sustained 
public  schools  for  white  children,  now  made  an  appropriation  to 
the  American  Missionary  Association  to  assist  in  the  support  of 
Negro  schools.  Winchester  had  pledged  itself  to  the  support  of 
"public  schools  for  all."  Richmond,  in  which  an  attempt  to  estab- 
lish free  schools  had  failed  during  the  previous  year,  had  just 
passed  an  ordinance  providing  for  such  a  system,  appropriated 
money  for  its  support,  and  selected  a  Board  of  Education  whose 
members,  Manly  believed,  would  "exert  themselves  to  make  it  a 
success."  This  board,  in  co-operation  with  the  Bureau,  the  chari- 
table organizations,  and  the  Peabody  Fund,  was  expected  to 
provide  for  5,000  pupils  during  the  first  year,  at  a  total  expense 
to  all  parties  of  $50,000  to  $60,000.  "For  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  this  city,"  wrote  Manly,  "the  poor  children  as  well  as 


78  Eckenrode,  Virginia  During  the  Reconstruction,  125. 

79  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,   1869,   BRFAL. 


84  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  rich,  regardless  of  past  history  or  present  condition,  will 
freely  enjoy  the  blessing  of  good  schools."  The  future  of  educa- 
tion in  Virginia,  he  wrote,  "has  never  looked  so  hopeful  for  poor 

and  ignorant  of  both  races  as  at  the  present  time."80 

During  the  summer  recess  of  1869  efforts  were  made  to  adjust 

school  schedules  so  that  rural  Negroes  might  obtain  greater  bene- 
fits. The  spring  and  autumn  months  being  the  busiest  for  agri- 
cultural workers,  and  the  summer  and  winter  months  being 
seasons  of  comparative  leisure,  Manly  decided  to  continue  in 
operation  a  large  number  of  rural  schools  during  the  summer, 
not  only  to  provide  desired  educational  facilities  but  to  lessen  the 
patronage  of  inadequate  and  "harmful"  private  schools.  As  a 
result  the  number  of  teachers  and  pupils  was  twice  that  of  any 
corresponding  period,  despite  diminished  aid  from  the  societies 
and  a  blight  of  the  crops.  The  main  contributory  causes  for  the 
increase,  as  Manly  saw  them,  were  the  "widening  and  deepening 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  have  schools"  and  the  "rigid 
and  consistent  application,  both  to  societies  and  local  school  trus- 
tees, of  the  [Bureau]  rule  not  to  furnish  rent  .  .  .  unless  an 
average  daily  attendance  of  thirty  pupils  was  secured."  The 
latter  rule  not  only  prevented  waste  of  public  funds,  but  increased 
daily  attendance  and  "improved  the  tone  of  the  schools."81 

The  school  building  program  continued  at  a  rapid  rate.  During 
the  academic  year  1869-1870  thirty-two  schoolhouses  were  con- 
structed, at  an  average  cost  of  $409,  of  which  the  Bureau  fur- 
nished $182.50  and  freedmen  the  rest.  Two  new  buildings  were 
constructed  at  Hampton  Institute  and  at  Richmond  High  and 
Normal  School,  the  former  at  a  cost  of  $40,000  and  the  latter  at 
$18,000,  part  of  which  was  paid  by  the  Bureau  and  part  by 
charity.  Manly,  who  envisioned  even  more  schools,  wrote  Howard 
suggesting  that  the  Bureau,  by  pursuing  a  policy  of  "helping 
those  who  help  themselves,"  could  supply  facilities  for  needed 
schools  at  a  maximum  cost  to  the  government  of  $200  each.  His 
suggestion  was  not  acted  upon,  however,  because  of  the  impend- 
ing withdrawal  of  the  Bureau  from  the  state.82 


80  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1869,  BRFAL;  see  also  Manly,  report  for 
the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1868,  BRFAL. 

81  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1860,  BRFAL. 

82  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1869,  BRFAL;  Manly,  report  for 
the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1870,  including  a  summary  for  the  five  years  ending  June  30, 
1870,    BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  85 

The  diminished  assistance  afforded  the  schools  by  charitable 
organizations  during  1869-1870  threw  a  greater  burden  upon 
the  people.  Even  in  a  normal  year,  this  burden  would  have  been 
difficult  to  shoulder,  but  the  difficulty  was  even  greater  that  year 
because  of  a  drought  and  short  crops  during  the  previous  sum- 
mer, facts  which  Manly  felt  were  not  properly  understood  by 
societies  and  people  at  a  distance.  There  was  not  enough  food  to 
eat,  and  nothing  to  sell.  Manly  wrote : 

For  a  people  thus  situated  to  board  their  teachers  and  help  build 
and  repair  their  school  houses,  is  to  bear  a  vastly  heavier  burden 
than  any  community  in  a  similar  condition  of  poverty  in  any 
Northern  State  is  required  to  bear.  The  fact  that  they  are  bear- 
ing this  burden,  is  much  to  their  credit  and  should  command  both 
admiration  and  pity.83 

The  ratification  of  the  state  constitution  and  the  impending 
readmission  of  Virginia  to  representation  in  Congress  seem  to 
have  stabilized  internal  conditions  in  the  state.  With  education 
no  longer  connected  with  disfranchisement,  and  with  the  con- 
servatives victorious  over  the  radicals,  hostility  to  Negro  educa- 
tion and  public  schools  died  down.  Violence  had  almost  disap- 
peared, Manly  reported,  and  the  belief  of  the  whites  that  Negroes 
could  not  learn  was  entirely  gone.  Objection  to  white  Virginians 
teaching  in  freedmen's  schools  was  slowly  going,  and  he  noted  a 
gradual  diminishing  of  prejudice  against  northern  teachers.  On 
one  point,  however,  the  whites  remained  adamant.  The  feeling 
against  mixed  schools,  Manly  wrote,  was  as  "solid  as  tl  ,e  primi- 
tive rocks  of  the  Alleghanies."84 

Virginia  was  readmitted  to  statehood  on  January  26,  1870, 
and  on  the  following  day  General  Canby  "resigned  the  govern- 
ment of  the  State  to  the  civil  authorities."85  Although  the  mili- 
tary withdrew  from  the  state  the  educational  department  of  the 
Bureau  remained  in  operation  until  the  end  of  the  school  year.86 
Manly  sought  to  prevent  the  discontinuance  of  freedmen's  schools 
by  urging  the  "pressing  necessity"  of  government  aid  and  the 
continued  co-operation  of  the  charitable  organizations,  until  such 
time  as  the  state  was  financially  able  to  assume  the  burden,  but 


83  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1869,  BRFAL. 

84  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1869,  BRFAL. 

85  Eckenrode,  Virginia  During  the  Reconstruction,  127. 

86  J.   M.    Brown,    Acting    Assistant    Adjutant    General,    to    Manly,    July    11,    1870,    BRFAL, 
Washington,  ordered  the  discontinuance  of  the  Bureau  on  August  15,   1870. 


86  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

although  some  aid  was  forthcoming  it  was  not  enough.87  Con- 
sequently, when  the  Bureau  withdrew  many  freedmen's  schools 
were  forced  to  close  their  doors.  The  Negroes  vigorously  objected 
to  this  action,  charging  that  they  were  being  abandoned  by  the 
government;  that  the  government  had  emancipated  them  and 
given  them  the  franchise,  and  was  therefore  obligated  not  to 
leave  them  ignorant.  With  the  government  "gone  back  on  them" 
and  the  state  doing  nothing,  they  "turn  away  to  their  toil,"  said 
Manly,  "feeling  that  they  have  not  only  been  bereaved  but 
wronged."  The  Superintendent  sympathized  with  their  lot,  and 
protested  to  General  Howard  that  "not  less  than  ten  thousand 
colored  children"  who  had  attended  school  during  the  previous 
year  would  have  none  the  next;  furthermore,  an  equal  number 
who  were  anticipating  the  privilege,  now  were  to  have  it  denied 
them.  Manly  charged  that  the  Negroes  were  suffering  a  "grievous 
wrong"  for  which  they  were  not  responsible.  "It  is  evident,"  he 
wrote,  "that  there  is  not  on  earth  another  people  who  have  such 
pressing  need  of  the  benefit  of  good  schools."88 

Looking  back,  at  the  time  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  Bureau 
from  Virginia,  Manly  was  justified  in  viewing  with  pride  the 
accomplishments  under  his  five  years  of  superintendency.  Be- 
tween the  commencement  of  Bureau  operations  in  Virginia,  in 
June,  1865,  and  June,  1870,  over  two  hundred  schoolhouses  had 
been  erected  and  it  was  claimed  that  50,000  young  Negroes  had 
been  taught  to  read  and  write.  The  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in 
the  freedmen's  schools  had  risen  from  an  average  of  about  10,- 
600  per  month  in  1865-1866  to  an  average  of  about  11,700  per 
month  in  1869-1870 ;  and  an  average  of  10,725  students  had  been 
under  instruction  each  month  over  the  five-year  period.  Average 
daily  attendance  had  increased  from  7,896  in  1865-1866  to  8,909 
in  1869-1870.  The  number  of  teachers  had  increased  from  225, 
the  largest  number  of  the  first  school  year,  to  429  in  February, 
1870 ;  the  report  of  145  schools  in  operation  during  March,  1866, 
was  dwarfed  by  the  346  functioning  in  February,  1870 ;  and  the 
high  of  17,589  students  enrolled  in  March,  1866,  was  surpassed 
by  the  18,138  students  in  February,  1870.  During  the  five-year 


87  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31.  1869,  BRFAL;  J.  S.  Lowell, 
Secretary,  Committee  on  Teachers,  New  England  Branch  Freedmen's  Union  Commission,  to 
Manly,  April  26,  1870,  BRFAL;  A.  H.  Jones  [Pennsylvania  Freedmen's  Relief  Association?], 
to  Manly,  June  20,   1870,  BRFAL. 

88  Manly,   report   for  the  six   months  ending   June   30,    1870,   BRFAL. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  87 

period  a  total  of  $725,000  had  been  expended  for  education  of 
the  freedmen,  $375,000  of  which  had  come  from  charitable  or- 
ganizations, and  $300,000  from  the  Bureau.  The  freedmen  had 
contributed  $50,000,  not  including  the  schoolhouses  which  they 
had  constructed.89 

Enormous  strides  had  been  made  in  normal  school  education 
during  the  Bureau's  operations  in  the  state.  Between  1865  and 
1870  six  normal  schools  had  been  established.  Hampton  Institute, 
with  six  teachers  and  seventy-five  pupils,  had  acquired  122  acres 
and  nine  buildings,  valued  at  $100,000.  The  Richmond  Normal 
and  High  School,  in  operation  since  1867,  maintained  a  teaching 
staff  of  four  and  had  an  enrollment  of  one  hundred  pupils.  The 
recognized  head  of  the  Negro  school  system  in  Richmond,  it  had 
become  "a  decided  success."  The  Charlottesville  Normal  School 
had  four  teachers  and  forty  pupils  in  the  normal  department. 
Other  normal  schools  of  a  "less  permanent  character"  had  been 
founded  in  Alexandria  (ninety  pupils  and  three  teachers), 
Lynchburg  (thirty  pupils  and  one  teacher) ,  and  Danville  (forty 
pupils  and  one  teacher)  .90 

During  the  five-year  period  the  seed  of  the  idea  of  free  public 
schools  for  all  had  been  nurtured  by  Manly  and  others  until  it 
had  reached  the  budding  stage  with  the  new  constitution.  "The 
first  provisions  for  a  complete  system  of  public  education"  in 
Virginia  were  contained  in  this  constitution.91  Prior  to  the  war 
nine  counties  and  three  cities  had  operated,  at  one  time  or  an- 
other, a  system  of  district  free  schools  for  rich  and  poor  alike, 
but  Norfolk  County  was  the  only  one  which  had  possessed  such 
a  system  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.92  In  light  of  these  facts 
Manly  perhaps  was  justified  in  believing  that  the  success  of  the 


89  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1870,  BRFAL;  Manly,  report  for  the 
year  ending  October  31,  1866,  BRFAL.  W.  H.  Brown  in  The  Education  and  Economic 
Development  of  the  Negro  in  Virginia,  45,  quotes  Manly  as  writing  in  1880:  "I  have  always 
affirmed,  and  still  believe,  that  during  this  period  of  five  or  six  years  not  less  than  20,000 
[freedmen]  learned  to  read.  .  .  ."  Whether  Manly  previously  had  overestimated,  whether 
he  had  made  a  mistake  on  this  report,  or  whether  he  was  incorrectly  quoted,  is  a  matter  of 
conjecture. 

In  computing  the  average  daily  attendance  for  1865-1866  I  have,  because  of  a  lack  of 
statistics  for  the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  1865,  assumed  a  100  per  cent 
daily  attendance  of  the  students  enrolled. 

90  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1870,  BRFAL. 

91  Tipton  R.  Snavely,  Duncan  C.  Hyde,  and  Alvin  B.  Biscoe,  State  Grants-in-Aid  in 
Virginia  (New  York,  1933),  49. 

92  Cornelius  J.  Heatwole,  A  History  of  Education  in  Virginia  (New  York,  1916),  120. 
Elizabeth  City,  Henry,  King  George,  Northampton,  Norfolk,  Princess  Anne,  Washington, 
Albemarle  and  Augusta  counties,  and  Lynchburg,  Petersburg,  and  Norfolk  cities  had 
possessed  such  systems.  See  Heatwole,  A  History  of  Education  in  Virginia,  210-211,  215-218, 
for  a  discussion  of  public  education  in  Virginia  and  the  provisions  for  such  education  in  the 
constitution  of  1869. 


88  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Bureau  schools  had  been  influential  in  the  establishment  of  a 
state  public  school  system.93  Freedmen  who  had  received  the 
benefits  of  the  free  schools  provided  by  the  Bureau  and  benevo- 
lent organizations  certainly  wanted  to  secure  their  continuance. 
Many  whites,  having  seen  free  schools  in  operation,  must  have 
desired  these  advantages  for  their  children.94  The  Bureau  seems 
to  have  made  a  significant  contribution  to  education  in  Virginia 
by  beginning  the  instruction  of  freedmen,  using  its  influence  to 
secure  a  free  public  school  system,  and  laying  a  foundation  for 
such  a  system. 

Had  the  system  of  education  established  by  the  Bureau  been 
different  the  contributions  might  have  been  even  greater.  It 
seems  probable  that  the  exclusive  employment  as  teachers  of 
native  white  Virginians  would  have  removed  much  of  the  odium 
attached  to  the  idea  of  educating  the  Negro.  Instead  benevolent 
societies  of  abolitionist  leanings  sent  Yankee  teachers  of  similar 
sentiments  who  were  motivated  not  only  by  humanitarian  in- 
stincts but  by  a  crusading  zeal  to  establish  social  equality  and  a 
desire  to  organize  the  Negro  race  into  a  southern  Republican 
party.  The  Norfolk  Virginian  stated : 

Had  they  confined  themselves  merely  to  teaching  the  objects  of 
their  idolatry  the  rudiments  of  our  English  education —  to  read, 
to  write,  and  to  cypher,  ...  we  might  have  let  their  impudent 
assumptions  pass  with  the  contempt  of  silence ;  but  they  failed  to 
confine  themselves  to  these  harmless  objects,  and  at  once  set  to 
work  assiduously  to  array  the  colored  race  against  their  former 
masters  and  present  natural  protectors.95 

Violent  opposition  to  freedmen's  schools  seems  not  to  have  been 
motivated  by  animosity  toward  the  principle  of  Negro  education 
as  much  as  by  opposition  to  the  social  and  political  activities  of 
the  teachers.  There  is  a  distinct  correlation  between  the  fre- 
quency of  school  burnings,  assaults,  and  other  violence  and  the 
amount  of  political  activity  in  the  state.  From  the  establishment 
of  the  Bureau  in  1865  to  the  summer  of  1867,  reports  of  violence 
were  few  and  opposition  to  Negro  education  seems  primarily  to 
have  been  based  upon  the  idea  that  it  was  useless  to  educate 


m  Manly,  report  for  the  six  months  ending  June  30,  1870,  BRFAL. 

m  For   example,    see   Norfolk   Journal,    June    1,    1867,    quoted    in    American    Missionary,    XI 
(July,  1867),   151-52. 
'""•Norfolk  Virginian,  July  2,  1866,  in  American  Missionary,  X    (August,  1866),  174. 


Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro  Education  89 

laborers.  During  the  political  campaigns  of  late  1867,  1868,  and 
early  1869  reports  of  outrages  committed  on  teachers  and  schools 
showed  a  notable  increase,  and  opposition  to  freedmen's  schools 
became  more  pronounced.  After  the  adoption  of  the  state  con- 
stitution violence  declined  and  the  opposition  of  whites  toward 
Negro  education  seems  to  have  become  of  relative  insignificance. 

Social  ostracism  and  obstruction  of  Bureau  and  benevolent 
organization  efforts  to  establish  schools  again  appears  to  be  due, 
in  a  large  extent,  to  the  actions  of  the  "Yankee"  teachers.  Handi- 
capped from  the  start  because  they,  like  the  Union  soldiers  before 
them,  were  invaders  of  Virginia,  they  openly  displayed  their 
Union  sentiments  and  their  contempt  for  the  "secesh."  To  name 
a  school  after  Lincoln  might  be  tolerated,  but  to  name  schools 
after  Toussaint  L'Ouverture  and  "Beast"  Butler,  of  New  Orleans 
fame,  was  hardly  desirable  if  hostility  was  to  be  avoided.  More- 
over, to  teach  the  freedmen  to  sing  "John  Brown's  soul  [body?]" 
and  other  Union  songs,  to  utilize  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  as  a  reading 
exercise,  and  to  inspire  freedmen  students  in  Richmond  to  cele- 
brate the  fall  of  that  city,  could  accomplish  little  but  an  aliena- 
tion of  the  whites  and  Negroes.96  The  fact  that  some  teachers 
seemed  to  advocate  social  equality,  both  by  their  teaching  and  by 
their  actions,97  obviously  must  have  been  considered  dangerous 
by  a  people  who  only  recently  had  belonged  to  a  slaveholding 
society.  This  is  not  to  imply,  however,  that  all  opposition  to 
freedmen's  schools  was  caused  by  the  actions  of  the  teachers. 
Ante-bellum  slave  insurrections  undoubtedly  had  left  a  tradition- 
al fear  of  the  educated  Negro.  Some  opposition  to  the  freed- 
men's schools  was  probably  due  to  bigotry,  intolerance,  and  social 
pressure.  Still  other  opposition  arose  from  people  who  felt  that 
laborers  had  no  need  of  an  education.  Nevertheless,  it  seems 
justifiable  to  attribute  much  of  the  hostility  to  freedmen's  schools, 
much  of  the  violence  and  ostracism,  and  much  of  the  obstruction 
of  educational  efforts  to  the  northern  school  teachers. 

Despite  such  drawbacks  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  under  the 
able  direction  of  Superintendent  Manly,  did  accomplish  its  main 


96  Thomas  A.  Cushman,  Bristol  Goodson,  to  Manly,  October  5,  1869,  BRFAL;  letter  of  Miss 
Armstrong,  Norfolk,  March  27,  1865,  in  American  Missionary,  IX  (June,  1865),  124;  letter 
of  Susan  H.  Clark,  Slabtown,  January,  1867,  in  American  Missionary,  XI  (March,  1867),  64; 
letter  of  Bessie  L.  Canedy,  Richmond,  April  3,  1868,  in  Freedmen's  Record,  IV  (May,  1868), 
79. 

97  See,  for  example,  Fanny  Pegram,  Charlotte  Court  House,  to  Manly  [received,  April  22, 
1869],  BRFAL. 


90  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

purpose — that  of  providing  education  for  the  Negroes  during  its 
operation  in  the  state.  Fifty  thousand  young  freedmen  supposed- 
ly had  learned  to  read  and  write  in  its  schools,  though  some 
of  the  letters  of  freedmen's  school  teachers  indicate  that  this 
knowledge  of  reading  and  writing  must  have  been  extremely 
limited.98  Hundreds  of  freedmen  were  reported  to  be  in  training 
for  the  teaching  profession  in  the  normal  schools,  and  scores 
already  had  become  successful  teachers.  Two  hundred  school- 
houses  had  been  erected.  Normal  schools  for  the  training  of 
Negro  teachers  had  been  founded.  The  principle  of  industrial 
education  had  been  introduced  by  S.  C.  Armstrong,  a  Bureau 
agent,  at  Hampton  Institute.  Not  only  had  the  attitude  toward 
Negro  education  progressed  from  opposition  to  relative  accep- 
tance, but  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  state  now  contained 
provisions  for  free  public  schools  for  both  races.  Thus,  though 
the  Bureau  and  its  schools  often  were  idealistic  rather  than 
practical,  strongly  reforming  in  attitude,  and  decidedly  political 
in  tenor,  they  made  valuable  contributions  to  Negro  education 
in  Virginia. 


98  James  H.  Branden,  Petersburg,  to  Manly,  June  18,  1869,  BRFAL,  requested  "25  spelli 
Books  and  4  Rithmeticks,"  stated  that  he  had  not  received  any  "Pay  for  my  Servises  yet," 
and  said  he  "woold  bee  very  Glad  if  you  woold  let  [me]  have  some  money  at  this  presant 
time  as  i  am  in  Great  kneed  of  it  And  thare  is  a  Great  knead  of  A  school  in  this  versinity. 
.  .  ."  Another  teacher,  jointly  engaged  with  a  friend  in  instructing  the  freedmen,  told 
Manly:  "Ralph  Edmunds  can't  write,  he  only  teaches  the  scholars  to  spell  and  to  read  and 
keeps  good  order  in  the  school."  Benjamin  J.  Medley  and  Ralph  Edmunds,  New's  Ferry,  to 
Manly,  January  15,  1870,  BRFAL. 


UNPUBLISHED  LETTERS  OF  CALVIN  HENDERSON  WILEY 
Edited  By  Mary  Callum  Wiley 

The  following  hitherto  unpublished  letters,  with  the  exception 
of  the  first  two  and  the  last,  were  written  by  Calvin  Henderson 
Wiley1  (or  Henderson  Wiley,  as  he  was  called  in  the  family  circle 
of  his  boyhood  and  youth — never  Calvin  Wiley)  during  the  dark 
years  of  the  late  1840's  and  the  early  1850's,  when  financial  re- 
verses were  overshadowing  the  old  homeplace  in  Guilford  County 
and  the  struggling  young  lawyer  of  Oxford  was  seeking  through 
his  literary  aspirations  to  bring  security  to  his  dearly  beloved 
mother  and  young  sisters. 

The  following  quaintly  styled  letter  from  his  boyhood  friend 
and  neighbor,  young  Jeremy  F.  Gilmer,2  throws  light  upon  the 
eager  striving  of  Wiley  for  more  and  more  education.  His 
early  schooling  was  obtained  at  a  subscription  school  locally 
called,  because  of  the  red  mud  with  which  the  walls  of  the  log 
schoolhouse  were  daubed,  the  Little  Red  School.  In  his  teens  he 
attended  the  Caldwell  Institute  in  Greensboro  and  it  is  of  this 
school  that  the  sixteen-year-old  Jeremy  writes  to  his  friend  Hen- 
derson, one  year  his  junior. 

Alamance3  Aug.  the  6th  A.  D.  1834 
Dear  Sir 

I  seat  myself  at  my  desk  to  write  you  a  few  lines.  I  received  a 
letter  this  evening  from  Brother  John4  who  informs  me  that  if 
you  are  going  to  school  the  next  session  to  Greensboro'  you  can 

1  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley,  son  of  David  L.  and  Anne  Woodburn  Wiley,  born  February  3, 
1819,  in  Guilford  County;  graduated  from  tbe  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1840;  licensed 
to  practice  law  in  1841;  author  of  historical  romances,  Alamance;  or,  the  Great  and  Final 
Experiment,  1874,  and  Roanoke;  or,  Where  is  Utopia  ?  in  1849,  and  The  North-Carolina 
Reader,  1851.  Member  of  the  Legislature  in  1850  and  1852;  superintendent  of  Common 
Schools  of  North  Carolina  from  1853  to  1865;  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1866;  general 
agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society  of  East  and  Middle  Tennessee  in  1869-1874  and  of 
North  and  South  Carolina  in  1874-1887.  Died  in  Winston,  January  11,  1887. 

2  Jeremy  Forbis  Gilmer,  born  in  Guilford  County,  February  23,  1818.  Graduated  from  West 
Point  in  1839,  fourth  in  his  class  of  thirty -three.  As  Chief  of  Engineers,  he  was  engaged  in 
building  forts  and  making  surveys  in  river  and  harbor  improvements  until  the  outbreak 
of  the  War  between  the  States,  when  he  resigned  and  as  Chief  Engineer  on  General  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston's  staff  engaged  in  active  service.  After  recovery  from  severe  wounds  at  the 
Battle  of  Shiloh  he  was  made  Chief  of  the  Engineers  Bureau,  Richmond.  In  1863  he  was 
promoted  to  Major-General.  "West  Point  Soldiers  in  Confederate  Army,"  Fayetteville 
Observer,  October  6,  1862;  Sallie  W.  Stockard,  The  History  of  Guilford  County,  North 
Carolina,   176. 

3  The  members  of  the  ancient  Presbyterian  church,  Alamance,  six  miles  from  Greensboro, 
always  referred  to  their  section  as  Alamance,  not  Guilford. 

*  John  Adams  Gilmer,  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  the  Alamance  Church  section, 
November  4,  1805.  Entered  the  law  office  of  Archibald  D.  Murphey,  Greensboro,  in  1829.  State 
senator  from  Guilford  in  1846-1850;  in  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives  as 
member  from  the  fifth  North  Carolina  district,  1857-1861.  Offered  a  place  in  Lincoln's 
cabinet  but  declined  the  post  to  enter  the  Confederate  Army.  Died  in  1868.  J.  G.  de  Roulhac 
Hamilton,  Reconstruction  in  North  Carolina,  20;  Gerald  W.  Johnson,  "John  Adams  Gilmer," 
in  Bettie  D.  Caldwell,  compiler,  Founders  and  Builders  of  Greensboro,   1808-1908,   98-102. 

[91] 


92  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

board5  with  him;  and  you  and  I  can  both  room  together  in  the 
same  room.  I  would  be  very  glad  indeed  to  have  you  for  a  Room 
Mate.  He  will  board  you  for  five  Dollars  a  month.  You  were  speak- 
ing of  studying  English  Grammar  and  Geography  before  you 
commenced  the  study  of  the  languages  but  you  can  study  the 
latter  to  as  much  advantage  without  studying  either  of  these  and 
when  you  understand  the  latin  tongue  it  is  quite  easy  to  study 
the  English;  and  I  have  heard  some  say  it  was  the  best  way  to 
study  the  latin  first ;  and  as  for  Geography  you  can  study  that  at 
night  and  recite  a  lesson  every  morning  without  interfering  much 
with  your  other  studies.  Try  and  persuade  your  Father  to  send 
you  this  session  and  by  a  little  hard  study  and  industry  you  can 
join  me  in  my  class  and  then  we  will  go  on  together  and  by  our 
rooming  together  we  would  have  all  opportunities  for  improve- 
ment, when  the  one  got  stalded  [stalled]  perhaps  the  other  could 
help  him  out.  I  wish  if  you  could  have  any  opportunity,  you  would 
let  me  know  whether  you  will  go  of  not.6 
Nothing  more  but  remain  your  affectionate 

friend  till  death 
Jeremy  Gilmer 
Henderson  Wiley 

As  a  preface  to  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley's  letters  of  the  1840's, 
the  following  notation  on  the  first  page  of  one  of  his  books,  John 
C.  Fremont's  Report  of  the  Exploring  Expedition  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  Senate  publication,  1845,  may  be  inserted. 

To  C.  H.  Wiley,  Esq. 
Sir, 

I  send  you  an  American  work  in  acknowledgement  of 
your  interesting  letter  of  the  1st  ultimo. 
Respectfully, 

Thomas  H.  Benton7 
March  1848 


5  John  Adams  Gilmer  married  the  daughter  of  the  Reverend  William  Paisley  and  settled 
in  a  home  on  the  corner  of  Mr.  Paisley's  lot,  now  the  site  of  the  West  Market  Street 
Methodist  Church,  opposite  Guilford  Courthouse.  While  he  was  establishing  himself  in  law 
his  young  wife  took  boarders,  Gerald  W.  Johnson,  "John  Adams  Gilmer,"  in  Founders  and 
Builders  of  Greensboro,  99.  John  Adams  Gilmer  to  Calvin  H.  Wiley,  n.  d. 

6  The  author  has  been  unable  to  determine  the  exact  dates  of  Calvin  Wiley's  schooling  in 
Greensboro.  In  an  address  before  the  literary  societies  of  Greensboro  Female  College  in  the 
1850's  (manuscript  now  in  the  North  Carolina  Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh), 
Wiley  gives  this  glimpse  of  his  school  days  at  the  Caldwell  Institute:  "Thou  I  profess  to  be 
a  very  young  man,  I  can  well  remember  the  advent  of  the  first  Piano  for  schools  in  Greens- 
boro; and  the  sensation  which  it  produced.  A  life  Giraffe  promenading  our  streets  could  not 
be  more  wondered  at;  and  when  it  was  safely  housed  in  the  dingy  little  brick  building 
immediately  north  of  us,  the  boys  and  the  men  peeped  in  at  the  windows,  walked  cautiously 
around  it,   [the  piano]   handled  it,  and  touched  the  keys  with  awful  admiration. 

"The  Presbyterians  built  that  admirable  school,  the  Caldwell  Institute;  the  Methodist, 
with  generous  rivalry  of  the  right  kind  determined  to  erect  a  Female  College.  And  sure 
enough,  in  a  very  short  time,  that  old  field  where  we  boys  used  to  hunt,  then  a  far-off 
wilderness  of  sedge  and  pines,  is  suddenly  blossoming  with  rosy  cheeks  and  sparkling  eyes; 
a  beautiful  structure  crowns  the  crest  of  the  barren  hill,  and  a  Town  springs  up  as  if  by 
enchantment." 

In  an  undated  note  to  Wiley,  Lyndon  Swain,  editor  of  the  Greensborough  Patriot,  writes: 
"I  think  I  could  make  a  tolerably  good  drawing  of  the  old  Building  [Caldwell  Institute] 
from  recollection.  It  looked  something  like  a  big  old  kettle  turned  bottom  upward;  its 
chimney  flues  standing  for  the  eyes."  Lyndon  Swain  to  Calvin  H.  Wiley,  n.  d. 

7  Thomas   Hart  Benton,   born   in   1782   on   his  father's   plantation   near   Hillsboro.   Removed 


Letters  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley  9 


o 


Above  this  note  in  another  hand,  perhaps  that  of  Senator  Ben- 
ton's secretary,  appear  the  words:  "The  following  is  the  auto- 
graph of  the  Hon.  T.  H.  Benton    U.  S.  Senator  from  Mo." 

Letters  to  His  Mother 

The  same  tender  devotion  which  in  later  years  Calvin  Hender- 
son Wiley  lavished  upon  his  wife8  and  children  breathes  through 
these  letters  to  his  mother,  who  for  years  was  practically  an 
invalid,  frequently  suffering  attacks  of  severe  illness. 

New-York,  July  17th  1848 
My  Dear  Mother : 

I  have  not  for  a  long  time  written  to  you  because  I  have  been 
pushing  for  six  months  to  become  independent.  I  made  up  my 
mind  at  the  beginning  of  this  year  to  make  a  certain  sum  of 
money,  get  rid  of  all  my  debts  &  business  &  live  with  you.  I  made 
up  my  mind  also  to  change  my  course  of  life,  to  become  in  heart 
religious.9  I  pray  twice  a  day  &  never  forget  you  &  father  & 
sisters  in  my  prayers.  Such  has  been  my  course  of  life  for  months 
&  I  trust  that  God  at  least  will  bless  me. 

I  have  been  in  debt  &  hardly  able  to  live  &  have  been  trying  to 
make  something  by  my  pen10  as  well  as  by  my  profession.  My 
health  failed  me  in  the  spring  &  has  been  delicate  for  some  time. 
Still  I  have  been  working  &  praying,  doing  my  best  &  looking  to 
Heaven  for  its  aid. 

I  am  now  here  on  business  connected  with  my  books,  etc.  & 
it  is  my  confident  expectation  to  be  able  in  one  month  to  leave 
off  my  business  in  Granville.  I  hope  to  get  money  enough  now  to 
pay  all  my  debts,  to  pay  yours  &  to  enable  us  all  to  move  to  a 
more  healthy  &  better  country.  I  want  to  be  able  to  live  with  you 
&  cheer  &  comfort  you. 

to  Tennessee  in  1800;  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1811;  removed  to  St.  Louis,  1815;  elected  United 
States  senator  from  Missouri,  1820,  and  held  that  office  for  thirty  years.  Died  in  1858.  He 
was  a  great  champion  of  Jaxksonian  democracy.  Archibald  Henderson,  North  Carolina:  The 
Old  North  State  and  the  New,   XI,   40-42. 

8  Mittie  Towles  of  Raleigh,  daughter  of  James  Moore  and  Mary  Ann  Callum  Towles. 

9  Though  deeply  religious,  Wiley  was  not  at  this  time  active  in  that  profession.  It  was  the 
desire  of  his  mother's  heart  that  he  devote  his  life  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

10  While  in  Philadelphia  in  1847  Wiley  met  the  patron  of  young  writers,  George  R. 
Graham,  who  encouraged  him  in  his  literary  efforts  by  accepting  articles  for  publication  in 
Graham's  Magazine. 

In  anticipation  of  the  publication  of  Alamance,  William  G.  Noble,  formerly  of  Franklin 
County,  but  in  1847  a  resident  of  New  York  City,  sent  Wiley,  under  the  date,  "New  York, 
August  4,  1847,"  a  list  of  "warm  and  devoted  friends,"  all  of  whom  intended  to  patronize 
his  forthcoming  book  and  recommend  it  to  their  friends.  On  this  interesting  paper  containing 
the  autographed  list  of  names,  Mr.  Noble  writes:  "Mr.  Wiley  is  well  known  in  North 
Carolina  as  a  writer.  A  series  of  political  essays  written  by  him  just  after  quitting  college 
were  generally  attributed  to  the  Pen  of  Sen1  George  E.  Badger,  the  most  gifted  man  in  the 
State  and  as  such  were  answered  by  the  then  Treasurer  of  the  State,  who  addressed  his 
answers  to  Mr.  B.  and  alledging  [sic]  that  every  body  knew  that  he,  and  he  only,  could  be 
the    author." 

George  Edmund  Badger  (1795-1866)  was  a  lawyer,  orator,  and  scholar.  A  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  House  of  Representatives  from  New  Bern  in  1816,  he  was  elected  judge  of 
the  Superior  Courts  in  1820  and  served  five  years,  was  United  States  senator,  1846-1855, 
and  was  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  Harrison.  He  distinguished  himself  in  courts  of 
appeal  by  his  powerful  exposition  of  the  law.  J.  G.  de  Roulhac  Hamilton,  "Badger,  George 
Edmund,"  in  Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  I,  485-486. 


94  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

My  dear  Mother,  you  must  not  think  that  I  have  forgotten  you 
for  one  moment  or  your  early  instructions.  To  your  early  in- 
structions &  care  I  owe  all  I  am ;  they  have  followed  me  through 
all  my  trials  &  been  with  me  sustaining  me  &  guiding  me. 

Oh,  how  I  wish  that  you  had  been  able  to  raise  &  educate  my 
sisters  as  I  was  reared  &  educated!  You  are  the  best  teacher  in 
the  world  &  if  God  will  only  spare  my  life  &  give  me  health,  I  will 
show  you  that  I  am  the  most  affectionate  son.  I  know  you  have 
thought  hard  of  me  but  I  have  been  from  day  to  day  &  from 
month  to  month  struggling  &  hoping  to  bring  you  cheering  news. 
I  did  not  wish  to  see  you  until  I  was  able  to  do  something  for  you 
&  every  week  I  expected  to  be  able  to  see  you  &  live  with  you. 

Disappointment  after  disappointment  has  followed  me  until 
now— I  see  light  now  &  soon  I  hope  to  bring  you  good  news.  If 
my  plans  do  not  fail,  I  will  receive  this  summer  a  considerable 
sum  of  money.  ...  I  will  take  you  to  a  better  country  [at  this 
time  there  seems  to  have  been  a  great  deal  of  malaria  in  Guil- 
ford]. In  that  new  country  I  will  still  have  to  practise  law  but 
we  will  all  live  together.  Then  &  not  till  then  will  I  get  married 

Be  sure  to  keep  Asenath  &  Emily11  always  reading.  Do  not  let 
poverty  cause  them  to  forget  a  proper  pride  &  self-respect.  Re- 
member that  poor  people  can  be  accomplished  &  well  read  as  well 
as  rich  ones;  that  education  is  in  fact  more  important  to  them 
than  to  the  rich.  Never  let  them  forget  that  money  does  not  make 
respectability,  but  virtue,  learning,  piety  &  a  dignified  self- 
respect.  Make  my  sisters,  as  you  made  me,  put  their  minds  & 
hearts  on  some  high  position;  they  can  learn  at  home;  you  can 
teach  them  much.  Keep  them  reading,  reading  &  writing.  It  is 
my  intention  to  get  some  pious,  plain  &  educated  woman  to  live 
with  you  &  teach  [my]  sisters.12 

Give  my  hearty  love  to  Kate13  &  her  children,  to  Em  &  Senath, 
to  father  &  Mr.  Rankin.14  Tell  father  the  heart  of  his  son  yearns 
for  him  &  hopes  that  the  remainder  of  his  days  will  be  happy  & 
peaceful.  Let  us  all  with  an  enlightened  hope,  with  pious  hearts 
&  just  actions,  look  for  a  blessed  Union  in  Heaven.  You'll  hear 
from  me  soon. 

Your  most  affectionate  son, 
C.  H.  Wiley 

Mrs.  Anne  Wiley 

P.  S.  I  hope  to  get  home  in  a  month.  I  will  try  to  send  you  some 
money  before  I  see  you.  Remember  me  to  all  the  good  old  Ala- 
mancers  [members  of  Alamance  Presbyterian  congregation,  Guil- 
ford County] . 

11  Wiley's  sisters. 

12  In  1856  Wiley  employed  a  cultivated  lady  from  Brooklyn,  New  York,  Miss  Isabella 
Oakley,  as  governess  for  his  sisters,  Asenath  and  Emily,  and  the  children  of  his  sister 
Catherine  (Mrs.  Sam  Rankin).  For  three  years  Miss  Oakley  was  a  member  of  the  household 
at  Woodbourne  (the  old  Guilford  homestead  which  Calvin  Wiley,  upon  becoming  head  of  the 
household  at  the  death  of  his  father  in  1860,  so  named  in  honor  of  his  mother,  Anne 
Woodburn).  Some  years  after  this,  upon  the  death  of  Mrs.  Rankin,  he  took  into  his  home 
the  two  youngest  Rankin  children,  Cyrus  and  Alice,  and  employed  for  them  another 
governess,  an  English-born  woman,  Miss  Matilda  Middleton  of  Kentucky. 

13  His  sister  Catherine    (Mrs.  Sam  Rankin). 

14  Sam  Rankin   of  Guilford   County,   husband   of   Catherine. 


Letters  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley  95 

The  next  letter,  from  which  excerpts  are  taken,  bears  the  date 
August  14,  1849,  and  is  written  from  Wythe  County,  Virginia, 
where  Wiley  in  the  interest  of  his  health  had  gone  that, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  day,  he  might  drink  the  medicinal 
waters  of  some  country  spring.  This  was  not  the  first  visit  he  had 
made  to  Wythe  County  seeking  restoration  of  health,  for  a  no- 
tation on  a  printed  funeral  notice  of  Isaac  Painter,  Tazewell  Court 
House,  Virginia,  June  1,  1885,  bears  these  words:  "When  a  boy, 
on  my  first  trip  from  home,  gone  for  health,  boarded  with  Mr. 
P.  on  Cripple  Creek,  Wythe  Co,  Va.  A  good  man  and  great  &  life 
long  friend  of  mine  gone.  C.  H.  W." 

My  Dear  Mother: 

Since  I  wrote  you  my  health  has  been  improving.  ...  I  want  to 
see  you  very  much.  .  .  . 

Keep  a  stout  heart.  I  hope  yet  to  enable  you  to  see  much  of  the 
world.  I  may  get  an  office15  in  this  country ;  &  if  I  do,  I  will  carry 
you  with  me.  If  I  go  abroad,  I  will  give  you  &  my  sisters  one  half 
of  all  I  make.  ...  If  I  were  to  get  the  office  I  want,  I  could  make 
you  comfortable  for  life ;  lay  up  about  twenty  five  hundred  dollars 
a  piece  for  [my]  sisters  &  make  myself  independent. 

Let  us  keep  hoping  &  keep  working;  life  was  given  to  us  to 
work  &  to  hope.  ...  As  my  health  returns,  I  feel  strong  hopes  of 
being  able  to  do  a  great  deal  yet.  I  shall  not,  for  the  present,  make 
any  effort  in  Washington ;  when  I  do  [go]  on,  I  will  go  determined 
to  act  like  a  man  &  a  philosopher  &  push  hard.  .  .  . 

[After  sending  his  love  to  each  member  of  the  family  by  name, 
including  Heatty,  the  old  black  cook,  a  slave,  he  says  he  will  try 
to  catch  a  ground  squirrel  for  Joe,  his  oldest  nephew,  and  bring 
something  for  little  Willie  and  Cyrus.] 

Let  us  all  believe  that  God  is  good  &  trust  in  His  justice  &  be 
happy  in  the  reflection  that  He  will  do  what  is  right. 

I  remain  my  dearest  Mother, 

Your  affectionate  son, 

C.  H.  Wiley 
Mrs.  Anne  Wiley. 

Having  recovered  his  health,  Wiley  in  the  late  fall  of 
1849  made  the  trip  to  Washington,  pushing  hard,  as  he  said  in  his 
last  letter,  as  a  man  and  a  philosopher  in  the  interest  of  the  gov- 
ernment appointment  he  sought. 

In  the  following,  as  in  all  his  letters,  he  shows  deep  concern 
for  his  mother,  writing :  "My  health  is  still  good  but  night  before 
last  I  dreamed  that  you  were  suddenly  taken  sick  with  a  cramp  in 


15  There  is  no  record  to  show  what  this  "office"  was. 


96  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

your  side.  I  have  been  very  melancholy  since  &  would  like  to 
know  exceedingly  if  you  are  well." 

No  matter  how  engrossed  he  was  in  personal  affairs,  he  never 
forgot  in  writing  to  his  mother  to  send  some  message  to  the  chil- 
dren of  his  sister  Catherine.  "Tell  Kathy,"  he  writes  in  this  let- 
ter, "that  I'll  bring  the  boys  a  present." 

Washington  City 
Nov.  9,  1849 
My  Dear  Mother : 

I  have  to  write  again  before  I  know  my  fate.  Things  here  work 
very  slowly ;  in  fact  office-hunting  is  a  very  poor  business.  I  have 
seen  Mr.  Clayton16  several  times;  but  he  seems  to  think  nothing 
can  be  done  till  Congress  meets.  A  good  many  North-Carolinians 
are  pushing  for  office  &  they  keep  putting  us  off,  telling  us  that 
[they]  do  not  like  to  decide  between  us,  &  that  they  want  to  wait 
till  they  see  our  members  of  Congress.  This  is  precisely  the  state 
of  the  case;  &  as  there  is  not  much  to  be  seen  here  &  nothing 
to  do  you  may  be  sure  my  time  hangs  heavy  on  my  hands.  I  do 
[go]  every  day  to  see  some  of  the  Government ;  &  I  intend  to  keep 
pushing  as  long  as  there  is  a  chance.  I  have  no  doubt  we  will  all 
have  to  wait  till  the  meeting  of  Congress  &  that  is  three  weeks 
from  next  Monday. 

I  keep  in  good  spirits ;  I  know  Providence  will  bring  all  things 
right.  If  I  have  to  leave  you,  I  will  have  an  office  &  send  you 
money;  if  I  can't  get  any  office,  I  can  stay  with  you  all  though 
poor.  So  that  things  are  not  so  bad ;  &  we  have  the  consolation  of 
knowing  all  is  for  the  best.  .  .  . 

God  bless  you  all ! 

I  remain  Your  affectionate  son, 

C.  H.  Wiley 
Mrs.  Anne  Wiley 

In  the  1840's  thousands  of  North  Carolinians  were  emigrating 
with  their  families  to  sections  to  the  southwest  and  west  which 
seemingly  offered  better  opportunities  for  material  advancement. 
Carefully  studying  the  causes  which  were  thus  bringing  ruin  upon 
his  beloved  state,  the  young  author  and  lawyer  came  to  the  con- 
viction that  the  one  thing  that  would  remedy  this  deplorable 
condition  and  lead  to  the  development  of  the  untold  resources  of 
the  state  was  universal  education — education  not  only  of  the 
youth  of  the  state  but  also  of  the  adult  citizenry.  With  youthful 
zeal  he  took  upon  himself  the  patriotic  task  of  bringing  about  the 
reforms  necessary  for  this  universal  education. 


16  The  author  has  not  been  able  to  identify  Mr.  Clayton. 


Letters  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley  97 

Realizing  that  only  as  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  could 
he  bring  about  educational  reform  and  that  in  his  native  county 
he  would  have  the  best  chance  of  election  to  this  body,  he  re- 
turned to  Guilford  County,  arriving  on  the  very  day  prescribed  by 
law  for  him  to  be  there  in  order  to  become  a  candidate.17 

As  a  Whig  he  was  elected  as  a  representative  of  Guilford  to 
the  legislature  of  1850-1851.  The  following  letters  tell  of  the  bill 
he  introduced  at  this  session  of  the  legislature.  They  show  also 
the  burden  he  had  taken  upon  himself  in  the  management  of  the 
old  home  in  Guilford,  the  ever  present  anxiety  concerning  the 
health  of  his  beloved  mother,  his  love  for  children,  and  his  per- 
sonal interest  in  the  "little  darkies"  and  the  others  at  Wood- 
bourne. 

Raleigh  Nov.  22,  1850 
Dear  Mother: 

This  Thursday  is  the  fourth  day  of  the  session  &  we  are  getting 
on  very  smoothly.  The  democrats  elected  their  speakers  in  both 
houses ;  James  C.  Dobbin  is  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  & 
Weldon  Edwards  of  the  Senate.  Dobbin  is  from  Fayetteville  & 
Edwards  from  Warren. 

The  Legislature  is  organized  but  we  have  not  yet  got  to  doing 
very  important  business.  The  probability  is  that  by  the  middle 
of  next  week  we  will  be  fully  under  way.  There  are  not  many 
visitors  here  at  this  time.  I  suppose  they  are  waiting  till  we  get 
the  steam  up. 

I  am  well,  but  I  am  not  pleased  with  my  room.  I  think  it  proba- 
ble that  I  will  leave  my  boarding  house  to  go  to  another.  We  are 
entirely  too  much  crowded,  having  at  least  75  boarders. 

To-morrow  I  expect  to  introduce  a  bill  for  the  appointment  of 
a  superintendent  of  the  Common  Schools.  The  governor  in  his 
message18  strongly  recommends  it.  The  probability  is  that  one 
will  be  appointed.  I  do  hope  I'll  be  the  man.  Of  course  you  must 
not  talk  of  this ;  say  nothing  until  you  see  what  happens. 

Sam  in  his  letter  says  that  Cyrus  had  been  very  sick  with  an- 
other chill.  I  looked  for  this.  I  tell  you  that  child  must  be  looked 
to.  When  I  was  with  him,  I  made  him  wear  his  hat,  shoes  &  stock- 

17  R.  D.  W.  Connor,  in  The  News  and  Observer  (Raleigh),  February  2,  1902. 

18  The  Fayetteville  Observer  on  November  26,  1850,  published  the  speech  of  Governor 
Charles  Manly,  in  which  the  governor  says:  "The  want  of  information  [concerning  common 
schools]  suggests  the  necessity  of  creating  a  new  officer  in  the  government  to  take  the 
general  charge  of  the  whole  business  ...  to  be  designated  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction 
or  the  General  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools."  The  editor  of  the  Observer  in  the  same 
issue  in  speaking  editorially  of  the  governor's  message  says:  "As  for  the  operation  of  the 
System  [of  common  schools]  itself,  it  appears  that  reform  is  indispensably  necessary.  This 
is  ab[o]undingly  evident  to  prevent  the  System  from  degenerating  into  a  nuisance,  and  from 
losing  its  hold  upon  the  public  regard,  to  which,  if  properly  administered,  it  is  pre-eminently 
entitled."  In  the  proceedings  of  the  House,  printed  also  in  this  issue  of  the  Fayetteville 
Observer,  the  following  item  appears:  Nov.  25,  1850.  Mr.  Wiley,  a  bill  to  provide  for 
appointing  a  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  and  for  other  purposes.  Ordered  to  be 
printed." 


98  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ings  &  would  not  let  him  run  out  in  the  rain  and  eat  trash.  I  also 
gave  him  two  rhubarb  pills ;  they  are  the  best  things  for  him.  He 
took  it  very  much  to  heart  when  we  all  seemed  to  take  no  notice 
of  him.  I  think  that  this  had  some  effect  in  bringing  back  his 
chills. 

I  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  Willie  is  still  getting  better.  I  have 
no  doubt  but  that  he  will  get  well  if  they  will  be  careful  with  him. 
I  hope  they  will  be  especially  particular  in  regard  to  his  diet  & 
going  out  in  the  rain.19  Tell  him  &  Cyrus  &  Joe  that  I  will  bring 
them  all  presents.  Give  Cyrus  the  envelope  that  comes  round  this 
letter  &  tell  him  I  sent  it  to  him. 

Did  Wilson  Kirkman20  cut  that  wood?  When  will  he  want  his 
pay  ?  I  do  hope  you  are  still  improving ;  remember  your  health  is 
more  important  than  that  of  any  of  us.  Please  try  to  keep  your 
spirits  up ;  keep  your  feet  dry  &  warm  &  do  not  undertake  to  lift 
too  much.  Keep  your  bowels  regular  with  the  rhubarb  &  the  pills 
I  sent  to  you ;  &  be  especially  particular  in  your  diet. 

I  have  been  treated  with  kind  consideration  by  the  members; 
&  already  I  am  acquainted  with  nearly  all.  Of  course  nobody  ever 
said  a  word  about  my  right  to  my  seat;21  on  the  contrary  every 
one  congratulated  me  on  my  success. 

The  Governor's  message  was  sent  in  &  read  on  Tuesday ;  it  will 
be  printed  &  I  will  send  papa  a  copy  for  him  &  Sam ;  please  tell 
him  so. 

Give  my  duty  to  him  &  Ningy,22  my  love  to  Senath,  Em, 
Catherine  &  her  little  ones  &  my  regards  to  Sam.  Tell  all  the 
little  "darkies"  that  I  will  bring  them  presents.  .  .  . 

I'll  keep  you  informed  of  how  I  get  on.  I  hope  you'll  all  keep 
well,  black  and  white.  Tell  Heatty23  to  keep  up  a  brave  heart.  Do 
the  best,  all  of  you,  &  trust  in  God  for  the  rest. 
I  remain  your  affectionate  son, 
C.  H.  Wiley 
Mrs.  Anne  Wiley 

Raleigh  Dec.  6th  1850 
My  Dear  Mother : 

I  do  not  know  when  I  was  so  glad  as  when  I  received  &  read 
your  last  letter.  You  have  been  saying  that  your  mind  is  failing ; 
I  have  lately  had  evidence  of  exactly  the  contrary.  It  is  said  that 
people  are  in  their  prime,  as  far  as  the  mind  is  concerned,  at  fifty ; 
&  your  letters  seem  to  be  written  in  a  better  hand  &  more  full  & 
particular  than  they  used  to  be.  And  that  mistake  in  my  cer- 
tificate,24 who  would  have  noticed  it  but  you  ? 

I  am  sorry  to  hear  how  low  Ningy  is ;  please  remember  me  to 
her.  Tell  her  I  hope  we  will  meet  again  in  this  world;  &  if  not, 

19  The  author  has  heard  her  mother,  Mittie  Towles  Wiley,  say  that  Wiley  was  so 
well  versed  in  medicine  that  the  family  doctors  had  great  respect  for  his  views  concerning 
common   ailments   and  their  treatment. 

20  A  Guilford  County  neighbor. 

21  This  refers  perhaps  to  his  return  to  Guilford  County  just  in  time  to  run  for  a  seat  in 
the  legislature  as  a  member  from  that  county. 

22  Mrs.  Peggy  Porter  Wiley,  his  Irish  stepgrandmother  to  whom  he  was  tenderly  attached. 
w  A  slave,  long  the  cook  at  Woodbourne. 

24  See  note  21. 


Letters  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley  99 

that  we  will  have  a  joyful  meeting  in  Heaven.  Endeavor  to  en- 
courage her  with  hope  &  all  of  you  try  to  smooth  the  evening  of 
her  life.  God  will  remember  all  these  things  &  will  certainly  in 
this  world  or  the  next  pay  you  a  thousand  fold  for  your  kindness 
to  our  desolate  old  relation.  Tell  her  that  I  think  of  her  &  pray 
for  her ;  &  that  I  want  her  blessing  &  remembrance  in  her  pray- 
ers. The  blessings  of  the  old  &  desolate  will  do  us  good.  .  .  . 

I  am  well  but  I  am  intolerably  tired  of  Raleigh.  I  can  not  get 
milk ;  the  butter  is  old  &  rancid  &  the  water  very  bad.  I  do  hope 
that  we  will  get  through  soon,  but  I  see  no  porspect  Isic"]  of  it. 

My  bill  about  Common  Schools  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  education;  &  they  have  agreed  to  recommend  its  passage.  I 
think  it  will  pass  the  House,  but  then  it  has  to  go  through  the 
Senate.  I  am  told  by  both  parties  that  if  the  bill  passes,  I  will 
be  elected  Superintendent,  but  this  will  be  several  weeks  off  & 
no  one  knows  what  will  happen  in  that  time.  I  have  been  treated 
with  great  kindness  by  both  parties  &  when  I  rise,  the  bubbub 
cease  and  there  is  a  breathless  stillness.  They  all  want  me  to 
speak,25  but  I  have  had  no  occasion  yet  to  make  a  set  speech. 

A  great  many  of  my  old  Granville  friends  are  here  &  they  treat 
me  with  great  kindness. 

There  has  been  a  Masonic  Convention  here  to  settle  the  loca- 
tion of  that  College26  they  are  to  build,  about  two  hundred  Masons 
are  in  attendance.  The  Greensboro'  &  Oxford  people  determined 
that  it  should  go  to  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  places,  &  last 
night  the  vote  was  taken  &  Oxford  got  it.  Greensboro'  was  next 
highest.  Jacob  Hiatt,  Cyrus  Mendenhall,  Col.  Millis  &  a  Mr.  Reece, 
a  great  friend  of  mine  from  Jamestown,  are  here  attending  the 
Masonic  Lodge.27  The  Greensboro*  wags  played  a  rather  mean 
joke  on  Hiatt;  they  had  his  arrival  announced  in  the  papers, 
making  him  very  ridiculous.  He  was  furious,  but  could  not  find 
out  the  author  of  it.  I  suspect  Gilmer28  or  Hill29  of  Rockingham. 

Gilmer  is  very  kind  to  me ;  he  does  me  the  honor  to  consult  me 
in  every  movement  he  makes.  He  has  made  the  old  politicians  be- 
lieve that  I  am  very  sharp  &  these  old  fellows  often  consult  me. 
Yesterday  a  man  in  a  speech  alluded  to  me,  saying  he  had  got  a 
good  deal  of  his  matter  from  "his  learned  friend  from  Guilford, 


25  One  must  bear  in  mind  that  a  young  son  is  here  writing  in  intimate  detail  to  his 
mother.  However,  from  what  the  author  has  heard  her  mother  say  and  others  write,  Wiley 
must  have  been  a  forceful  speaker  and  preacher.  In  1902  Dr.  R.  D.  W.  Connor  sent  Mrs. 
Wiley  a  letter  he  had  recently  received  from  D.  S.  Richardson  of  California,  a 
distinguished  educator  of  Wilson,  N.  C,  during  the  time  Wiley  was  Superintendent  of 
Common  Schools.  Speaking  of  Wiley,  Richardson  writes:  "My  memory  of  him  is  vivid.  .  .  . 
More  than  any  man  I  was  acquainted  with  he  had  the  genius  of  awakening  the  people  in 
his  cause.  .  .  .  Not  that  he  was  an  orator,  so  called,  or  skilled  in  sensational  devices,  to 
which  he  never  resorted,  lay  the  secret  of  his  power,  It  was  the  simple,  unpretentious,  but 
magnetic  reflection  of  his  'interior  God,'  of  universal  brotherhood.  His  eye,  face  &  gentle 
words  sparkled  with  it.  Nothing  dict[at]orial,  all  suggestive,  but  leading." 

26  As  a  young  Mason,  Wiley  was  the  authorized  agent  to  collect  funds  for  the  establishment 
of  St.  John's  College.  Instead  of  a  college,  however,  the  North  Carolina  Masons  established 
the  Oxford  Orphanage. 

27  Guilford  County  Masons. 

28  John  Adams  Gilmer,  senator  from  Guilford  County. 

29  Probably  William  Hill,  North  Carolina's  secretary  of  state  from  1811  to  1859,  who  was 
from  Rockingham  County. 


100  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Give  my  love  to  all  my  sisters — tell  Senath  I  am  glad  she  has 
got  her  certificate.30  Be  sure  to  tell  Sam's  boys  about  me  &  kiss 
the  baby  for  me.  Tell  Catherine  to  be  careful  of  herself  &  [her] 
children;  &  do  you  be  so  of  yourself  &  of  Senath  &  Emily.  Give 
my  respects  to  father  &  my  love  &  dutiful  regards  to  Ningy.  Tell 
her  I  wish  her  last  moments  to  be  happy  &  peaceful.  Remember 
me  to  Heatty  &  children,  especially  Newt.31 

I  send  you  five  dollars.  I  could  have  sent  more  but  I  have  been 
buying  some  clothes.  I  have  got  me  two  flannel  shirts. 

Be  careful  of  yourself ;  you  are  the  main  stay  of  us  all. 
I  remain  your  affectionate  son, 
C.  H.  Wiley 
Mrs.  Anne  Wiley 

Raleigh  Dec.  13th  1850 
My  Dear  Mother: 

My  bill  to  appoint  a  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  comes 
on  to-day;  &  as  the  papers  say,  I  made  a  great  speech.  When  I 
got  through  Gen.  Saunders,32  the  leading  member  of  the  demo- 
cratic party  &  the  most  distinguished  man  here,  rose  &  said  that 
he  had  been  astonished,  instructed  &  delighted  at  the  able  speech 
of  his  young  friend  from  Guilford  &  & ;  &  my  bill  came  near  get- 
ting through. 

On  Monday  it  will  perhaps  pass  the  House;  &  then  it  has  to 
take  its  chances  in  the  Senate.  If  it  passes,  there  is  no  earthly 
doubt  but  I  will  be  elected  Superintendent ;  that  matter  is  already 
settled. 

The  Guilford  delegation33  get  along  very  well  with  each  other; 
we  are  all  on  excellent  terms.  Gilmer34  has  treated  me  like  a 
father  here ;  &  I  have  been  of  no  little  advantage  to  him. . . . 

How  are  you  all  coming  on  ?  How  is  Ningy  ?  I  would  be  glad 
to  hear  from  her.  I  have  been  listening  to  hear  of  Heatty's  having 
an  heir.  Why  is  she  so  slow  about  it  ?.  .  . 

Tell  Joe  &  Willie  &  Cyrus  I  wrote  about  them ;  &  as  to  the  fat 
baby,  you  can  kiss  it  for  me.  I'd  like  to  see  all  the  little  ones  & 
have  a  frolic  with  them,  Jane  &  Newt  &  Shiel  included.  Tell  Newt 
I'll  bring  him  a  dog.  .  .  . 

Take  care  of  yourself  &  may  God  bless  and  take  care  of  you  all. 
I  remain  your  affectionate  son, 

C.  H.  Wiley 
Mrs.  Anne  Wiley 

Raleigh,  Dec.  19th,  1850 
My  Dear  Mother : 

You[r]  letter  of  the  10th  reached  me  yesterday.  Poor  old 
Ningy !  May  her  soul  rest  in  everlasting  peace !  She  has  long  been 

30  To  teach. 

31  The   son   of   Heatty    (a   slave),    and    the    childhood    companion    and    playmate    of    Wiley. 
He  was  his  special  servant  during  the  1850's. 

32  General  R.  M.  Saunders  of  Raleigh,  representative  of  Wake  County. 

38  Senate:    John    Adams   Gilmer,    Whig;    House   of   Representatives:    D.    F.    Caldwell,    C.    H. 
Wiley,  and  P.  Adams,  Whigs. 
31  John  Adams  Gilmer. 


Letters  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley  101 

desolate ;  I  do  hope  she  has  gone  to  a  home  where  she  will  not  be 
so  lonely.  Although  she  was  too  old  to  be  company  to  us  &  a 
charge,  yet  I  feel  really  sorry  that  she  has  gone. 

I  am  glad  the  rest  of  you  are  all  well ;  poor  little  Willie  has  got 
out  again  I  see.  Let  his  case  be  a  warning  to  us  all  not  to  despair. 
I  still  believed  that  he  would  recover;  we  should  never  predict 
death  or  failure,  but  do  the  best  we  can  &  hope  in  God. 

My  school  bill  did  not  pass.  The  school  fund  is  not  distributed 
fairly  between  the  east  &  west  &  there  is  a  bitter  feeling  between 
these  sections.  While  my  bill  was  under  consideration,  some  one 
moved  an  amendment  to  distribute  the  fund  more  equally;  this 
roused  up  the  old  feeling  &  my  bill  was  killed.  Some  members 
swear  that  they  will  never  vote  to  improve  the  school  laws  till  the 
mode  of  distributing  the  money  is  altered.  If  the  bill  had  passed, 
I  would  have  been  unanimously  elected. 

It  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  I  am  the  most  popular  man 
here;35  but  still  I  am  tired  of  the  business.  Our  expenses  are 
enormous  &  the  fare  wretched.  We  will  get  through  in  about  a 
month.  I  will  hardly  get  off  at  Christmas,  but  I  send  a  Christmas 
greeting  to  you  all.  Greet  father,  Catherine,  Senath,  Emily,  Joe, 
Willie,  Cyrus,  little  Katy,36  Sam,  Heatty,  Jane,  Newt  &  Shiel37 
for  me.  Give  my  love  to  all  &  tell  them  I  wish  them  a  merry 
Christmas  &  a  happy  year.  If  I  [can  not  make]  a  flying  trip 
[home]  at  Christmas,  I  will  get  a  Christmas  gift  for  Senath, 
Emily,  &  the  little  ones. 

A  great  many  tell  me  they  want  my  book38  when  it  is  printed. 
Take  care  of  yourself,  my  dear  Mother,  for  I  want  you  to  live  to 
see  prosperity  of  your  children  &  be  happy  with  them. 
I  remain  your  affectionate  son, 
C.  H.  Wiley 
P.  S.    I  have  written  a  notice  of  Ningy's  death  &  sent  it  to  the 
Patriot. 

The  last  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley's  unpublished  papers  here 
given  is  of  unusual  interest  in  that  it  comes  from  the  American 
legation  at  Madrid  and  is  written  in  the  flowing  hand  of  the 
United  States  Minister  to  Spain,  D.  M.  Barringer.39 


35  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  he  is  writing  for  his  mother's  eye  alone. 

36  Catherine  Rankin's  baby  daughter,  baptized  Alice,  not  Catherine. 

37  Slaves. 

38  The  North-Carolina  Reader,  published  December,  1851,  by  Lippincott,  Grambo  &  Co., 
Philadelphia,  at  Wiley's  own  expense.  Until  the  1870's  this  book,  passing  through  a  number 
of  editions,  was  used  in  the  public  schools  of  North  Carolina,  "creating  and  fostering  a  new 
spirit  among  the  masses  of  the  people"  according  to  Stephen  B.  Weeks  in  "The  Beginnings 
of  the  Common  School  System  in  the  South;  or  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley  and  the  Organiza- 
tion of  the  Common  Schools  in  North  Carolina" — The  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion for  the  Year  1806-97,  II,  1466.  Upon  assuming  the  superintendency  of  the  schools,  Wiley 
disposed  of  his  copyright  for  the  book  and  thus  voluntarily  gave  up  all  profits  from  the  sales. 

The  author  has  heard  her  mother  say  that  Calvin  Wiley  wrote  a  large  part  of  The  North- 
Carolina  Reader  after  the  day's  outside  duties  were  done,  in  the  living  room  of  the  old  home 
at  Woodbourne,  the  family  circle  gathered  with  him  around  the  open  wood  fire,  chatting  or 
reading   while   he  wrote. 

39  Daniel  M.  Barringer  of  Cabarrus  County  (1806-1876).  Lawyer,  congressman,  diplomat. 
Served  in  the  House  of  Commons,  1829-1835  and  two  more  terms  of  two  years  each  later  on. 
Member  of  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  1843.  Appointed  minister  to  Spain 
in  1849  by  President  Taylor.  Member  of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons  in  1854. 
As  a  close,   though   unofficial,   adviser   of   Governor   John   W.    Ellis   and    Governor   Henry    T. 


102 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Legation  of  U.  S. 
Madrid,  Feby  20,  1853. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Absence  has  never  for  a  moment  diminished  the  deep  interest 
I  always  take  in  the  affairs  of  our  Common  and  highly  favoured 
Country — and  especially  in  whatever  concerns  the  welfare  of  our 
beloved  North  Carolina.  I  have  endeavored  to  keep  myself  con- 
stantly informed  of  whatever  transpires  within  her  borders,  and 
to  form  my  opinions  and  to  cherish  my  hopes  for  her  bright 
future,  as  if  I  were  actually  in  your  midst,  instead  of  being  in  a 
foreign  land. 

Among  the  events  which  have  recently  given  me  the  most  lively 
satisfaction  is  the  law  creating  a  General  Superintendent  of  Com- 
mon Schools  in  the  State,  and  your  own  appointment  to  that 
responsible  post. 

Having  been  among  the  earliest  of  the  friends  and  advocates 
of  a  well  regulated  system  of  Popular  Education  in  our  State,  at 
a  time  too  when  we  had  real  difficulties  to  encounter,  I  always 
entertained  the  opinion  that  such  an  officer  was  indispensable  to 
its  complete  success.  And  I  am  truly  gratified  that  the  appoint- 
ment has  been  alloted  to  one  every  way  worthy  of  its  honor, 
sensible  of  its  duties  and  responsibilities — so  well  qualified  by 
personal  knowledge  and  local  information  and  so  ardently  devoted 
to  a  cause,  which,  I  am  fully  persuaded,  lies  at  the  foundation  and 
is  the  only  sure  guaranty  of  our  popular  institutions. 

These  glorious  institutions,  allow  me  to  say,  foreign  residence 
&  a  nearer  knowledge  of  European  government  and  courts  have 
only  caused  me  to  admire  and  love  more  &  more  every  day  of  my 
life.  We  are  all  accustomed  not  only  in  schools  and  colleges  but 
before  the  assembled  "Sovereigns"  themselves  to  descant  upon 
the  "virtues  and  intelligence  of  the  people"  as  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  the 
only  means  of  their  preservation. 

But  I  have  never  so  fully  realized  the  force  of  this  just  senti- 
ment, regarded  almost  as  an  axiom  with  us,  till  I  lived  abroad  and 
have  seen  how  feeble  and  futile  and  almost  worthless  are  the  at- 
tempts at  self-government  and  true  liberty  without  a  previous 
education  and  knowledge  among  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 
Without  such  preparation  there  will  be  little  private  and  less  pub- 
lic virtue — and  corruption  public  and  private  will  be  the  order  of 
the  day.  But  excuse,  I  pray  you,  this  digression.  My  chief  object 
in  this  note  was  to  offer  you  my  warm  congratulations  on  the  ap- 
pointment which  you  have  recently  received  from  the  Legislature 
and  to  express  my  hopes  and  convictions  your  efforts  will  result 
in  much  good  to  the  great  cause  we  all  have  so  much  at  heart. 

I  hope  to  be  able,  if  I  should  have  the  pleasure  to  meet  you  in 
our  part  of  the  State,  to  express  in  person  my  best  wishes  for 
your  success  sometime  during  the  present  year  when  it  has  long 

Clark,  he  played  considerable  part  in  public  affairs  with  devotion  to  the  Confederate  cause. 
In  1872  as  delegate  to  the  National  Democratic  convention  he  advocated  the  nomination  of 
Horace  Greeley.  J.  G.  de  Roulhac  Hamilton,  "Barringer,  Daniel  Moreau,"  Dictionary  of 
American  Biography,  I,  648. 


Letters  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley  103 

been  my  desire  and  intention  to  return  to  the  U.  S.  and  to  which 
I  have  already  made  known  my  purpose  at  Washington. 

I  have  the  satisfaction  to  know  that  my  mission  here,  during  a 
most  critical  period  in  our  affairs  with  Spain,  has  received  the 
entire  approbation  of  our  government  &  I  believe,  so  far  as  they 
yet  have  been  enable  to  judge  of  its  results,  that  of  the  American 
people. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  very  truly  &  faithfully  your 

friend  and  obt.  Sert. 

D.  M.  Barringer. 


LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO 
ANDREW  JOHNSON 

Edited  By  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

[Continued] 

From  Edward  W.  Hinks90 

Head  Quarters  Second  Military  District, 
Provost  Marshal  Generals  Office, 
Citadel,  Charleston  S.  C.  August  10,  1867 
Capt.  J.  C.  Clous 
A.  A.  A.  G 
2nd  Mil  Dist. 
Captain : 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  in  the  case  of 
Mr.  Wm.  M.  Johnson  of  Rockingham  County,  N.  C.  who  deserted 
from  the  rebel  army  in  1863,  and,  being  closely  pressed  by  the 
Conscript  Officers  in  North  Carolina,  while  making  his  way  to 
the  Federal  lines,  entered  the  house  of  John  W.  Moore  of  Rock- 
ingham County,  North  Carolina,  during  the  night  of  the  24th 
Jany,  1863,  and  without  injuring,  or  offering  violence  to  any  per- 
son present,  took  therefrom  three  pieces  of  bacon,  of  the  value  of 
$5.00  (five  dollars),  and  some  other  small  articles  of  food,  and 
continued  his  flight  to  the  Federal  lines,  which  he  succeeded  in 
reaching;  and  subsequently  joined  the  10th  Tenn  Vols,  of  which 
he  was  appointed  1st  Lieut,  remaining  in  the  service  of  the  U.  S. 
until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Johnson  returned  to  his  home  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  and 
a  capias  for  his  arrest  was  issued  by  Judge  R.  B.  Gilliam,91  in 
March  1866  upon  which  he  was  arrested,  on  the  29th  April,  and 
brought  before  the  Court  to  answer  to  an  indictment  for  burglary 
which  had  been  found  against  him  by  the  Grand  Jury,  in  August 
1863,  for  entering  the  house  of  Moore  and  taking  food  therefrom 
while  on  his  way  to  the  Federal  lines,  as  herein  before  stated. 

On  the  application  of  Johnson,  the  case  was  removed  to  the 
County  of  Caswell,  North  Carolina  for  trial,  he  being  in  the  mean- 
time refused  bail. 

At  the  fall  term  of  the  Court  in  Caswell  County,  in  1866,  John- 
son was  tried  on  the  indictment  before  Judge  Daniel  J.  Fowle,  and 
was  found  guilty  of  burglary,  as  charged  in  the  bill  of  indictment, 
and  was  sentenced  to  be  hung  on  the  third  Friday  in  December. 

90  Edward  W.  Hincks  of  Massachusetts  was  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  on  April  26, 
1861.  Four  days  later  he  became  lieutenant  colonel  of  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  Infantry 
and  on  May  16  he  was  made  a  colonel.  On  November  29,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to  brigadier 
general  and  he  was  retired  on  December  15,  1870.  He  died  on  February  4,  1894.  Heitman, 
Historical  Register  and  Dictionary  of  the  United  States  Army,  I,  532. 

91  Robert  B.  Gilliam  was  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  constitutional  convention  of 
1835  from  Granville  County  and  served  several  times  as  a  member  of  the  state  legislature, 
becoming  speaker  of  the  House  in  18G5.  In  1865  Governor  Holden  appointed  him  as  one  of 
the  provisional  judges  of  the  Superior  Court  to  which  post  he  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1865. 
Tn  1870  he  was  elected  as  the  successor  to  John  T.  Deweese  from  the  fourth  North  Carolina 
Congressional  district,  but  he  died  in  October  and  never  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of 
Congress,  Hamilton,  Reconstruction,  l'Zln,  145w,  280n,  405,  492w,  539.  Hamilton,  Correspond- 
ence of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  1003,  1083. 

[104] 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  105 

The  defendant  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  the  Jany  term 
1867,  which  confirmed  the  judgment;  and  sentence  of  the  Su- 
perior Court. 

Under  the  date  of  April  27th.  1867,  Gov.  Worth  of  North  Caro- 
lina pardoned  Johnson,  unconditionally,  and  on  the  6th  day  of  May 
he  was  discharged  from  custody  by  Judge  Edward  Warren  of  the 
Superior  Court.92 

It  further  appears  that  Johnson  was  kept  chained  in  an  iron 
cage,  9  feet  square  and  6  feet  high,  without  fire,  and  with  in- 
sufficient clothing  during  the  whole  period  from  his  conviction 
until  his  release  in  May  1867,  and  was  a  subject  of  this  inhuman 
treatment  solely  because  of  his  having  served  in  the  Union  Army. 

I  recommend  that  the  Post  Commander  of  Greenboro,  N.  C.  be 
instructed  to  bring  the  Sheriff  and  Jailor  of  Caswell  County,  to 
trial  before  a  Post  Court,  as  constituted  by  circular  of  May  15th 
Head  Qrs  2nd  Mil  District,  for  cruel  and  inhuman  treatment  of 
Johnson,  and  that  the  said  Court  be  authorized  to  hear  and  de- 
termine any  suit  that  Wm.  M.  Johnson  may  bring  before  it  for 
damages. 

I  am  Captain 
With  respect 
(Signed)  Bvt.  Col  U.  S.  A. 

Provost  Marshal  General, 
2nd  Mil.  Dist. 

A  true  copy 
L.  V.  Caziarc 
A  D  C  Mil  D.t, 
Hedqrs  2nd  mily  Dist 
Nov.  11,  1867 

From  C        F  Sussdorff 

Winston  Forsythe  C°.  North  Carolina 

Aug.  26th.  1867. 
To  the  President  of  the  United  States 
Mr.  President, 

With  feelings  of  humble  trust  in  your  forbearance  and  kind 
heartedness,  I  venture  once  more  to  hold  communion  with  your 
Excellency  by  letter,  in  like  manner  a[s]  I  did  12  ms.  ago.  Ac- 
tuated by  a  true  love  of  my  adopted  country  my  soul  shall  speak 
to  yours  as  a  native  hero  and  patriot  in  truth  and  soberness.  At 
the  time  your  Excellency  passed  Warrenton  Depot  on  your  way  to 
Raleigh,  I  introduced  myself  to  you,  and  asked  if  you  could  recol- 
lect having  received  a  communication  through  your  lady  last 
Summer  from  a  person  of  my  name  &  you  replied  that  you  recol- 
lected something  about  it  &c.  I[t]  would  have  given  me  a  great 

92  Edward  J.  Warren  of  Beaufort  County  was  a  member  of  the  secession  convention  of 
1861  and  the  constitutional  convention  of  1867.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Worth  as  a 
judge  to  hold  a  court  of  oyer  and  terminer  in  Lenoir  County,  and  in  1868  he  was  a  candidate 
for  judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  In  1870  he  was  speaker  pro  tempore  of  the  state  Senate.  He 
was  considered  for  the  post  of  United  States  Senator  to  succeed  Joseph  C.  Abbott,  but 
Zebulon  B.  Vance  was  elected.  Hamilton,  Reconstruction,  121n,  145n,  280n,  536,  562;  Hamilton, 
Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  968,  1003,  1083,  1171. 


106  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

deal  of  satisfaction  could  I  have  had  the  opportunity  by  having 
a  conversation  with  you,  but  this  was  out  of  the  question,  and 
therefore  permit  me  to  address  you  these  lines 

Well  Mr.  President  the  Union  which  we  loved  with  filial  af- 
fections, has  not  been  restored  as  we  all  fondly  hoped,  and  I  am 
afraid  never  will  be,  unless  the  people  north  come  forward  and 
acknowledge  that  your  plan  is  the  more  efficient,  speediest,  just 
and  magnanimous.  This  has  to  come  to  pass  or  this  government 
will  go  down  in  utter  destruction  and  anarchy.  My  whole  being 
yearns  for  a  restoration  of  fraternal  relations  between  the  aii- 
anated  sections,  but  how  are  the  Union  loving  people  treated? 
I  need  not  tell  your  Excellency.  When  one  contemplates  the  dis- 
closures recently  developed  in  conspiring  against  your  life  and 
high  office,  a  cold  shutter  creeps  through  one's  whole  system,  to 
think  that  such  wickedness  can  exist  in  a  Congress  of  the  U. 
States.  Yea !  I  say  Mr.  Johnson  those  that  dig  pitts  for  others  to 
fall  in  will  fall  into  it,  themselves.  I  know  and  I  feel  it  in  my  soul 
that  you  are  honest  and  true  in  all  you  have  said  to  Congress  con- 
cerning the  upholding  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  and 
nobody  can  make  me  think  otherwise. 

The  late  act  of  Congress  gives  the  "Registrars  plenary  powers 
and  they  use  them  with  a  will  and  their  option  of  course,  creating 
a  good  deal  of  hard  feeling  among  the  rejected,  many  of  whom 
would  have  contributed  heartyly  to  restoring  harmony  and  pros- 
perity. 

Sincerely  as  I  wish  for  a  "Reunion,"  I  doubt  whether  the  pres- 
ent "Act,"  in  force  will  do  it?  From  late  indications,  I  judge  that 
the  northern  People  will  yet  reject  the  whole  plan  of  radical 
reconstruction  and  adopt  a  policy  similar  to  yours  if  not  the  iden- 
tial  one.  Should  this  sceem  be  carried  through  nevertheless,  we 
will  have  then  no  States  ruled  and  formed  exclusively  by  negro 
votes,  and  there  is  no  getting  round  it 

I  can  well  imagine  how  all  this  turmoil  and  confusion  must 
worry  you  in  mind  and  body,  and  it  is  a  wonder  that  your  health 
continues  so  well,  yet  Mr.  Johnson  I  firmly  believe  that  a  Higher 
Power  than  man,  sustains  and  upholds  you,  because  those  that 
put  their  trust  in  God  and  humble  rely  upon  his  guidance  and 
protection  He  has  prommissed  He  will  in  no  ways  forsake  in  the 
hour  of  trial.  Think  of  King  David,  what  powerful  enemies  he  had 
to  content  with,  but  he  had  faith  in  the  Lord  and  He  put  them  all 
under  his  heels  at  last.  Even  the  gates  of  Hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  those  that  fear  and  love  the  Lord. 

Every  unprejudiced  man,  in  reading  your  public  documents 
must  acknowledge  that  you  have  pursued  a  truely  constitutional 
course,  and  the  masses  of  the  North  will  be  compelled  (as  you 
always  said) ,  to  fall  into  ranks,  and  will  yet  praise  you  and  bless 
you,  for  saving  the  Constitution.  At  this  time  down  here  in  the 
South,  it  is  almost  considered  treason  to  speak  well  of  our  Presi- 
dent and  had  Mr.  W.  W.  Holden,  the  power  as  he  has  the  will, 
those  opposed  to  him  would  fare  but  middling.  He  is  a  great 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  107 

radical  and  Anti  Administration  man,  he  petrayed  his  own  people 
and  leaves  no  stone  unturned  in  arraying  the  North  against  the 
South,  because  we  would  not  have  him  for  our  Governor.  Mr. 
President  do  you  blame  us  for  having  rejected  him,  when  he  has 
proved  a  broken  reed,  to  say  the  least,  do  you  also !  The  Radicals 
use  him  as  a  means,  but  they  have  no  confidence  in  him. 

The  true  hearted  Union  men  are  greatly  dejected  by  the  course 
affairs  are  taking,  in  as  much  as  they  had  expected  better  treat- 
ment from  Congress,  and  for  that  reason  are  becoming  very  luke- 
warm in  the  cause-  Many  would  become  Democrats  if  it  was  not 
for  the  name,  which  they  hate  beyond  believe.  For  my  own  part 
I  believe  that  the  country  can  only  become  prosperous  and  happy 
again  under  an  administration  that  advocates  Doctrines  similar 
to  the  pure  and  unadulterated  constitution  loving  Democrats-  If 
the  name  is  abnoxious,  then  call  it  something  else  and  I  will  give 
it  support. 

If  we  scan  the  political  Horizon,  is  there  not  every  prospect,  as 
things  are  managed  now,  to  have  both  blacks  and  whites  sepa- 
rated into  two  distinct  and  opposing  parties-  Negroes  will  be 
elected  to  office,  go  to  Congress  &c-  and  I  can  not  see  how  it  can 
be  prevented;  then  will  arise  an  animosity  against  the  negro  in 
the  North,  which  will  shake  this  country  to  the  Centre  and  may 
prove  the  extermination  of  the  poor  blacks.  With  these  sad  al- 
ternatives staring  us  in  the  face  it  is  possible  that  capital  will 
settled  among  us  or  emigrants  be  induced  to  come  from  either 
abroad  or  from  the  North.  Nobody  would  like  to  live  under  an 
overwhelming  negro  majority. 

Another  source  of  great  irritation  is  the  forcing  of  the  negro 
into  the  Jury  box.  This  will  be  the  bitterest  pill  to  swallow  after 
all  and  will  be  the  means  of  much  ill  will  towards  the  govern- 
ment. The  black  colour  of  a  negro  may  be  a  great  stumbling 
block  to  the  whites,  and  may  be  after  all,  only  prejudice  in  them, 
but  that  prejudice  will  not  be  removed  until  the  millenium  comes, 
let  the  Radicals  do  what  the[y]  please  they  cannot  make  the 
ethiopian  change  his  skin. 

Mr.  President,  I  trust  you  will  excuse  any  bad  writing,  I  am 
unused  to  it  but  I  could  not  help  speaking  a  kind  word  to  you  in 
your  difficult  situation.  May  The  Lord  of  Host  guide  and  protect 
you  and  keep  you  from  all  harm,  is  the  sincere  wish  of  your 
humble  servant. 

If  it  is  not  disagreable  to  you  to  hear  from  me  occassionaly 
please  signify  it  by  a  line  or  so 

From  C.        F  Sussdorff 

Winston  Forsythe  Co.  North  Carolina 

Aug.  28th.      1867. 
Mrs.  President  Johnson 
Dear  Madam, 

I  take  the  liberty  once  more  to  inclose  to  your  address  a  few 
lines  to  your  much  beloved  husband,  with  the  respectful  request, 


108  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

that  if  it  pleases  you  and  after  perusing  it  you  think  it  worth- 
while to  hand  it  to  the  President  to  do  so,  otherwise  to  destroy  it 
as  waste  paper.  I  would  not  deprive  him  one  moment  from  his 
recreation,  or  add  a  feather's  weight  to  his  duties,  by  this  com- 
munication, but  my  wish  and  intend  is  to  cheer  him  in  my  humble 
capacity,  for  he  has  a  rough  road  to  travel,  and  would  gladly 
assist  him  in  restoring  harmony  and  good  feeling  if  I  could.  To 
think  that  a  set  of  villians  conspired  against  his  life  and  station, 
makes  one  feel  horror  struck,  and  draws  every  christian  man  and 
woman  in  the  land  around  him  in  sympathy.  Human  sympathy  is 
a  frail  support  in  mental  or  bodyly  distress,  still  it  is  some  little 
encouragement  to  know,  that  you  have  it. 

The  bitterness  existing  between  the  parties  is  very  great  and 
where  and  how  it  will  end,  who  can  know  it? 

With  my  prayer  that  the  Lord  will  protect  you  and  all  your 
house,  I  subscribe  myself 

Your  very  humble  servant. 


From  Ellis  Malone      M.  D. 

Louisburg  N.  C.  August  30th  1867 
Mr.  President 

I  know  you  must  be  almost  overwhelmed  with  business  &  hence 
I  dislike  to  tax  your  time  even  to  send  a  letter.  I  am  no  politician, 
never  have  been.  I  have  always  kept  myself  posted  in  relation 
to  the  affairs  of  the  Country.  I  am  62  years  old,  have  practiced 
medicine  all  my  life  untill  some  10  years  ago  when  I  retired  from 
the  active  duties  of  my  profession.  I  thought  I  had  enough  of 
this  worldly  goods  for  me  &  my  four  children  &  my  wife  which 
should  have  been  named  first- 

The  accursed  war  has  robed  me  of  nearly  all  I  had  made  &  I  am 
now  practicing  physic  [ian]  to  help  me  support  my  family-I  am 
a  Mason-R,  A,  M  have  been  master  of  the  lodge  in  this  place  for 
8  or  10  years  consecutively-am  now  high  priest  of  the  R  A  chap- 
ter of  this  place  &  have  been  for  many  years-I  am  glad  to  see  that 
you  too  are  a  Mason  and  as  a  Mason  &  as  President  of  the  U.  S. 
I  address  you.  I  have  no  one  in  Washington  City  to  refer  you  to 
for  my  standing  in  my  community  &  hence  the  above  statement 
Gen1  Howard  the  head  of  the  Negro  Beaureau,  knowing  me,  was 
at  my  house  and  partook  of  my  hospitality  &  knows  my  loyalty 
to  the  Constitution  &  the  laws  of  the  U.  S. 

I  was  as  much  opposed  to  secession  &  every  thing  that  con- 
tributed to  the  late  unhappy  &  wicked  war  as  any  man  could  be 
&  yet  having  been  a  magistrate  38  years  ago  &  having  furnished 
a  son  a  horse  to  join  the  cavalry  service  during  the  late  war,  to 
which  he  volunteered  to  save  himself  from  conscription  I  am 
disfranchised  but  enough  of  this.  There  is  an  impending  crisis 
hanging  over  us  of  which  I  am  satisfied  you  nor  any  of  the  people 
North  are  Conversant-The  negroes  though  they  worked  badly 
yet  behaved  themselves  remarkably  well  untill  some  ten  months 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  109 

ago-Emisaries  black  and  white,  from  the  north  and  some  meaner 
white  men  in  our  midst  have  been  at  work  with  them  and  have 
excited  them,  by  inflamatory  speeches  &  teachings  with  promises 
of  confiscation  of  lands  for  their  benefit  joining  into  leagues 
&  swearing  them  to  support  only  radical  leaders  &  to  other 
things  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  Country  untill 
now  &  for  some  time  back  they  have  become  bold  defiant  impu- 
dent &  threatening  to  such  an  extent  that  all  thinking  men  here 
see  that  a  conflict  of  races  is  inevitable-  Two  months  ago  young 
Holden  Son  of  W  W  Holden  came  out  here  and  addressed  a  large 
crowd  of  colored  people.  I  with  several  respectable  gentlemen 
went  out  to  hear  him.  His  speech  was  a  most  inflamatory  &  in- 
cendary  one  &  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  calculated  if  not 
intended  to  excite  the  negro  against  the  white  man  as  neces- 
sarily to  bring  on  a  conflict  between  them-I  am  as  satisfied  as 
I  can  be  of  any  thing  that  has  not  already  transpired  that  if 
things  go  on  as  now  existing  &  has  been  going  on  for  some  months 
that  a  bloody  strife  is  before  us,  such  as  one  as  no  good  man  can 
contemplate  without  horrow.  What  adds  to  the  certainty  of  this 
thing  is  that  in  every  conflict  now  between  the  white  &  black 
which  occurs  the  military  &  the  freedmans  Beaureau  protect  the 
black  &  fine  &  imprison  the  white  man.  This  is  obliged  to  em- 
bolden the  negro  in  outrage.  I  could  if  this  paper  would  allow  of 
it  give  you  cases  that  I  know  would  arouse  your  indignation.  And 
I  assure  you  upon  the  honor  of  a  man  and  a  Mason-that  the  white 
people  so  far  as  I  know  are  willing  to  give  the  negro  all  the  rights 
he  is  entitled  to  under  the  law.  Thousands  of  people  like  myself 
are  disfranchised,  who  had  no  part  in  Cecession  or  the  war  & 
unfortunately  many  who  could  register  will  not  do  it.  Whats  the 
use  they  say  we  are  ruined  the  north  intends  to  keep  us  so  & 
they  have  the  power  &  will  do  it.  I  know  this  aught  not  to  be  so 
&  so  do  you,  but  but  they  cant  be  reasoned  out  of  it  &  the  regis- 
tration now  going  on  in  this  County  (the  board  Consisting  of  two 
negroes  and  one  white  man.  One  of  the  negroes  an  illiterate  black- 
smith) shows  that  they  (the  negro)  will  have  a  majority  of 
probably  250  to  300  majority  whereas  if  all  could  register  &  vote 
the  negro  would  be  in  the  minority-&  they  are  almost  every  one 
sworn  to  support  the  radical  ticket  &  Holden  for  the  next  Gov- 
ernor-Should that  ever  happen-a  worse  state  than  that  of  Ten- 
nessee is  ours-I  fear  you  will  think  my  fears  are  father  to  my 
thought.  The  Lord  grant  it  may  be  so.  No  yankee  that  lives  among 
us  will  believe  such  a  thing  as  a  war  of  races  can  happen-Every 
intelligent  and  thinking  man  I  meet  an  [d]  converse  with  think  as 
I  say  to  you  above-we  feel  that  we  are  standing  upon  a  volcano- 
&  most  of  us  would  get  away  if  we  could-but  those  who  have  a 
little  left  cant  sell  &  can  not  get  money  to  move  away  I  assure 
you  that  if  I  could  git  one  half  the  real  worth  of  what  property  I 
had  left  me  in  cash  I  would  not  stay  here  any  longer  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  get  away- Where  would  you  go  Any  where 
to  get  away  from  a  negro  rule  a  negro  insurrection  the  negro  en- 
couraged by  the  Military  &  Freedmans  Beaureau  and  the  north- 


110  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ern  emisaries  white  &  black  who  are  here  fanning  the  flame  of 
prejudice  &  hate  &  revenge  as  well  as  some  whites  among  us  for 
self  aggrandizement  &  for  bitter  revenge 

Excuse  me  Mr.  President  I  have  written  to  you  hurridly-but 
what  I  have  written  are  the  words  of  truth  &  soberness-what  I 
know  and  so  honestly  believe-I  dont  know  that  you  can  do  to 
save  us  and  our  wives  &  children  the  fate  refered  to  above-If 
any  thing  can  be  done  humanity  requires  it  should  be  done  &  done 
quickly  or  it  will  be  too  late  with  sentimenst  of  sincere  esteem  & 
respect 

I  am  sir,  Your  respectfully  &  C 

Dr.  Sir  Will  you  please  have  this  read  the  President  Hon.e  A 
Johnson  I  take  this  course  fearing  he  might  not  get  it  in  the 
ordinary  way 

E.  Malone 
One  of  your  subscribers- 

From  Jonathan  Worth 

Copy 

State  of  North  Carolina 
Executive  Department 
Raleigh  Sept  10th  1867. 
Maj.  Genl  E.  R.  S.  Canby 
Mil  Com  at  2nd  District. 
Charleston  S.  C. 
General 

I  respectfully  submitt  for  your  consideration  a  few  suggestions 
touching  the  orders  of  Genl  Sickles,  several  of  which  I  think 
ought  to  be  revoked  or  essentially  modified.93 

I  suppose  his  Order  No-  32  was  intended  to  prevent  any  dis- 
crimination against  color,  in  the  making  up  of  our  Juries.  Our 
existing  laws  in  this  State  make  no  such  discrimination-  and  so 
long  as  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  is  recognized  as  law  (and  it  is  rec- 
ognized by  all  the  authorities  of  this  State)  the  negro  being  made 
a  citizen  has  all  the  rights  and  privileges  as  to  serving  on  juries 
which  belong  to  the  white  citizens,  but  our  laws  have  always  re- 
quired a  freehold  qualification  in  a  juror. 

According  to  our  laws  the  Justices  of  the  County  Courts  are 
required  from  time  to  time  to  review  the  list  of  free  holders  and 
cast  out  such  freeholders  as  they  deem  unfit  to  serve  on  jurors  by 
reason  of  incapacity,  bad  character  or  other  cause-and  out  of  the 
list  of  free  holders  thus  purged,  to  draw  and  cause  to  be  drawn 
names  of  jurors  for  all  our  Courts  of  Record  Our  juries  have  con- 
sequently been  composed  of  discreet  men  of  fair  intelligence. 

Under  the  order  of  Genl  Sickles,  the  Justices  are  required  from 
the  list  of  those  who  shall  have  been  assessed  and  who  shall  have 


93  On  August  14,  Governor  Worth  wrote  Judge  Gilliam  that  he  was  trying  to  get 
General  Sickles  to  modify  his  orders  relative  to  juror  service  so  as  not  to  admit  any  but 
"a  freeholder  to  serve  on  the  jury."  Hamilton,  Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  II, 
1034-1035. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  111 

paid  a  tax  this  year,  to  draw  our  juries.  They  are  not  allowed  to 
cast  out  any  tax-payer  however  ignorant  or  debased  his  moral 
character. 

To  say  nothing  of  negroes,  juries  drawn  from  the  whites  only 
under  this  order,  would  not  be  fit  to  pass  on  the  rights  of  their 
fellowmen.  In  this  State  we  collect  a  poll  tax.  It  is  a  small  tax 
almost  any  citizen  can  pay  it.  Some  have  maintained  that  the 
word  "assessed"  applies  only  to  a  property  tax.  The  Genl  told  me 
he  meant  it  to  embrace  those  who  had  paid  any  tax  either  on  the 
poll  or  on  property. 

When  Chief  Justice  Chase  held  his  Court  here  in  June,  he 
ordered  the  Marshall  to  summon  Citizens  as  jurors,  without  dis- 
crimination as  to  Color,  being  otherwise  qualified  according  to 
the  laivs  of  the  State. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  appreciate  Genl  Sickles  reasoning  on 
this  subject.  We  have  hitherto  regarded  trial  by  jury  as  one  of 
the  chief  safe-guards  of  liberty.  With  juries  constituted  according 
to  his  order,  few  of  us  would  hereafter  have  any  respect  for 
this  mode  of  trial. 

At  our  County  Courts  happening  next  after  the  1st  day  of  Oc- 
tober, juries  will  be  drawn  conformably  to  this  order,  unless  you 
shall  revoke  or  modify  it. 

The  order  creating  a  Provost  Court  in  Fayetteville  composed 
of  three  Civilians,  machinists  by  trade,  neither  of  them  ever  hav- 
ing read  the  law  or  even  so  superficially,  with  jurisdiction  over 
five  Counties  as  to  all  Civil  suits  and  I  believe  all  crimes  not 
capitally  punished.  I  regard  it  as  the  most  extraordinary  tribunal 
ever  established  in  this  Country  for  the  administration  of  justice. 

I  have  not  heard  of  anybody,  not  even  the  most  prejudicial 
officers  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  who  pretended  that  justice 
has  not  been  impartially  and  intelligently  administered  in  our 
Superior  Courts  of  Law.  I  have  not  heard  of  a  solitary  instance 
where  unfairness  or  partiality  has  been  imputed  to  them.  There 
has  doubtless  been  some  different  representation  made  to  Genl 
S.  by  some  malevolent  partizan,  but  I  have  no  idea  any  respecta- 
ble person  has  made  such  imputation. 

You  must  readily  perceive  what  confusion  must  arise  where 
the  intricacies  of  the  law  are  to  be  awarded,  or  records  touching 
the  rights  of  the  citizens  kept  by  such  a  Court-  I  think  no  good- 
nothing  but  mischief  can  flow  from  this  tribunal  and  I  earnestly 
urge  its  immediate  abolition. 

If  you  be  unwilling  from  this  representation  to  abolish  the 
tribunal  without  further  investigation,  then  I  respectfully  ask 
to  be  informed  upon  what  representation  it  was  created,  to  the 
end  that  I  may  offer  to  you  counter  evidence  showing  the  in- 
expediency of  the  establishment  and  continuance  of  such  Court. 


I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Yours  very  Respectfully 
Governor  of  N.  C. 


112  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Copy 

Maj.  Gen  E.  R.  S.  Canby.  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Mil  Com  at  2lld.  Dist  Executive  Department. 

Charleston  S.  C.  Raleigh  Septr  11,  1867. 

General. 

I  inclose  to  you  a  communication  from  Fred  L.  Roberts,  and 
others-all  gentlemen  of  high  character  for  intelligence  and  honor 
for  such  action  on  your  part  as  you  may  deem  proper.94 

When  there  is  no  pretence  by  any  body,  so  far  as  I  have  heard, 
that  justice  is  not  impartially  administered  in  all  of  our  Superior 
Courts  of  Law,  I  cannot  conceive  why  so  many  Military  arrests 
have  been  made  in  the  State.  They  would  be  much  less  exception- 
able, if,  at  the  time  of  the  arrest,  the  charges  were  made  known 
and  a  preliminary  trial  had  been  incarceration. 

This  power  of  Military  arrest  has  been  most  oppressively  exer- 
cised, in  this  State.  One  example  of  it  was  the  arrest  of  Duncan 
G.  McRae,  of  Fayetteville,  some  months  ago.  He  was  seized, 
carried  to  a  distant  Military  prison,  Fort  Macon,  and  detained  a 
prisoner  some  two  or  three  months,  without  notice  of  the  ac- 
cusation against  him.  He  was  not  permitted  to  give  bail,-  nor  to 
go  on  his  parol.  He  was  finally  brought  to  trial  before  the  Mili- 
tary Court  here,  in  which  General  Avery  is  Judge  Advocate.  He 
was  charged  with  murder  on  the  affidavit  of  a  base  woman  in  Fay- 
etteville. Genl  Avery  procured  his  arrest  upon  the  affidavit  of 
this  vile  woman.  There  was  no  other  evidence  against  him.  Be- 
sides her  bad  character,  every  material  fact  in  her  statement  was 
proved  to  be  false  by  the  most  plenary  evidence.  When  brought 
to  trial  the  evidence  of  this  woman  was  so  manifestly  false,  that 
the  Court  discharged  him  without  examining  his  witnesses.  He 
is  an  old  and  highly  respectable  man,  I  have  never  heard  any 
citizen,  white  or  black,  respectable  or  ignoble,  who  entertained  the 
slightest  suspicion  of  his  guilt,  excepting  Genl  Avery,  and  the 
base  woman  on  whose  affidavit  the  arrest  was  made. 

I  think  that  public  justice  and  sound  policy  alike  forbid  the 
trial  of  citizens  before  Military  Court  unless  there  be  good  ground 
to  believe  that  justice  will  not  be  administered  by  our  Courts. 

In  the  particular  case  referred  to  in  the  inclosed  petition,  if 
there  be  any  evidence  against  any  of  the  parties,  there  would  be 
no  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  Civil  authorities  of  the  State  to 
indict  and  punish  them. 

If  the  Military  have  knowledge  of  such  evidence,  why  should 
they  not  make  it  known  to  the  Civil  authorities,  and  resort  to  a 
Military  trial  only  when  the  Civil  authorities  decline  to  act. 

The  Superior  Court  of  Law  sits  in  Chowan,  in  which  County 
the  alleged  offence  occurred,  on  2nd  Monday  after  the  4th  Monday 
of  this  month.  I  hope  the  trial  of  these  men  will  be  turned  over  to 
that  Court.  I  will  guaranty  that  the  Solicitor  for  that  circuit  will 
summon  and  examine  every  witness  the  Military  may  designate 

04  For  further  details  on  the  subject,  see  General  Canby's  letter  of  September  17,  p.  117. 
A  letter  from  Governor  Worth  on  the  subject,  dated  November  30,  1867,  is  to  be  published 
subsequently. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  113 

and  that  a  fair  and  impartial  trial  will  be  had-and  that  in  the 
meantime  they  may  be  released  from  imprisonment,  on  giving 
bail  in  any  amount  the  Post  Commander  may  deem  adequate  to 
insure  their  appearance. 

Immediately  after  the  escape  of  Pratt,  I  offered  a  reward  for 
his  apprehension. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Yours  very  Respectfully, 
Governor  of  N.  C. 


From  Fred  L.  Roberts  and  others 

Copij  [Sept  11,  1867] 

To  His  Excellency 
Jonathan  Worth 
Governor  &C 

Sir 

A  short  time  since  six  white  men,  Whitaker  Myers,  James 
Harrell,  Wm.  White,  Sr.,  Isaac  White,  John  White,  and  Wm  White 
Jr.  respectable  and  good  citizens  of  Perquimans  County  was 
arrested  and  carried  off  by  parties  claiming  to  act  under  author- 
ity from  Maj.  Genl.  Sickles.  They  were  removed  to  Plymouth  on 
the  Str.  Emilie,  in  charge  of  Col  Hincks,  Provost  Marshall  Gen- 
eral of  the  2nd  Military  District  and  it  has  been  several  times 
reported,  have  from  that  time  been  made  to  work  on  the  Streets 
and  other  public  places  under  a  negro  guard 

No  explanation  of  the  arrest,  so  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  has 
been  made,  tho  it  has  been  reported  in  this  Community,  that  they 
were  arrested  on  suspicion  of  being  engaged  in  releasing  Thomas 
Pratt  from  jail. 

A  brief  statement  may  be  necessary.  Pratt  was  sometime  since 
arrested  by  the  Civil  authorities  of  Chowan  County  on  the  charge 
of  killing  one  James  Norcom  (freedman) .  He  was  promptly  im- 
prisoned by  the  Civil  authorities  before  the  negro  died,  and  after 
remaining  in  jail  sometime,  was,  as  represented  by  the  jailer, 
forcibly  taken  therefrom,  giving  some  named  night-by  ten  or 
fifteen  men,  whom  he  was  unable  to  identify,  or  even  recognize 
as  black  or  white. 

If  the  parties  arrested  are  guilty  of  so  flagrant  a  violation  of 
law,  we  think  we  represent  the  sentiment  of  the  community  in 
saying  that  they  should  and  on  due  conviction  will  be  punished, 
and  we  are  confident  that  a  people  so  guilty  and  highly  extolled 
for  justice,  obedience  to  law,  and  honor  by  Maj.  Genl.  Sickles,  as 
the  people  of  North  Carolina  are,  will  never  fail  in  the  discharge 
of  any  loyal  or  moral  obligation.  And  we  think  that  as  the  offence 
is  said  to  have  been  committed  in  the  State  of  N.  C.  and  is  one 
against  our  laws,  the  Civil  authorities  should  have  jurisdiction. 
We  don't  think  that  the  Military  authorities  can  charge  any  in- 
diffierence  or  tardiness  of  action  to  the  Civil  authorities  of  Cho- 


114  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

wan  or  Perquimans  Counties,  for  in  every  instance  within  our 
knowledge  they  have  acted  promptly  and  impartially. 

In  deed  in  the  very  matter  against  Pratt,  we  understand  that 
Lt  Col  Bentgoni,  expressed  himself  highly  gratified  with  their 
prompt  and  inpartial  action. 

So  far  as  it  has  been  ascertained  there  is  not  a  particle  of  evi- 
dence against  any  one  of  the  parties  arrested,  who  lived  con- 
siderable distance  from  Pratt,  and  from  Edenton,  but  unfortu- 
nately were  either  relatives  or  acquaintances. 

Indeed  in  the  case  of  Myers,  his  only  relative  arrested,  it  is  a 
well  ascertained  fact  that  he  was  sick  at  home  on  the  night  of 
Pratt's  escape,  and  it  is  confidentially  asserted  that  on  alibi  can 
be  forwared  in  favor  of  all  the  others. 

We,  therefore  citizens  of  Chowan  and  Perquimans  Counties 
respectfully  petition  your  Excellency  to  take  such  action  in  the 
matter,  that  the  accused  may  either  be  turned  over  to  the  Civil 
authorities  or  have  a  speedy  trial  by  Military  authorities  and 
not  be  punished  until  they  are  convicted. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be 
Fred  L.  Roberts  J.  E.  Leary 

Wm  Bembury  Aug.  M.  Moore 

Wm  R.  Skinner  J.  F.  Gilbert 

P.  F.  White  C.  W.  Norcom 

W.  C.  Jones  W.  A.  B.  Norcom 

L.  P.  Warren  S.  I.  Skinner 

J.  E.  Norfleet  David  A.  Halley 

N.  S.  Perkins  W.  H.  Hughes 


From  John  B.  Weaver95 

Collector's  Office 
United  States  Internal  Revenue 
Seventh  District,  North  Carolina. 
Asheville,  11th  Sept  1867 
I  take  this  opportunity  of  certifying  that  I  have  been  ac- 
quainted with  several  of  the  petitioners  in  this  case  and  from  my 
knowledge  of  the  men  I  have  not  any  doubt  of  the  correctness  of 
the  statements-  My  knowledge  of  the  plaintif's  counsel  also  con- 
firms this  belief.  Wm  Henderson  the  second  petitioner  was  my 
hospital  Steward  while  I  was  acting  as  Surgeon  of  the  2nd  N.°  Ca. 
mounted  Infantry96 

Collector  7th  Dist. 
N.°  C.a 


95  Most  of  the  collectors  of  internal  revenue  were  carpetbaggers  and  defaulters.  Among 
these  was  John  B.  Weaver  of  the  sixth  North  Carolina  district,  who  according  to  the  news- 
papers was  in  arrears  in  the  amount  of  $59,125.47.  Hamilton,  Reconstruction,  417-418. 

96  The  petition  of  Henderson  and  others  is  dated  July  20,  1867.  See  previous  installment 
of  "Letters  from  North  Carolina  to  Andrew  Johnson,"  The  North  Carolina  Historical 
Review,  XXVIII  (October,  1951),  504.  During  the  Civil  War  General  Lee  was  much  disturbed 
about  the  desertion  of  soldiers  to  the  Union  army  in  western  North  Carolina.  According 
to  available  evidence  in  the  Andrew  Johnson  Papers,  Madison  County  had  many  Union 
sympathizers.  See  W.  W.  Rollin's  letter  of  September  15,  1867,  p.  116,  and  others  pertaining 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  115 

From  Alexander  H.  Jones97 

Asheville  N.  C.  Sept.  11,  1867, 
Gen.  Canby 
Dear  Sir: 

The  accompanying  petition  has  been  presented  to  me  with  the 
request  that  I  make  such  a  stat  [e]  ment  in  reff erence  to  the  mat- 
ter as  I  deem  just  and  proper.  I  know  nothing  personally  as  to 
the  statements  of  the  occurence,  but  know  the  relations  of  the 
parties,  as  setforth,  to  be  true,  and  that  the  general  c[h]aracter 
of  the  man  Merrell  to  be  that  of  a  desporado,  and  that  some  of 
your  petitioners  with  whom  I  am  personally  acquainted  are  good 
citizens  and  of  good  c[h]aracter.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  but 
the  petitoners  can  readily  substantiate  all  set  forth  in  their  peti- 
tion, and  in  my  humble  opinion  it  would  be  an  act  of  justice  to 
quash  the  proceedings  against  the  parties. 

At  the  time  of  the  occurrence  much  excitement  prevailed 
throughout  this  mountain  section  of  country,  and  the  man  Mer- 
rell belonged  to  a  class  of  men  whose  hatred  of  the  Union  and  its 
friends  prompted  much  of  such  conduct  and  outrages,  and  I  am 
sorry  to  have  to  add,  in  giving  my  opinion,  that  the  predudices 
produced  by  the  rebellion  has  so  much  embittered  the  feelings 
of  many  who  have  the  administering  of  the  laws,  as  to  render  it 
difficult  for  the  Unionists  to  obtain  justice  in  our  courts,  and 
further,  that  it  is  my  opinion  that  this  very  action  has  been  in- 
stigated by  lawyers  most  bitter  in  their  feelings  against  the 
United  States  Government  and  its  friends.  Under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances it  is  certainly  imprudent  to  implicate  the  motives  of 
the  courts  of  justice,  But  when  cases  appear  so  glareing  as  to 
require  the  interpretation  of  higher  power  not  only  in  acts  of 

to  lawlessness   in   Madison   County   and   the   interference   in   behalf   of   the   Unionists   by   the 

military  authorities.  Also  the  following  letter. 

Genl. 

I  have  previously  stated  to  you  the  importance  of  clearing  the  mountains  &  Country  in 
your  dept:  of  deserters,  absentees  etc-  I  hope  you  will  now  be  able  to  accomplish  it-  No  time 
should  be  lost  in  setting  on  foot  the  complete  reorganization  of  your  Command  &  the  regula- 
tion of  all  matters  pertaining  to  your  Dept  - 

A  letter  has  recently  been  referred  to  me  by  the  Secr  War,  from  the  Honb,e  C.  G.  Mem- 
inger,  who  is  now  residing  at  Flat  Rock  N.  C.  giving  a  lamentable  account  of  the  sufferings 
of  the  citizens  in  that  section  of  Country,  from  the  conduct  of  deserters,  traitors  &-  I  have 
previously  instructed  Gen1  Martin  to  employ  all  the  force  under  his  Command,  Cols.  Palmers 
&  Thomas,  troops  in  destroying  these  bandette  &  their  haunts.  I  have  now  repeated  these 
instructions  &  suggest  that  a  combined  movement  might  be  made  to  advantage,  by  the 
Reserves  in  S.C.  his  own  troops  in  N.C.  &  a  portion  of  yours,  &  directed  him  to  com- 
municate with  you  on  the  subject-  If  nothing  should  prevent  &  the  plan  be  practicable,  I 
request  that  you  will  cooperate  with  him-  My  resp* 

R  E   Lee 
Gen 
Gen1  J.  C.  Breckenridge 
Commr 

Robert  E.  Lee  Papers,  Library  of  Congress. 

97  Alexander  Hamilton  Jones  (July  21,  1822- January  29,  1901)  was  born  in  Buncombe 
County;  engaged  in  mercantile  business  prior  to  the  Civil  War;  enlisted  in  the  Union  army 
in  1863;  was  captured  in  east  Tennessee  while  raising  a  regiment  of  Union  soldiers;  was 
Imprisoned  at  Asheville,  Libby  Prison  in  Richmond,  and  elsewhere;  made  his  escape  on 
November  14,  1864,  and  joined  the  Union  forces  in  Cumberland,  Maryland;  returned  to 
North  Carolina  after  the  Civil  War  and  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1865;  elected 
as  a  Republican  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress,  but  was  not  permitted  to  qualify;  upon  the 
readmission  of  North  Carolina  in  the  Union  he  was  elected  and  served  in  Congress  from 
July  6,  1868,  to  March  3,  1871;  lived  in  Asheville,  1884-1890;  later  moved  to  Oklahoma  and 
California.  Biographical  Directory  of  the  American  Congress,  1774-1927,  1159. 


116  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

commission  but  of  omission  of  duty  also,  we  should  not  shut  our 
eyes  against  a  remedy. 

I  hesitate  not  to  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  four  fifths  of  the 
citizens  of  the  county  in  which  the  occurrence  took  place,  be- 
lieve the  prosecution  to  be  unjust,  and  that  the  object  is  to  harass 
the  parties  and  run  them  to  cost  and  expense,  I  am  personally  well 
acquainted  with  Maj :  W.  W.  Rollins  who  served  in  the  Union 
Army  against  the  rebellion  in  the  third  Regiment  of  North  Caro- 
lina volunteers,  whose  certifficate  accompanies  the  petition,  and 
who  is  entirely  trustworthy  gentleman. 

Very  Respectfully, 

Editor  of  Asheville  Pioneer 
and 

Member  elect  to  the  39th  Congress 
Respectfully  submitted 
To  Genl  Canby 
Commanding 
2d  Military  Dist 


From  W.       W.  Rollins98 

Marshall  N.  C. 

Sept  15th  1867. 
Major  Genl  Canby 
Comdg  2nd  Mily  Dist. 
Genl 

I  have  the  honor  to  make  the  following  Statement,  that  I  am 
a  resident  of  Madison  County  and  have  been  for  ten  years  that  I 
was  personally  acquainted  with  Ransom  P  Merril[l]  late  Sheriff 
of  Madison  County  and  am  personally  acquainted  with  J  J  Guder 
W  A  Henderson  H  A  Barnard  Thos  J  Rector  Wm  R  McNew  M.  W 
Roberts-who  have  each  signed  a  petition  asking  relief  from  a 
prosecution  against  them  in  the  State  courts  of  North  Carolina 
as  being  accessory  in  the  Killing  of  said  Ransom  P  Merill"  I  know 
that  Merril[l]  was  a  desperate  man  and  provoked  Neely  Tweed 
to  Kill  him  by  shotting  Tweeds  son  without  cause  or  provocation. 
Merril[l]  sent  his  son  to  an  election  ground  and  his  son  swore 
that  no  Dam  Tory  or  Black  Republican  could  vote  on  the  ground 
and  that  his  father  had  gone  to  Marshall  and  no  Dam  Tory  could 
vote  there-  All  the  Merill  Family  are  bitter  rebels  yet.  I  was 
taken  down  from  making  a  union  speach  on  the  day  of  election 
by  Merril's  son  and  on  a  ground  of  desperados- 

98  Rollins  joined  forces  with  Holden  and  the  carpetbag  regime  in  the  state.  When  Holden 
decided  upon  a  reign  of  terror  in  1870,  he  invited  Rollins  to  enlist  forty-five  or  fifty  stout 
mountaineers  to  be  placed  on  equal  footing  with  regular  soldiers.  Rollins  wisely  declined 
and  recommended  George  W.  Kirk  for  the  post.  In  1870  Rollins  was  a  candidate  for  the 
House  of  Representatives,  but  he  was  defeated  by  the  refusal  of  the  election  officers  to  count 
the  votes  of  the  men  under  Kirk  who  were  on  duty  in  Caswell  and  Alamance  counties  at 
the  time  of  the  election  in  Madison  County.  Hamilton,  Reconstruction,  498-499,  535;  Arthur, 
Western  North  Carolina,  449,  462,  466-467. 

99  See  petition  of  July  20,  1867,  in  "Letters  from  North  Carolina  to  Andrew  Johnson," 
The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review,  XXVIII    (October,  1951),  504. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  117 

I  am  fully  and  personally  acquainted  with  the  facts  setforth 
by  your  petitoners  and  know  them  to  be  true  and  that  I  know 
they  were  all  union  men  some  of  them  had  sons  under  me  in  the 
Federal  army  And  that  I  do  not  believe  men  of  their  union  record 
could  get  Justice  in  the  State  Courts  as  they  are  now  organized. 
As  a  general  thing  the  union  mussey  are  excluded  from  the  juror 
box  and  the  Rebels  put  in  and  that  I  have  no  doubt  but  on  Mili- 
tary investigation  of  the  whole  matter  would  relieve  your  peti- 
tioners from  further  cost  or  trouble  and  with  whole  matter 
justice- 

As  the  matter  is  now  prosecuted  is  malicious  as  they  are  well 
aware.  But  your  petitioner  [s]  are  men  of  property,  and  they  the 
heirs  of  meril[l]  get  their  suit  through  under  the  free  courts — 

Your  obt  Servant 
Late  major  3d  N  C  Mtd  Inft  U  S 


From  Edward  R.  S.  Canby100 

Head  Quarters  2nd  Military  Dist. 
Charleston  S.  C.  Sept.  17th  1867. 
His  Excellency 
Governor  of  North  Carolina 
Raleigh  N.  C. 
Sir. 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communi- 
cation of  the  11th-  inst  and  its  enclosures. 

On  the  night  of  the  28th  of  July  last  the  jail  at  Edenton  N.  C. 
was  entered  and  a  prisoner-Thomas  Pratt-who  was  then  confined 
for  the  murder  of  Jas  Norcross,  was  taken  out  by  an  armed  party 
of  persons  unknown.  Detectives  were  put  upon  the  trace  of  the 
guilty  parties,  who  succeeded  in  ferreting  them  out  and  they  were 
arrested  and  turned  over  to  the  Comdg  Officer  at  Plymouth  N.  C. 
until  the  civil  authorities  could  try  them.  The  Commanding 
Officer  of  the  Post,  was  authorized  to  take  bail  for  them,  if  it 
should  be  offered. 

I  see  no  ground  for  complaint  in  the  fact  that  persons  charged 
with  crime  have  been  arrested  by  the  military  authorities  and  are 
held  in  custody  until  the  Civil  authorities  are  prepared  to  try 
them. 

Very  Respectfully,  Sir, 
Your  Obt.  Servant. 

Bvt.  Major  General  Commanding 
A  true  copy 
A.  D.  C.    A.  A.  A.  G. 


100  On   August   26.    1867,    President   Johnson    removed    General    Sickles    from    the    command 
of  troops  in  North  Carolina  and  appointed  General  Canby   in  his  stead. 


118  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  Rufus  S.  Tucker101 

Raleigh  N  C 
Sept  21,  1867 
President  Johnson 
Dr  Sr. 

I  am  compiling  the  speeches  of  the  Hon'l  David  L  Swain,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Completion  of  the  monument  to  Jacob  Johnson  & 
at  the  Dedication  of  "Tucker  Hall"  The  work  will  be  gotten  up  in 
a  neat  style,  and  includes  Maps ;  charts,  &  other  matter  relative  to 
the  Early  Times  of  Raleigh:102 

Enclosed  please  find  the  first  36  pages :  Any  Contribution  you 
may  feel  disposed  to  make,  will  be  repaid  in  copies  of  the  work,  I 
propose  Completing  the  Book  in  about  three  weeks. 

Trusting  your  administration  may  tend  to  the  permanent  Set- 
tlement of  our  present  unhappy  difficulties.  I 

Remain  yours  truly 
Son  of  Ruffin  Tucker  Deed 
An  Early  answer  is  respectfully  requested  to  enable  us  to  go  on 
with  the  work 

Respt 
R  ST 

From  Hiram  Hulin 

Troy  N.  C. 

Sept  28th  1867 
Col  M  Cogwell  Commanding  the  Post  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C.103 
Sir 

Permit  me  to  address  a  line  to  you  in  which  I  ask  your  opinion 
of  the  course  proper  to  be  pursued  in  regard  to  the  arrest  and 
trial  of  certain  persons  who  in  the  time  of  the  war  murdered  my 
three  sons  Jesse,  John  and  William  Hulin  and  also  James  Atkins. 
These  murderers  arrested  my  sons  and  James  Atkins  who  were 
evading  the  military  service  in  the  Confederate  Army ;  after  ar- 
resting them  they  took  them  before  two  justices  of  the  Peace  for 
trial.  From  the  only  information  which  we  can  get  the  Justices 
committed  them  to  Jail.  They  were  delivered  into  the  hands  of 
the  murderers  who  were  home-guard  troops  and  while  on  their 
way  to  the  pretended  prison  they  deliberately  shot  and  beat  to 
death  with  guns  and  rocks  my  three  sons  and  Atkins  while  tied 
with  their  hands  and  hand-cuffed  together.  One  Henry  Plott  now 
residing  in  the  County  of  Cabarrus  was  the  officer  in  command  of 

101  Rufus  Sylvester  Tucker  (April  25,  1829-August  4,  1894)  received  his  A.  B.  degree  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1848  and  his  M.  A.  in  1868.  He  was  a  merchant, 
planter,  a  major  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  a  member  of  the  military  staff  of  North 
Carolina.  Daniel  Lindsey  Grant,  Alumni  History  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  628. 

102  Published  in  Raleigh  in  1867  by  Walters,  Hughes  &  Company.  President  Johnson  was 
present  at  the  dedication  of  the  monument  to  Jacob  Johnson  in  June,  1867. 

103  Milton  Cogwell  of  Indiana  graduated  at  West  Point  on  July  1,  1849,  and  continued  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States  Army  until  he  retired  on  September  5,  1871.  On  October  21, 
1861,  he  was  brevetted  as  a  major  for  meritorious  service  at  the  battle  of  Ball  Bluff, 
Virginia,  and  on  July  30,  1864,  he  was  made  a  lieutenant  colonel  for  service  at  Petersburg, 
Virginia.  Heitman,  Historical  Register  and  Dictionary  of  the  United  States  Army,  I,  314-315. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  119 

the  s[q]uad  of  murderers  at  the  time  of  the  murder  was  com- 
mitted Most  of  the  murders  were  strangers  to  the  people  of  the 
County  and  their  names  are  entirely  unknown  to  us  except  one 
George  W.  Sigler  who  now  resides  quietly  in  Marshall  County 
Mississippi.  Against  him  a  bill  has  been  found  by  the  Grand- jury 
of  this  County.  His  Post  office  is  Byhala  about  16  miles  from  Holly 
Springs  Mississippi.  I  have  informed  the  State  Solicitor  of  his 
where  abouts  and  nothing  is  done  for  his  arrest.  Permit  me  to 
pray  you  in  the  name  of  my  departed  sons  to  lend  the  aid  of  the 
Military  force  of  the  government  to  arrest  and  bring  to  trial  the 
felonious  murderer.  I  beseech  you  by  all  the  paternal  feelings 
which  a  father  should  hold  for  a  son  to  lend  us  aid  in  this  matter. 

We  would  earnestly  commend  that  you  arrest  Henry  Plott  as 
so  called  Captain  in  the  Confederate  Army  in  command  of  the 
murderous  squad  and  that  he  be  held  in  custody  till  he  reveals 
the  names  of  the  remainder  of  the  murderers.  Henry  Plott  was 
heard  to  say  soon  after  the  murder  "we  caught  four"  the  question 
was  asked  "what  did  you  do  with  them  ?  Answer  we  put  them  up 
a  Spout.  Did  you  kill  them"?  "Yes  we  did"  All  the  facts  above 
stated  can  be  proved  by  the  best  of  testimony 

You  will  please  inform  us  by  your  earlyest  [sic]  convenience 
what  course  you  can  take  in  matter  and  what  it  may  be  necessary 
for  us  to  do  in  the  premises.  With  Great  respect  I  am  sir 

Your  obedient  servant 
To  Col  M  Gogswell 


[To  be  continued'] 


BOOK  REVIEWS 

To  Make  My  Bread:  Preparing  Cherokee  Foods.  Edited  by  Mary  Ulmer  and 
Ppm72  )      BeCk'  (Cher°kee'  N'  C"  M"SeUm  °f  the  Cher"kee  ^TlS 

This  book  is  unique— a  completely  new  and  refreshing  descrip- 
tion of  Cherokee  cooklore. 

For  the  first  time,  a  wide  collection  of  original  recipes  used  by 
the  Cherokee  people  is  in  print.  These  recipes  are  rich  in  folk- 
lore. They  have  been  handed  down  for  hundreds  of  years  and 
without  doubt  will  intrigue  many  readers.  The  unusual  recipes 
with  history  and  human  interest  stories,  are  combined  into  an 
appealing  story  of  the  present-day  Cherokee  people  and  their 
foods  customs. 

Never  have  we  heard  of  some  of  the  rare  dishes  as  described  in 
To  Make  My  Bread.  As  one  would  naturally  expect,  foods  and 
recipes  discussed  include  wild  fruits,  vegetables  and  meats  such 
as  bear,  venison,  bison,  squirrel,  racoon,  wild  turkey,  opossum 
crayfish,  and  groundhog,  crab  apples,  grapes,  gooseberries,' 
watercress,  creases,  sochani,  artichokes,  mushrooms,  and  leather 
breeches.  The  common  drinks  include  sumac  ade,  sassafras  tea, 
spicewood  tea,  and  hickory  nut  milk. 

On  festive  occasions,  especially  for  "The  Feast,"  it  is  not  un- 
common for  the  cooks  to  prepare  forty  or  more  different  dishes 

Another  interesting  feature  of  this  book  is  a  long  list  of  native 
herbs  and  some  of  the  uses  made  of  them. 

This  is  a  fascinating  book  in  format  and  in  design.  Reading 
is  easy,  with  pictures  that  make  for  a  clearer  understanding  of 
the  Cherokee  Indians'  way  of  life.  College  and  high  school  home 
economics  departments,  foods  editors,  and  home  demonstration 
agents  will  find  To  Make  My  Bread  of  educational  value  in 
teaching  these  foods  customs  and  giving  stories  of  the  Cherokee 
Indians'  way  of  life. 

Ruth  Current. 

North  Carolina  State  College, 
Raleigh. 


C120] 


Book  Reviews  121 

Unto  These  Hills,  a  Drama  of  the  Cherokee.  By  Kermit  Hunter.   (Chapel 
Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press.  1950.  Pp.  iv,  100.  $2.00.) 

The  literature  of  symphonic  drama  has  momentarily  taken 
its  departure  from  the  hands  of  its  originator  Paul  Green ;  and 
the  influence  seeping  out  of  Manteo,  Williamsburg,  and  Wash- 
ington has  been  carried  into  the  western  North  Carolina  moun- 
tains and  the  Abraham  Lincoln  country  of  Illinois  by  Kermit 
Hunter.  Though  Paul  Green  has  not  abandoned  the  form  he 
created  and  though  doubtless  we  shall  again  see  symphonic 
dramas  devised  by  his  pen,  young  Mr.  Hunter  has  temporarily 
grasped  the  torch  and  moved  forward  with  it. 

We  are  not  to  assume  that  Hunter  is  already  another  Green, 
with  whom  he  cannot  escape  comparison.  His  play,  Unto  These 
Hills,  which  has  played  two  extremely  successful  summers  in 
its  beautiful  outdoor  theatre  at  Cherokee,  is  an  impressive  pro- 
duction. This  reviewer  has  seen  it,  and  he  was  vastly  pleased. 
It  is  still,  however,  more  history  than  drama.  Beginning  with 
De  Soto's  visit  to  the  Cherokee  Nation  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
it  moves  quickly  to  the  early  nineteenth  century  and  on  into  the 
story  of  the  white  man's  treachery  and  lack  of  faith  and  honor 
during  the  forced  Cherokee  removals  to  Oklahoma.  It  is  a  sorry 
episode  in  American  history — one  for  which  we  cannot  easily 
forgive  our  forefathers.  Andrew  Jackson,  regardless  of  the  rea- 
sons for  his  actions,  emerges  as  the  villain.  The  dupes  who  are 
the  government's  agents  are  picturesquely  presented,  but  we  can 
hardly  blame  them  for  the  national  disgrace. 

Mr.  Hunter  has  attempted  to  make  a  theatre  piece  out  of 
all  this  Cherokee  history  by  focusing  the  action  on  Tsali  and  his 
celebrated  and  great  sacrifice,  but  he  has  not  quite  succeeded. 
Tsali's  role  is  more  evident,  however,  in  the  book  than  on  the 
outdoor  stage,  where  his  identity  in  the  early  scenes  is  hopelessly 
lost  among  the  Indian  leaders  like  Junaluska  and  Sequoyah. 

The  author  is  careful  to  inform  us  that  certain  modifications 
from  actual  historical  records  "have  been  made  in  the  interest 
of  dramatic  unity."  Very  well.  But  this  reviewer  fails  to  under- 
stand what  dramatic  unity  is  served  by  holding  over  Chief 
Drowning  Bear  (and  why  not  use  his  noble  Indian  name  Yona- 
guska?)  to  1841,  when  a  historical  highway  marker  not  far  from 
the  reservation  proclaims  that  he  died  in  1839. 


122  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Unto  These  Hills  is  a  tremendous  effort,  nevertheless.  It  is 

history  beautifully  and  interestingly  presented. 

Richard  Walser. 

North  Carolina  State  College. 
Raleigh. 


Essays  on  North  Carolina  History.  By  Clarence  W.  Griffin.    (Forest  City, 
N.  C:  The  Forest  City  Courier.  1951.  Pp.  x,  284.  $4.50.) 

The  reader  need  not  expect  to  find  in  this  volume  a  series  of 
carefully  documented  and  analytical  essays  on  significant  or 
difficult  phases  of  North  Carolina  history.  Nothing  so  pretentious 
is  undertaken  here,  for  the  author,  who  is  the  editor  of  The 
Forest  City  Courier  as  well  as  something  of  an  antiquarian  and 
expert  on  local  history,  has  simply  reprinted  a  column  which 
he  wrote  for  his  newspaper  under  the  title  of  "Dropped  Stitches 
in  Rutherford  History."  The  title  of  the  volume  is  perhaps  mis- 
leading, and  Mr.  Griffin  admits  it  "could  have  just  as  well  been 
'A  Scrapbook  Of  North  Carolina  History/  "  The  essays  follow  no 
particular  pattern  of  chronology  or  subject  matter,  but  most  of 
them  deal  with  topics  relating  to  Rutherford  County. 

Obviously  Mr.  Griffin  writes  about  the  subjects  which  interest 
him  and  which  he  hopes  will  interest  his  readers.  Forest  City  and 
Spindale  are  towns  whose  history  receives  special  attention,  and 
extensive  lists  of  local  officeholders  are  included.  Stories  of  old 
families,  old  houses,  churches,  civic  organizations,  and  schools, 
as  well  as  anecdotes  and  legends,  all  have  a  place.  While  this 
was  essentially  an  agricultural  county,  some  attention  is  given 
to  the  development  of  the  local  textile  industry  and  to  the  at- 
tempts to  exploit  the  mineral  resources  of  the  county.  The  story 
of  the  "Speculation  Land  Company,"  springing  from  the  promo- 
tion efforts  of  Tench  Coxe  of  Philadelphia  in  1796,  suggests  that 
the  charms  of  this  area  were  known  long  before  Forest  City 
(originally  "Burnt  Chimney")  made  its  appearance. 

The  merit  of  this  book  rests  strictly  upon  its  contribution 
to  local  history.  Unfortunately,  the  illustrations  are  poorly 
reproduced. 

Robert  H.  Woody. 

Duke  University, 

Durham. 


Book  Reviews  123 

General  Charles  Lee:  Traitor  or  Patriot?  By  John  Richard  Alden.   (Baton 
Rouge:  Louisiana  State  University  Press.  1951.  Pp.  ix,  369.  $4.75.) 

Charles  Lee  is  a  revolutionary  figure  generally  described  un- 
complimentarily  by  historians.  Believing  the  animosity  toward 
Lee  springs  partly  from  his  being  regarded  as  a  sinister  figure 
because  of  his  controversy  with  Washington  and  from  a  sus- 
picion that  he  was  a  traitor  to  America,  Professor  Alden  at- 
tempts to  rescue  Lee  from  this  stigma  and  present  him,  properly, 
he  believes,  as  "one  of  the  fathers  of  the  American  Republic" 
by  relating  Lee's  story  objectively,  disclaiming  any  desire  to 
create  one  idol  or  to  destroy  another  (i.e.,  Washington),  but 
admitting  to  the  normal  bias  a  biographer  develops  toward  his 
subject. 

The  main  points  in  this  reappraisal  are  a  relation  of  Lee's 
activities  opposing  George  III  and  supporting  the  American 
cause  in  the  pre-independence  period,  and  a  re-examination  of 
his  actions  in  1777,  in  proposing  a  plan  to  his  British  captors 
for  American  defeat,  and  in  1778  at  the  Monmouth  battle,  with 
the  consequent  controversy  with  Washington.  The  latter  episodes 
have  been  the  basis  for  most  of  the  condemnation  of  Lee.  Re- 
garding Lee's  1777  proposal,  the  author  absolves  Lee  of  treason 
charges,  maintaining  Lee  was  attempting  to  aid  America  by 
misleading  Howe,  and  contending  treason  could  not  have  been 
involved  since  Lee  was  not  an  American  and  had  not  taken  an 
oath  of  loyalty.  However,  no  positive  evidence  is  presented  to 
lead  one  to  disagree  with  Randolph  G.  Adams's  conclusion  that 
"it  is  .  .  .  extremely  difficult  for  the  historian  to  deny  ...  it  was 
giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  the  United  States." 
(Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  XI,  100.)  Concerning  the 
Monmouth  affair,  and  Lee's  subsequent  court-martial,  evidence 
is  presented  seriously  questioning  the  correctness  of  the  court's 
decision.  Here,  the  reviewer  feels,  Professor  Alden  has  been 
too  favorable  toward  Lee  and  too  critical  of  Lee's  opponents, 
especially  Washington. 

The  author  has  relied  mainly  on  The  Lee  Papers  published 
by  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  Omission  of  a  bibliography 
and  frequent  failure  to  identify  letters  and  locate  manuscript 
collections  cited  in  the  notes  impair  the  scholarly  apparatus  of 


124  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  work.  Placing  the  notes  at  the  back  of  the  book  is  regrettable. 
The  index  appears  adequate.  The  format,  style,  and  editing  are 
excellent. 

L.  Walter  Seegers. 

North  Carolina  State  College, 
Raleigh. 


The  History  of  a  Brigade  of  South  Carolinians.  By  J.  F.  J.  Caldwell. 
(Philadelphia:  King  and  Baird.  1866.  Reprinted,  Marietta,  Georgia: 
Continental  Book  Company.  1951.  Pp.  247.) 

Most  readers  of  Civil  War  accounts  are  presented  with  a 
sweeping  panorama  of  grand  strategy,  great  campaigns,  battles 
won  and  lost,  and  famous  generals.  The  reader  of  J.  F.  J. 
Caldwell's  little  history  of  a  South  Carolina  brigade  will  find 
instead  a  day  by  day  account  of  one  unit's  participation  in  the 
dramatic  struggle.  The  brigade,  known  first  as  Gregg's  and 
later  as  McGowan's,  was  composed  of  the  First,  Twelfth,  Thir- 
teenth, and  Fourteenth  regiments  of  volunteers,  and  Orr's 
Regiment  of  Rifles.  It  was  a  part  of  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill's  famous 
Light  Division,  and  as  such  was  engaged  in  battle  at  Cold  Harbor, 
Second  Manassas,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg, 
the  Wilderness,  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  and  others,  and  was 
among  troops  surrendered  by  Lee  at  Appomattox.  The  author, 
an  officer  in  the  First  Regiment  and  a  man  of  considerable 
education,  wrote  his  narrative  from  recollection,  from  conver- 
sation with  fellow  officers,  and  from  company,  regimental,  and 
divisional  reports  when  they  were  accessible.  His  manner  was 
one  of  detachment  and  keenness  of  observation,  resembling  that 
of  a  modern  newspaper  correspondent  in  many  respects.  He 
displayed  very  little  bias,  and  only  in  his  account  of  the  final 
surrender  did  he  descend  into  sentimentality,  which  may  per- 
haps be  forgiven  him.  The  descriptions  are  excellent  without 
being  florid,  except  in  the  eulogies  of  commanding  officers  killed 
in  action.  The  accounts  of  the  battles  of  Fredericksburg  and 
Chancellorsville  especially  must  be  cited  for  their  vividness  and 
sensitivity  of  observation. 

Valuable  as  the  book  doubtless  is  for  reconstructing  battle 
scenes  of  the  Civil  War,  its  greatest  interest  lies  in  its  portrayal 
of  a  soldier's  life.  The  eager  young  men,  accustomed  to  many 


Book  Reviews  125 

niceties  of  life,  learned  to  pillage,  to  cook  weevilly  meal  and 

rancid  bacon,  to  endure  diarrhea  and  dysentery,  to  label  various 

lice  as  "confederates,"  "zouaves,"  and  "tigers/'  to  sleep  in  rain 

and  mud,  sometimes  even  to  sleep  marching  along — in  short, 

to  endure  war  for  four  years  and  to  become  a  highly  trained 

fighting  machine  capable  of  dressing  while  advancing  across  a 

wheat  field  under  fire.  After  the  retreat  from  Gettysburg  one 

can  read  between  the  lines  the  first  note  of  fatality.  The  increased 

tempo  and  pressure  of  the  fighting  after  Grant  was  placed  in 

command  in  Virginia  clearly  indicated  the  beginning  of  the  end. 

Caldwell  finally  acknowledged  this  during  the  winter  of  1864, 

and  in  chapter  XVI  he  has  given  an  excellent  analysis  of  failing 

civilian  morale  and  the  desperate  situation  of  the  troops. 

The  general  reader  as  well  as  the  historian  will  find  much 

to  interest  him  in  this  history  of  a  South  Carolina  brigade. 

Sarah  McCulloh  Lemmon. 

Meredith  College, 
Raleigh. 


The  Ragged  Ones.  By  Burke  Davis.   (New  York:  Rinehart  and  Company. 
1951.  Pp.  336.  $3.50.) 

There  is  always  room  for  one  more,  provided  the  addition 
has  something  to  contribute.  Burke  Davis's  realistic  portrayal 
of  the  backwoods  soldier  of  the  Revolution  in  the  Carolinas 
justifies  this  latest  in  a  long  line  of  novels  concerned  with  the 
march  of  Cornwallis  through  North  Carolina  in  1780-1781. 
E.  P.  Roe  was  perhaps  the  first  to  work  this  medium  with  his 
Hornet's  Nest  of  1886.  He  was  followed  by  such  popular  pur- 
veyors of  romanticized  history  as  Cyrus  T.  Brady  When  Blades 
Are  Out  and  Love's  Afield,  1901)  and  Francis  Lynde  (The 
Master  of  Appleby,  1902).  Interest  revived  in  the  1940's  and 
from  this  period  we  have  LeGette  Blythe,  Alexandriana,  1940; 
Inglis  Fletcher,  Toil  of  the  Brave,  Kings  Mountain  Edition, 
1946;  Maristan  Chapman,  Rogue's  March,  1949;  and  Florette 
Henri,  Kings  Mountain,  1950.  None  of  these  is  entirely  satis- 
factory to  the  professional  historian  and  none,  of  course,  was 
written  for  him. 


126  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

A  book  should  be  appraised  primarily  on  the  basis  of  the  au- 
thor's purpose  in  writing  it,  or  it  should  be  ignored.  With  this  as 
a  criterion,  The  Ragged  Ones  is  an  outstanding  success.  Burke 
Davis  has  made  the  back-country  rebellion  live  again,  and  he 
has  done  it  in  the  literary  taste  of  today.  Descriptive  passages 
and  characterizations  have  frequently  the  ring  of  authenticity. 
There  are  pages  which  read  like  source  material  of  a  type  often 
sought  but  rarely  found.  It  is  disillusioning,  therefore,  to  be 
stopped  short  by  errors  in  fact  which  cast  doubt  on  the  reliability 
of  the  convincing  period  atmosphere.  There  are  many  minor 
slips,  but  the  most  annoying  is  the  author's  falsification  in  his 
chapter  entitled  "Tarrant's  Tavern."  The  state's  historical 
highway  marker  plainly  entitles  the  skirmish  "Torrence's  Tav- 
ern," and  Mr.  Davis  lived  long  enough  in  Charlotte  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  family  of  that  name.  His  treatment  of  the 
"Widow  Tarrant"  exceeds  the  license  permissible  to  historical 
novelists.  Mrs.  Adam  Torrence  was  a  well-known  local  figure 
in  no  way  resembling  the  Widow  Tarrant  who  usurps  her  pre- 
rogatives in  the  novel. 

On  the  plus  side,  we  get  an  unvarnished  picture  of  a  time 
and  place  which  Mr.  Davis  correctly  interprets.  His  antidote 
to  D.  A.  R.  romanticism  (with  no  disrespect  to  the  order  in- 
tended by  the  reviewer)  was  much  needed.  Few  of  his  revela- 
tions come  as  either  a  shock  or  a  surprise  to  the  professional 
historian.  But  in  this  era  of  McCarthy  vigilance  it  is  well  to  be 
reminded  that  even  ancestors  for  hereditary  society  membership 
had  their  subversive  moments.  Many  of  the  outstanding  figures 
of  the  War  for  Independence  could  with  difficulty  escape  an 
investigation  today.  As  an  honest  chronicler  of  the  ragged  ones 
who  fought  the  war,  Mr.  Davis  has  performed  a  commendable 
service  for  his  readers,  few  of  whom  will  be  troubled  by  this 
reviewer's  respect  for  accurate  historical  detail. 

Chalmers  G.  Davidson. 

Davidson  College, 
Davidson. 


Book  Reviews  127 

They  Gave  Us  Freedom.  Compiled  and  edited  for  Colonial  Williamsburg 
and  the  College  of  William  and  Mary  in  Virginia  under  the  direction 
of  William  F.  Davidson  of  Knoedler  Galleries  and  A.  Pierce  Middleton. 
Narrative  by  Parke  Rouse,  Jr.  (New  York:  Gallery  Press  for  Colonial 
Williamsburg  and  the  College  of  William  and  Mary  in  Virginia.  1951. 
Pp.  66.  $2.50  cloth,  $1.50  paper-bound.) 

Since  the  restoration  of  Colonial  Williamsburg  was  under- 
taken by  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  in  1927,  at  the  suggestion 
of  W.  A.  R.  Goodwin,  that  early  Virginia  capital  has  become 
a  mecca  for  thousands  of  Americans  interested  in  the  colonial 
and  revolutionary  past  of  their  country.  In  1947  Paul  Green's 
"The  Common  Glory"  was  presented  to  the  public  for  the  first 
time,  making  an  additional  attraction  for  the  summer  visitor 
in  that  historic  village. 

In  commemoration  of  the  175th  anniversary  of  the  independ- 
ence of  Virginia  and  twelve  other  British  colonies  which  resulted 
in  the  birth  of  the  United  States,  Colonial  Williamsburg  and 
the  College  of  William  and  Mary  sponsored  an  exhibition  of  the 
best  existing  visual  evidence  of  the  persons  and  events  that 
made  our  independence  possible.  The  exhibition  was  held  during 
the  early  summer  of  1951,  closing  on  July  4th.  This  collection 
of  art  from  far  and  near  is  now  recorded  for  posterity  in  this 
thin  volume,  thus  offering  a  unified  story  of  the  Revolution  in 
pictorial  form. 

At  least  three  of  the  artists  represented  in  this  little  book 
took  an  active  part  in  the  American  Revolution.  The  elder  Peale 
brothers,  Charles  Willson  and  James,  and  John  Trumbull  were 
all  officers  in  the  American  army.  Charles  Willson  Peale  alone 
painted  thirteen  of  the  pictures  reproduced  here.  Washington 
is  known  to  have  sat  for  at  least  seven  portraits  by  Charles 
Willson,  and  in  all,  Peale  is  credited  with  over  sixty  paintings 
of  the  Commander-in-Chief.  One  of  the  best  known  of  these 
serves  as  a  frontispiece  for  this  collection. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  only  three  of  one-eyed  John  Trum- 
bull's works  are  given  in  these  pages.  "The  Battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,"  "The  Surrender  of  Cornwallis,"  and  "Alexander  Hamil- 
ton" are  but  samples  of  his  delightful  work.  Trumbull  is  often 
referred  to  as  the  "Painter  of  the  Revolution,"  and  most  of  the 
early  great  in  America  sat  before  his  easel  at  least  once. 


128  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

All  the  artists  represented  by  three  or  more  paintings  in  the 
exhibition  had  started  their  careers  in  the  art  before  the  Revo- 
lution began  except  John  Vanderlyn,  the  one-time  protege  of 
Aaron  Burr.  However,  Gilbert  Stuart,  John  Singleton  Copley 
and  James  Sharpies  were  in  England  when  the  war  began  and 
none  of  them  returned  until  after  Washington  became  Presi- 
dent for  his  first  term.  The  works  of  these  men  were  thus  not 
directly  influenced  by  the  trying  days  of  the  young  republic 
before  the  Constitution  was  finally  adopted. 

Compositions  from  the  brushes  of  more  than  twenty  artists 
are  included  among  the  sixty-five  pictures  in  They  Gave  Us 
Freedom.  Reproductions  of  several  historic  documents  and 
photographs  of  busts  by  Giuseppe  Ceracchi  and  Jean-Antoine 
Houdon  complete  the  illustrations. 

The  narrative  takes  up  about  one-fourth  the  space  and  ties 
the  pictorial  story  together.  Here  in  a  few  words  is  a  well- 
rounded  and  concise  history  of  all  phases  of  the  Revolution. 
The  reviewer  has  not  often  seen  so  much  covered  with  so  few 
words,  or  done  so  well. 

Daniel  M.  McFarland. 

Blue  Mountain  College, 
Blue  Mountain,  Mississippi. 


College  Life  at  Old  Oglethorpe.  By  Allen  P.  Tankersley.  (Athens:  Univer- 
sity of  Georgia  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xvi,  184.  Illustrated.  $3.00.) 

"Old  Oglethorpe"  was  located  at  Midway,  a  village  in  central 
Georgia  only  two  miles  from  Milledgeville,  the  state  capital. 
Rather  pretentiously  named  Oglethorpe  University  by  its 
founders,  it  was  really  a  small,  denominational  liberal  arts 
college.  Presbyterians  established  the  school  in  the  late  1830's 
for  "the  cultivation  of  piety  and  the  diffusion  of  useful  knowl- 
edge." From  the  day  it  opened  in  January,  1838,  to  the  day  it 
expired  in  December,  1872,  Oglethorpe,  like  most  colleges  of  its 
kind,  had  to  struggle  for  its  very  existence.  The  Civil  War 
closed  its  doors  only  temporarily,  but  lack  of  funds  forced  it  to 
cease  operations  entirely — at  a  time  when  the  school  had  just 
moved  to  Atlanta,  the  new  state  capital,  and  appeared  to  be 
developing  into  a  real   university.   In  spite  of  all   difficulties 


Book  Reviews  129 

Oglethorpe  left  an  indelible  impress.  At  least  a  thousand  young 
men  studied  there;  more  than  three  hundred  graduated;  for 
twenty-four  years  the  able  Dr.  Samuel  K.  Talmage  was  president 
of  the  college;  the  noted  scientists  Dr.  Joseph  Le  Conte  and 
Dr.  James  Woodrow  served  on  the  faculty ;  the  illustrious  Sidney 
Lanier  was  first  a  student  and  then  a  tutor. 

Allen  P.  Tankersley  has  performed  a  valuable  and  useful 
service  in  telling  the  story  of  this  institution.  Not  only  has  he 
discussed  founders,  presidents,  benefactors,  debts,  fund-raising 
campaigns,  professors,  controversies,  college  rules,  courses  of 
study,  and  commencements,  but  he  has  succeeded  in  painting 
an  authentic  picture  of  student  life.  His  chapter  on  the  student 
literary  societies,  entitled  "Thalians  and  Phi  Deltas,"  is  excellent. 
Also,  he  has  related  the  history  of  the  college  to  the  history  of 
the  times  and  the  region,  especially  as  regards  the  coming, 
course,  and  consequences  of  the  Civil  War.  Above  all,  he  im- 
presses upon  the  reader  the  profound  and  far-reaching  influence 
of  the  spiritual  power  that  Oglethorpe  generated.  The  author 
brings  to  his  task  the  always  fortunate  combination  of  scholarly 
training  and  literary  skill.  It  is  possible  that  he  has  been  over- 
generous  in  his  praise  of  Oglethorpe's  leaders  and  that  he  has 
allowed  his  heroes,  Sidney  Lanier  and  John  B.  Gordon,  to  bulk 
a  little  too  large  in  the  narrative.  On  the  whole,  however,  his 
judgments  seem  just,  and  his  book  is  commendably  brief  and 
readable. 

While  this  volume  might  interest  Georgians  primarily,  there 
is  a  universality  about  the  subject  that  should  broaden  its  ap- 
peal. For  fundamentally  the  Oglethorpe  story  is  the  story  of  the 
typical  church-related,  classical  college  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
College  Life  at  Old  Oglethorpe  includes  sixteen  interesting  illus- 
trations, nine  useful  appendices,  and  a  full  bibliography  and 
index.  The  printing,  binding,  and  jacket  are  attractive.  Those 
few  errors  noted  by  this  reviewer  are  trifling.  Although  Ogle- 
thorpe University  was  revived  in  1913  and  functions  at  the 
present  day,  Mr.  Tankersley  has  wisely  limited  his  study  to 
"Old  Oglethorpe." 

Stuart  Noblin. 

North  Carolina  State  College, 

Raleigh. 


130  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Friend  of  the  People:  The  Life  of  Dr.  Peter  Fayssoux  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  By  Chalmers  G.  Davidson.  (Columbia:  The  Medical  Associa- 
tion of  South  Carolina.  1950.  Pp.  vii,  151.  $2.75.) 

Unlike  their  English  and  Scottish  coreligionists,  the  French 
Calvinists  who  came  to  South  Carolina  were  more  than  ordinarily 
successful  in  acquiring  wealth  and  were  interested  in  cultivating 
manners  and  amenities  as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  afford  such 
luxuries,  the  result  being  that  in  less  than  a  generation  many 
of  these  emigres  had  entered  the  ranks  of  the  local  aristocracy. 
This  process  is  well  illustrated  in  the  career  of  Daniel  Fayssoux, 
baker,  who  arrived  in  South  Carolina  about  1737  and,  more 
particularly,  in  that  of  his  son  Peter  (1745-1795),  whose  life 
is  here  described  by  Dr.  Davidson. 

With  advantages  derived  from  the  estate  left  by  his  father 
and  through  a  fortunate  second  marriage  of  his  mother,  Peter 
Fayssoux  secured  a  good  education  in  Charleston  and  went  to 
Edinburgh  for  medical  training.  Here  he  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Benjamin  Rush,  thus  beginning  a  friendship  which  lasted 
for  the  rest  of  Fayssoux's  life  and  was  the  occasion  for  the 
greater  portion  of  his  correspondence  that  has  been  preserved. 
Returning  to  Charleston,  Fayssoux  practiced  his  profession, 
participated  in  the  city's  social  and  cultural  activities,  and  mar- 
ried, successively,  into  two  wealthy  planter  families.  During  the 
Revolution  he  served  first  as  "senior  physician"  and  later  as 
physician  and  surgeon-general  in  the  South  Carolina  medical 
service;  and,  after  the  creation  of  the  Southern  Department  in 
March,  1781,  as  "chief  physician  of  the  hospital." 

Following  the  war  he  resumed  practice  in  Charleston,  rising 
by  the  early  1790's  to  what  Dr.  Davidson  describes  as  "easily 
the  most  outstanding  medical  figure  in  the  state."  Among  his 
interests  was  the  promotion  of  a  charity  drugstore,  a  sort  of 
eighteenth  century  substitute  for  socialized  medicine,  where  the 
poor  could  be  supplied  with  medicines  free  of  charge.  His  activi- 
ties also  included  rice  planting  and  politics.  Having  gone  through 
the  Revolution  as  an  "irreconcilable"  patriot,  he  found  it  easy 
to  secure  election  to  the  state  legislature,  to  the  state  convention 
on  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1790 ;  but  his  anti-Federalism  ran  counter 
to  the  dominant  trend  in  South  Carolina  during  this  period  and 


Book  Reviews  131 

stranded  him  as  the  advocate  of  a  lost  cause.  His  last  days  were 
saddened  by  the  illness  of  two  of  his  daughters,  apparently  a 
leprous  affliction  contracted  from  an  African  slave  on  one  of  the 
plantations,  which  all  the  medical  skill  of  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more, and  Charleston  was  unable  to  arrest. 

From  such  sources  as  are  available  Dr.  Davidson  has  traced 
the  outlines  of  Peter  Fayssoux's  life.  The  materials  relating 
directly  to  the  subject  appear  to  be  too  meager  to  facilitate  the 
compilation  of  a  lengthy  biography,  with  the  result  that,  even 
in  this  brief  treatment,  the  author  is  occasionally  forced  to 
supplement  his  narrative  with  descriptions  of  the  times.  More- 
over, it  cannot  be  said  that  a  longer  account  of  Fayssoux's  life 
is  necessary;  he  dabbled  in  too  many  things  to  achieve  an  en- 
during reputation  in  any  one  sphere  of  activity.  This  small 
volume  therefore  presents  all  the  information  that  is  likely  to 
be  forthcoming,  and  all  that  is  needed,  with  regard  to  the  career 
of  a  fairly  inconsequential  South  Carolinian  living  in  an 
eighteenth  century  lowcountry  environment. 

James  W.  Patton. 

The  University  of  North  Carolina, 

Chapel   Hill. 


A  History  of  the  Hemp  Industry  in  Kentucky.  By  James  F.  Hopkins.  (Lex- 
ington: University  of  Kentucky  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xii,  240.  Map,  illustra- 
tions. $4.00.) 

So  attractive  to  American  writers  has  agricultural  history 
proved  to  be  that  hardly  any  major  product  of  our  soil  has 
escaped  systematic  study.  One  that  somehow  did  was  hemp, 
the  fibrous  plant  used  principally  in  making  bagging  and 
cordage.  Now  James  F.  Hopkins,  associate  professor  of  history 
at  the  University  of  Kentucky,  fills  that  gap  with  a  creditable 
monograph. 

Because  Kentucky  was  far  and  away  the  leading  producer 
during  the  heyday  of  hemp — that  is,  from  the  late  eighteenth 
century  to  the  Civil  War — Professor  Hopkins  concentrates  his 
attention  upon  that  state.  In  a  few  introductory  pages  he  notes 
the  several  efforts  made  by  England  to  encourage  hemp-growing 
in  the  American  colonies.  Then  he  launches  into  the  story  of  the 


132  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

plant  in  Kentucky,  carefully  detailing  the  subjects  indicated  by 
his  six  chapter  headings :  "The  Hemp  Farm,"  "Management  and 
Sale  of  the  Crop,"  "Prices  and  Production  to  1861,"  "Manu- 
facturing to  1861,"  "Production  of  Hemp  for  Marine  Use,"  and 
"The  Decline  of  the  Industry." 

Some  of  Kentucky's  earliest  settlers  raised  the  fiber  for  the 
home  manufacture  of  cloth  and  cordage.  Early  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  accompanying  the  boom  in  cotton  that  followed  Eli 
Whitney's  famous  invention,  hemp,  fashioned  into  bale  rope  and 
bagging,  found  a  generally  profitable  market  in  the  Deep  South. 
Hemp  thus  became  the  cash  crop  of  Bluegrass  farmers  and  in- 
spired the  building  of  "ropewalks"  (manufacturing  establish- 
ments) at  Lexington,  Frankfort,  Louisville,  and  other  points. 
Both  the  hemp  farm  and  the  hemp  factory  relied  heavily  upon 
slave  labor.  Kentuckians  long  hoped  that  the  United  States  Navy 
would  see  fit  to  supply  its  cordage  needs  from  their  staple  ex- 
clusively, and  that  Congress  would  enact  suitable  protective 
tariffs.  The  clear  superiority  of  imported  Russian  hemp,  how- 
ever, dashed  these  hopes.  The  advent  of  the  steamship,  which 
required  less  rigging  than  the  sailing  ship;  the  onset  of  the 
Civil  War,  which  ruined  the  southern  market;  the  competition 
of  Manila  abaca  and  wire  rope ;  the  substitution  of  wood,  metal, 
and  especially  jute  in  the  bagging  of  cotton — these  soon  rele- 
gated the  hemp  industry  to  minor  status,  and  today  its  impor- 
tance is  negligible. 

Professor  Hopkins  has  made  excellent  use  of  a  wide  variety 
of  materials,  with  emphasis  on  manuscripts,  government  docu- 
ments, and  newspapers,  as  his  footnotes  and  bibliography 
show.  He  writes  soberly  and  precisely.  Within  the  self-imposed 
limits  of  his  study  he  has  been  painstaking  and  thorough.  Yet 
this  reviewer  feels  that  the  author  need  not  have  confined  his 
investigation  so  rigidly  to  Kentucky;  if  not  a  history  of  the 
hemp  industry  in  the  United  States,  then  at  least  a  sampling 
of  sources  in  Missouri,  the  second  ranking  state,  for  purposes 
of  comparison.  The  volume  contains  a  useful  map  of  Kentucky 
and  nine  interesting  photographs.  The  index  seems  adequate, 
though  one  might  question  the  inclusion  of  the  name  entries 
"C.  B.  C,"  "W.  M.  T."  (semi-anonymous  writers),  George, 
Jack,  Roy,  Sullivan,  Tom,  and  Umphry  (Negro  slaves;  Henry, 


Book  Reviews  133 

mentioned  on  page  135,  was  apparently  overlooked)  and  the 
omission  of  such  subject  entries  as  agricultural  (or  farm)  or- 
ganizations, rigging,  and  rope. 

This  book  is  a  valuable  piece  in  the  mosaic  of  American 
agricultural  history. 

Stuart  Noblin. 

North  Carolina  State  College, 
Raleigh. 


The  History  of  Randolph-Macon  Woman's  College:  From  the  Founding  in 
1891  Through  the  Year  1949-1950.  By  Roberta  D.  Cornelius.  (Chapel 
Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xviii,  428.  $6.00.) 

From  the  attractive  cover  jacket  to  the  forty  pages  of  illustra- 
tions at  the  end  of  the  volume,  one  is  impressed  with  the  growth, 
vitality,  and  educational  leadership  of  The  Randolph-Macon 
Woman's  College  and  the  scholarship  and  devotion  to  the  school 
of  its  author  as  these  are  revealed  in  this  excellent  history. 
Written  largely  around  the  administration  of  its  four  presidents, 
the  book  is  replete  with  details  of  college  education  and  the  life 
of  young  women  in  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  during  the  past  sixty 
years. 

In  a  brief  foreword,  President  Theodore  H.  Jack  states  that 
this  book  is  "primarily  a  project  of  the  Alumnae  Association 
and  is  essentially  a  contribution  of  the  alumnae  to  the  college.,, 
Although  written  by  an  alumna  who  has  served  the  college  as 
an  instructor  and  professor  of  English  since  1915,  it  is  not  a 
pean  of  praise ;  rather  it  is  a  careful  and  well  documented  study 
of  a  nationally  accredited  institution  which  has  pioneered  in 
the  field  of  higher  education  for  women  in  the  South. 

Beginning  with  a  discussion  of  the  Randolph-Macon  Board 
of  Trustees  which  has  sponsored  a  college  for  men  in  Virginia 
since  1830,  and  after  setting  forth  the  interest  and  determination 
of  the  Virginia  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Church  to  foster 
Christian  education  through  a  system  of  colleges  and  academies, 
the  author  presents  a  detailed  account  of  the  labors  of  the 
founder-president,  William  Waugh  Smith,  in  establishing  a 
quality  college  for  women  comparable  with  the  best  institutions 


134  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

for  men.  The  attainment  and  perpetuation  of  that  concept  con- 
stitute the  main  theme  of  succeeding  chapters. 

Financial  problems,  buildings,  courses  of  study,  and  a  variety 
of  student  activities  are  intertwined  with  the  personalities  of  a 
strong  group  of  administrators  and  teachers.  Among  these  are 
Presidents  William  A.  Webb,  Dice  R.  Anderson,  Theodore  H. 
Jack,  Acting  President  and  Dean  N.  A.  Pattillo,  Dean  C.  Clement 
French,  Dean  Gille  Larew,  Dean  Almeda  Garland,  Treasurer 
Robert  Winfree,  Dr.  Alexander  W.  Terrell,  and  Professors 
Fernando  W.  Martin,  Herbert  C.  Lipscomb,  Louise  Jordan 
Smith,  William  S.  Adams,  Joseph  L.  Armstrong,  Thomas  M. 
Campbell,  Meta  Glass,  John  H.  Latane,  Thomas  W.  Page,  James 
F.  Peake,  Mary  L.  Sherrill,  Mabel  Whiteside,  and  others. 

The  relations  of  the  college  with  the  Methodist  Church,  the 
Carnegie  Corporation,  the  General  Education  Board,  the  Presser 
Foundation,  the  American  Association  of  University  Women, 
and  other  agencies  are  carefully  noted.  Emphasis  upon  the 
liberal  arts,  the  admission  of  the  college  to  Phi  Beta  Kappa  in 
1916  after  an  existence  of  only  twenty-three  years,  and  the 
achievements  of  some  of  the  more  distinguished  of  9,700 
alumnae  complete  the  text  of  this  interesting  and  significant 
work. 

Notes  and  bibliographical  references  are  grouped  under 
chapter  headings  in  the  back  of  the  book  and  fill  forty-six  pages. 
The  index  of  twenty-five  pages,  containing  cross  references  and 
subentries,  is  most  helpful.  One  could  wish  space  would  have 
permitted  the  author  to  give  more  emphasis  to  the  low  legal  and 
educational  status  of  American  women  when  the  college  was 
founded,  and  to  contemporary  movements  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  women  in  other  states. 

Professor  Cornelius  and  the  University  of  North   Carolina 

Press  are  to  be  congratulated  on  a  lasting  contribution  to  the 

history  of  higher  education  in  the  South  and  the  role  of  educated 

women  in  the  world  of  today. 

David  A.  Lockmiller. 

The  University  of  Chattanooga, 
Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 


Book  Reviews  135 

Revolt    of   the    Rednecks:    Mississippi    Politics,    1876-1925.    By    Albert    D. 
Kirwan.  Lexington:  University  of  Kentucky  Press.  1951.  Pp.  x,  328.  $4.50.) 

This  is  a  scholarly  and  penetrating  examination  of  the  po- 
litical history  of  Mississippi  from  the  close  of  Reconstruction 
to  the  end  of  the  Vardaman  era  in  1925,  the  story  of  those  long 
years  when  the  central  theme  of  Mississippi  politics  was  the 
never-ending  struggle  between  economic  groups,  constantly  in- 
terspersed with  ambitious  attempts  of  worthy  and  unworthy 
men  for  political  leadership  and  control. 

The  struggle  for  the  control  of  Mississippi  democracy  began 
in  1876  when  Radical  Governor  Adelbert  Ames  resigned  while 
undergoing  impeachment  trial,  a  home-rule  victory  actually 
achieved  when  the  George-Lamar  revolution  was  brought  to 
successful  fruition.  The  post-Civil  War  agricultural  depression 
and  the  seemingly  prosperous  condition  of  the  state's  corporate 
and  banking  interest  caused  constant  rumblings  of  discontent 
from  the  small  farmer  class,  which  soon  began  its  struggle  to 
gain  control  of  the  Democratic  party  in  order  to  effect  reforms. 
Discounting  as  much  as  possible  the  discrediting  of  the  old  pre- 
Civil  War  leaders  and  the  bitter  radical  antipathy  which  was 
the  heritage  of  Radical  Reconstruction,  this  group  battled  the 
"cheap  politicians"  who  controlled  the  state's  political  machinery. 
It  almost  captured  the  constitutional  convention  of  1890,  and 
finally  won  victory  when  Vardaman  was  elected  to  the  governor- 
ship in  1903.  Then  began  a  two-decade  control  of  the  state 
during  which  the  voices  of  the  people,  led  by  Vardaman  and 
Bilbo,  must  be  credited  with  awakening  the  Democratic  party 
to  a  new  sense  of  social  responsibility. 

The  volume  is  a  real  achievement  in  the  writing  of  state 
political  history.  It  is  solidly  founded  upon  a  broad  foundation 
of  unpublished  and  published  source  material,  aptly  explained 
in  a  "Critical  Essay  on  Authorities"  at  the  end  of  the  book.  The 
author  surveys  the  entire  period  with  balanced  perspective  and 
is  outspoken  when  the  occasion  demands  it.  Of  added  signifi- 
cance, it  must  be  emphasized  that  the  author  has  that  rare 
ability  to  handle  masses  of  detailed  material  and  to  integrate 
a  multitude  of  minutiae  as  well  as  important  material  into  a 


136  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

well-balanced  finished  product.  His  work  has  been  complimented 
by  the  publishers,  who  have  done  an  excellent  job  of  bookmaking. 

Edwin  Adams  Davis. 

Louisiana  State  University, 
Baton  Rouge. 


College  Life  in  the  Old  South.  By  E.  Merton  Coulter.  (Athens:  The  Univer- 
sity of  Georgia  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xiii,  320.  $4.50.) 

This  book,  copyrighted  in  1951  by  its  author,  is  the  second 
edition  of  the  well-known  work  first  published  by  the  Macmillan 
Company  in  1928.  Since  changes  were  made  only  to  clarify 
ambiguities  or  correct  errors,  the  narrative  differs  little  in  the 
two  editions.  The  new  edition,  which  appeared  as  a  part  of  the 
Sesquicentennial  Celebration  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  em- 
ploys a  larger  page,  includes  drawings,  and  relegates  all  footnotes 
to  the  back. 

College  Life  in  the  Old  South  is  essentially  a  history  of  the 
University  of  Georgia,  commonly  known  in  ante-bellum  times  as 
Franklin  College,  from  the  date  of  its  charter,  1785  (the  first 
classes  met  in  1801),  until  1870.  In  addition  to  an  intimate 
picture  of  life  at  the  Athens  institution  there  are  comparisons 
with  activities  in  other  universities.  Student  life,  literary  so- 
cieties, student-faculty  relations,  commencements,  and  life  in  a 
college  town  were  much  the  same  throughout  the  State.  Meager 
financial  support  from  the  legislature  and  rivalry  among  re- 
ligious denominations  for  control  of  faculty  positions  had  their 
parallels  in  other  states.  Forced  to  close  its  doors  in  1863,  the 
University  reopened  in  1866  and  within  five  years  many  of  its 
present-day  characteristics  had  taken  form.  The  University, 
now  grown  into  six  schools,  saw  commencements  decline  in 
significance  and  interest  in  the  literary  societies  become  dissi- 
pated into  new  fields  of  fraternities  and  athletics. 

Professor  Coulter's  thorough  knowledge  of  Georgia  history 
is  reflected  in  the  skill  with  which  he  weaves  the  history  of 
the  University  into  the  general  pattern  of  the  state's  develop- 
ment. The  remarkably  complete  manuscript  records  of  Franklin 
College,  especially  the  minutes  of  student  organizations  and  the 
faculty,  enable  the  author  to  present  a  wealth  of  detailed  infor- 
mation not  available  elsewhere.  The  difficult  task  of  organizing 


Book  Reviews  137 

this  material  has  been  handled  well  by  combining  the  topical 

and  chronological  approaches.  Additional  light  might  have  been 

thrown  on  relations  between  the  University  and  the  religious 

denominations    by    consulting    periodicals    published    by    the 

Georgia  churches. 

Free  of  typographical  errors  and  attractive  in  format,  this 

book  is  a  credit  to  both  its  author  and  the  University  Press. 

It  will  be  welcomed  not  only  by  Georgia  alumni  but  by  students 

and  general  readers  of  southern  history  as  well. 

Henry  S.  Stroupe. 

Wake  Forest  College, 
Wake  Forest. 


Economic  Resources  and  Policies  of  the  South.  By  Calvin  B.  Hoover  and 
B.  U.  Ratchford.  (New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company.  1951.  Pp.  xxvii, 
464.  $5.50.) 

This  book  brings  together  in  one  place  the  facts  concerning 
the  productive  resources  of  the  South,  from  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky in  the  north  to  Oklahoma  and  Texas  in  the  southwest. 
Most  of  these  facts  are  presented  in  statistical  tables,  of  which 
there  are  no  less  than  ninety-six  in  the  four  hundred  and  odd 
pages.  The  subjects  of  the  various  tables  vary  from  "Land  Area" 
and  "Birth  Rates"  to  "Votes  of  Southern  Congressmen  on 
Tariff  Bills."  A  large  part  of  the  text  consists  of  discussion  of 
the  facts  contained  in  the  statistical  tables.  The  book  therefore 
does  not  make  easy  reading.  Its  excellence  as  an  encyclopedic 
source  is,  however,  very  great.  One  should  read  it  and  then  keep 
it  at  hand  for  reference. 

There  are  seventeen  chapters  in  the  book.  Beginning  with  the 
physical  and  the  human  resources  of  the  South,  the  authors 
devote  separate  chapters  to  each  of  the  major  industries  or  agri- 
cultural crops  of  the  region  and  conclude  with  chapters  on  policy 
with  respect  to  labor  and  international  trade. 

The  authors  have  done  much  more  than  collect  information 
about  the  South;  they  have  interpreted  it  and  brought  it  to 
bear  upon  the  problem  of  lifting  the  income  of  the  region.  This 
they  call  the  central  theme  of  the  study.  They  find  that  the  South 
is  not  overwhelmingly  rich  in  resources  as  some  enthusiasts 
assert,  but  that  the  South  does  have  resources  that  could  produce 
a  much  higher  level  of  income.  The  policies  that  are  suggested 


138  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

to  achieve  this  are  sane  and  intelligent,  reflecting  the  sound 
learning  of  the  authors.  Heavy  reliance  is  placed  upon  better 
education  and  more  industry  as  means,  but  neither  is  presented 
as  an  open  sesame  to  great  wealth.  Indeed,  it  is  one  of  the 
merits  of  this  book  that  it  does  not  reduce  the  economic  problem 
of  the  South  to  simple  terms. 

A  number  of  the  chapters  have  helpful  summaries  at  the  end. 
There  is  a  good  index  and  a  bibliography  that  covers  thirteen 
pages. 

C.  K.  Brown. 

Davidson  College, 
Davidson. 


Liberty  and  Property.  By  R.  V.  Coleman.   (New  York:  Charles  Scribner's 
Sons.  1951.  Pp.  xiii,  606.  $5.00.) 

This  is  a  scholarly,  carefully  balanced,  well  documented,  and 
beautifully  written  account  of  the  growth  and  expansion  of  the 
continental  colonies — English,  Spanish,  and  French — and  of 
their  political,  economic,  social,  and  cultural  development  from 
1664  to  1765.  In  The  First  Frontier,  published  three  years  ago, 
Mr.  Coleman  "followed  the  adventures,  hopes,  failures  and 
successes  of  the  early  English  settlers  in  America."  The  reviewer 
thinks  that  Liberty  and  Property  is  an  improvement  over  the 
earlier  volume  and  hopes  that  the  author  will  eventually  bring 
the  story  down  to  the  American  Revolution. 

In  this  volume  the  reader  is  presented  with  a  lively  account 
of  the  founding  of  new  colonies — the  English  consolidating  their 
gains  in  the  New  York-New  Jersey  area;  the  expansion  of 
population  from  Barbados,  Virginia,  and  other  places  into  Caro- 
lina ;  William  Penn  and  the  Quakers  developing  a  "Holy  Experi- 
ment" in  Pennsylvania;  Oglethorpe  and  other  philanthropists 
establishing  the  colony  of  Georgia;  English  colonies  competing 
with  the  French  and  Spanish  for  mastery  of  the  Florida- 
Louisiana  region.  He  is  presented  with  excellent  descriptions 
of  the  commercial  aristocracy  of  the  northern  and  middle 
colonies  and  of  the  planter  aristocracy  of  the  South ;  the  troubles 
arising  from  low  prices  and  high  taxes,  as  illustrated  in  Bacon's 
Rebellion  and  other  uprisings;  the  activities  of  whites  and 
Indians  along  the  trading  paths;  the  wonders  of  the  "visible 


Book  Reviews  139 

and  the  invisible  world" ;  the  problems  arising  from  overlapping 
land  patents  and  general  confusion  in  land  policy;  the  rise, 
spread,  and  suppression  of  piracy;  the  immigration  of  Scotch- 
Irish,  Germans,  and  other  non-English  groups;  the  trade  in 
"skins  and  slaves";  pen  portraits  of  "able  men"  and  their  fine 
homes;  the  common  people  and  their  mode  of  life;  and,  finally, 
the  story  of  the  hitherto  individualistic  colonies  banding  togeth- 
er against  the  mother  country  under  the  watchword  of  "Liberty 
and  Property." 

Mr.  Coleman  has  captured  the  spirit  of  the  century  about 
which  he  writes  and  he  brings  out  the  full  flavor  of  this  signifi- 
cant but  somewhat  neglected  era  of  our  history.  He  has  made  ex- 
cellent use  of  a  variety  of  sources,  notably  travel  accounts  and 
other  contemporary  writings.  His  accounts  of  William  Byrd  II, 
William  Penn,  Increase  Mather,  La  Salle,  and  other  major 
figures  are  splendid,  but  he  has  not  overlooked  scores  of  sig- 
nificant but  less  well-known  men — Dr.  Henry  Woodward,  Tonti, 
"Old  Zach"  Gilliam,  Rev.  William  Vesey,  Lewis  Morris,  Caleb 
Heathcote,  and  scores  of  others.  In  fact,  the  volume  has  some- 
thing of  a  biographical  tone  which  adds  to  its  interest  and 
readability. 

Twenty-eight  full-page  maps,  sixty-two  fine  illustrations 
based  on  original  paintings  and  engravings,  and  an  adequate 
index  round  out  this  excellent  book. 

Hugh  T.  Lefler. 

The  University  of  North  Carolina, 

Chapel  Hill. 


Education   in   the    United    States.    Third    Revised    Edition.    By    Edgar    W. 
Knight.  (Boston:  Ginn  and  Company.  1951.  Pp.  xvi,  753,  $4.50.) 

The  well-known  historical  work  on  American  education  by 
Professor  Knight  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  originally 
published  in  1929,  appears  in  a  third  revised  edition,  with  subject 
matter  brought  up  to  date  and  lucidly  presented,  and  with 
abundant  teaching  aids.  The  distinctive  feature  which  marked 
the  first  edition  of  Knight's  work  was  the  comprehensiveness 
of  its  treatment  of  the  development  of  education  in  the  South. 
This  orientation  has  been  preserved. 


140  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  plan  of  the  book,  which  deals  primarily  with  public  edu- 
cation, will  be  familiar  to  users  of  the  previous  editions.  After 
an  introductory  chapter  epitomizing  present  conditions,  the  work 
traces  the  rise  of  the  publicly  supported  and  controlled  elemen- 
tary school  and  of  state  and  local  agencies  of  control,  with 
emphasis  upon  the  influence  in  furthering  the  educational 
awakening  of  reports  on  European  conditions  by  Archibald  D. 
Murphey,  Cousin,  Stowe,  Bache,  Henry  Barnard,  and  Mann,  and 
the  endeavors  of  such  advocates  of  public  education  as  Carter, 
Mann,  Barnard,  Mills,  Lewis,  Galloway,  Pierce,  Breckinridge, 
Edwards,  and  Calvin  H.  Wiley,  North  Carolina's  first  super- 
intendent of  schools.  The  growth  of  secondary  and  higher  edu- 
cation, including  teacher-training,  is  also  recounted.  A  chapter 
is  devoted  to  the  emergence  of  the  South  from  the  post-Recon- 
struction educational  destitution  to  which  Walter  H.  Page  di- 
rected attention  in  1897,  in  his  address  on  "The  Forgotten  Man." 
Another  summarizes  progress  following  the  Civil  War  and  traces 
the  influence  of  Pestalozzi,  Herbart,  Froebel,  Hall,  James,  Dewey, 
E.  L.  Thorndike,  and  others.  A  discussion  of  the  depression 
period  and  of  trends  and  issues  after  1930  is  followed  by  the 
twentieth  and  final  chapter,  entitled  "The  Roaring  Forties," 
which  presents  a  wealth  of  material  on  wartime  and  postwar 
educational  activities. 

While,  as  is  inevitable  in  a  treatise  of  such  scope,  the  reader 
will  sometimes  dissent  from  the  author's  judgment  and  per- 
spective, it  is  unquestionable  that  Knight  has  produced  a  most 
valuable  work  for  students  of  American  educational  and  cultural 
history.  Scarcely  less  will  be  its  usefulness  to  general  readers 
who,  as  parents  or  civic  leaders,  have  a  vital  interest  in  the 
history  and  problems  of  American  education. 

Elbert  Vaughan  Wills. 

Gatesville. 


The  United  States,  1830-1850:  The  Nation  and  Its  Sections.  By  Frederick 
Jackson  Turner.  (Reprint.  New  York:  Peter  Smith.  1950.  Pp.  xiv,  602. 
$5.00.) 

With  the  reprinting  of  this  important  work  Peter  Smith  adds 
one  more  to  the  growing  list  of  titles  that  the  publisher  is 
rescuing  from  that  dismal  epitaph,  "out  of  print."  The  Smith 


Book  Reviews  141 

reprints,  many  of  them  reproduced  by  the  highly  satisfactory 
micro-offset  process,  now  include  scores  of  the  most  important 
volumes  in  the  library  of  American  history.  A  few  titles  will 
suggest  the  contribution  that  this  publishing  venture  is  making 
to  historical  scholarship ;  for  what  would  a  library  of  Americana 
be  without  Becker's  Declaration  of  Independence,  Jameson's 
American  Revolution  Considered  as  a  Social  Movement,  the  ag- 
ricultural histories  of  Gray  and  Bidwell  and  Falconer,  Clark's 
History  of  Manufactures,  Hibbard's  Public  Land  Policies,  Riley's 
American  Thought,  Van  Tyne's  Loyalists,  Fite's  Social  and  In- 
dustrial Conditions,  Pratt's  Expansionists  of  1812,  Turner's 
Significance  of  Sections,  Fleming's  Documentary  History  of  Re- 
construction,  Wissler's  American  Indian,  to  mention  only  a  few? 

Measured  against  his  gifts,  Frederick  Jackson  Turner  wrote 
few  books.  Indeed,  as  Avery  Craven  pointed  out  in  his  percep- 
tive introduction  to  this  volume,  "his  eager  mind  was  bent  on 
exploration.  ...  He  disliked  to  find  his  researches  halted  and 
his  ideas  crystalized  by  publication.  .  .  .  Until  all  the  evidence 
was  in,  the  time  had  not  come  for  the  last  word."  The  United 
States,  1830-1850  is  both  the  beneficiary  and  the  victim  of  that 
quality.  Fifteen  painstaking  years  in  the  making,  the  book  was 
never  completed.  The  last  chapter  is  wholly  missing  and  much 
of  what  does  appear  is  a  first  or  second  draft  that  still  awaited 
revision  or  polishing,  a  task  which  the  author's  untimely  death 
(March  14,  1932)  prevented.  The  historical  craft  is  forever  in 
debt  to  Merrill  H.  Crissey,  Max  Farrand,  and  Avery  Craven 
for  putting  the  manuscript  in  final  form  for  publication;  un- 
finished though  it  was,  the  book  remains  a  rich  addition  to 
the  literature  of  the  American  record. 

This  is  the  mature  Turner,  grown  cautious  with  the  years, 
still  in  search  of  hypotheses  but  subjecting  them  to  increasingly 
rigorous  tests.  Four  decades  had  passed  since  the  young  Turner 
advanced  his  persuasive  thesis  that  the  unique  American  ex- 
perience was  to  be  explained  in  terms  of  a  receding  frontier. 
In  this  last  of  his  books  the  critic  looks  in  vain  for  oversimplifi- 
cations. But  there  is  the  same  old  concern  for  isolating  the  life 
principles,  delineating  the  natural  history,  describing  and  ac- 
counting for  the  interpenetrations  of  environments,  politics,  and 
social  institutions. 


142  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Something  over  half  the  book  is  devoted  to  the  several  sec- 
tions, a  chapter  for  each:  New  England,  the  Middle  Atlantic 
States,  the  South  Atlantic  States,  the  South  Central  States,  the 
North  Central  States,  Texas,  and  the  Far  West.  Each  of  these 
is  a  sharply  etched  profile  in  itself,  supported  by  skillfully  dis- 
ciplined detail  drawn  from  the  geography,  ethnology,  politics 
and  economic  forces,  the  social  and  intellectual  life  of  the  era 
and  area  he  describes.  Then  follows  a  brilliant  study,  heavily 
documented,  of  the  interplay  of  the  sectional  forces — at  once 
divisive,  coalescent,  and  reciprocal — in  the  national  context. 
Perhaps  the  emphasis  on  political  and  economic  factors  occa- 
sionally crowds  out  an  adequate  treatment  of  social  and  cultural 
developments. 

To  the  scholar  the  volume  is  as  stimulating  and  delightful  to 
read  as  it  was  when  it  first  appeared  sixteen  years  ago,  despite 
the  efforts  of  irreverent  young  doctors  of  philosophy  always 
quick  to  "revise"  or  to  take  their  elders  to  task  for  neglecting 
their  own  youthful  specialties.  And  for  that  happy  mortal,  the 
general  reader  who  reads  American  history  for  pleasure  and 
instruction,  it  is  a  healthful  corrective  to  the  folklore  that  the 
decades  from  1830  to  1860  were  wholly  given  over  to  the  Great 
Debate  and  to  preparations  for  a  romantic  Civil  War.  For  any- 
one who  wishes  to  understand  the  sections  and  to  perceive  the 
relationships  of  the  sections  with  each  other  and  with  the  nation 
in  the  fateful  and  fruitful  epoch  of  1830-1850  (for  anyone  who 
wishes  to  understand  American  History,  that  is  to  say)  this 
book  is  indispensable.  It  seems  unlikely  that  it  will  ever  be  quite 
superseded. 

There  is  no  bibliography,  though  the  copious  footnotes,  it  has 
been  pointed  out,  are  little  bibliographies  in  themselves.  There 
are  a  number  of  useful  maps  and  charts,  the  index  is  adequate, 
and  the  few  typographical  slips  that  appeared  in  the  original 
edition  naturally  persist  in  this  one  since  it  was  not  made  from 
new  plates.  The  print  is  admirably  sharp  and  clear. 

Richard  Bardolph. 

The  Woman's  College  of  the 

University  of  North  Carolina, 

Greensboro. 


Book  Reviews  143 

Federal  Records  of  World  War  II.  National  Archives  Publications  Nos. 
51-7  &  8.  (Washington:  United  States  Printing  Office.  1950-51.  2  vols. 
Pp.  I:  xii,  1073.  II:  iii,  1061.  $2.50  each.) 

In  1946  President  Truman  wrote  to  the  Archivist  of  the 
United  States  that  he  " would  like  to  see  prepared  and  published 
such  guides  as  will  make  the  pertinent  materials  known  and 
usable."  The  Federal  Records  of  World  War  II,  in  a  general  way, 
fulfills  the  President's  request  since  it  is  a  convenient  digest  of 
the  records  of  every  agency  of  the  United  States  government 
which  played  a  part  in  the  conduct  of  the  war  (1939-1945). 
This  represents  the  labor  and  contributions  of  many  people. 
Much  credit  is  due  to  Dr.  Philip  M.  Hamer  for  his  skillful  editing 
and  over-all  direction  of  the  compilation  of  these  volumes. 

This  digest  or  general  guide  may  well  be  compared  to  the  card 
catalog  of  a  library.  It  leads  the  searcher  to  the  materials  and 
does  not  try  to  describe  them  except  as  to  type.  Volume  I, 
"Civilian  Agencies,"  is  divided  into  seven  parts:  (1)  The 
Legislative  Branch;  (2)  The  Judicial  Branch;  (3)  The  Executive 
Office  of  the  President ;  (4)  Emergency  Agencies ;  (5)  Executive 
Departments;  (6)  Other  United  States  Agencies;  (7)  Inter- 
national Agencies.  Volume  II,  "Military  Agencies,"  contains: 
(1)  Interallied  and  Interservice  Military  Agencies;  (2)  The 
War  Department  and  the  Army;  (3)  The  Naval  Establishment; 
(4)  Theaters  of  Operation.  For  each  agency  listed  under  these 
broad  headings  there  is  a  sketch  of  its  wartime  duties  and  activi- 
ties; a  description  of  its  records  as  to  type,  location,  custody, 
and  volume  (in  cubic  feet)  ;  and  pertinent  bibliographical 
references. 

It  is  obvious  that  special  care  was  taken  in  the  compilation 
of  the  index.  It  is  more  detailed  than  those  of  previous  "guides" 
prepared  by  the  National  Archives,  especially  in  its  cross  refer- 
ences. For  example,  listed  under  "leather  and  hides"  are  twenty- 
two  entries  which  cover  every  aspect  of  procurement,  production, 
importation,  prices,  research,  and  military  use  of  these  com- 
modities. 

E.  G.  Roberts. 

Duke  University  Library, 

Durham. 


HISTORICAL  NEWS 

The  department  of  history  at  Duke  University  announces 
the  following  promotions:  Irving  B.  Holley  to  assistant  profes- 
sor; Arthur  B.  Ferguson,  Harold  T.  Parker,  and  Richard  L. 
Watson,  Jr.,  to  associate  professor ;  and  John  S.  Curtiss  to  pro- 
fessor. Dr.  Curtiss  spent  the  past  summer  researching  in  Russian 
History  in  the  Hoover  Library,  Stanford,  California. 

Dr.  Alan  K.  Manchester,  professor  of  history  and  dean  of 
undergraduate  studies  at  Duke  University,  is  in  Brazil  on  a 
one-year  appointment  as  cultural  attache  to  the  United  States 
Embassy  there. 

Dr.  E.  Malcolm  Carroll  was  principally  responsible  for  the 
third  volume  of  the  German  Foreign  Office  Archives:  Docu- 
ments on  German  Foreign  Policy,  1918-1945,  from  the  Archives 
of  the  German  Foreign  Ministry.  Series  D.  (1937-1943)  Ger- 
many and  the  Spanish  Civil  War,  1936-1939.  The  volume  was 
issued  by  the  State  Department  and  His  Majesty's  Stationery 
Office,  London. 

Publications  or  prospective  publications  by  other  members 
of  the  Duke  University  history  department  include  Joel  G. 
Colton,  Compulsory  Labor  Arbitration  in  France,  1936-1939 
(New  York:  King's  Crown  Press,  Columbia  University,  1951)  ; 
W.  T.  Laprade,  "Scholarship,  Hysteria  and  Freedom,"  in  New 
Republic,  October  29,  1951;  William  B.  Hamilton,  Fifty  Years 
of  the  South  Atlantic  Quarterly  (to  be  published  in  January, 
1952,  by  the  Duke  University  Press)  ;  Robert  H.  Woody  edited, 
with  a  biographical  appraisal,  The  Papers  and  Addresses  of 
William  Preston  Few,  Late  President  of  Duke  University,  which 
was  published  by  the  Duke  University  Press  in  December. 

Dr.  Richard  C.  Todd  of  East  Carolina  College  has  received 
the  Mrs.  Simon  Baruch  University  Prize,  offered  biennially  by 
the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  for  the  best  unpub- 
lished manuscript  in  the  field  of  southern  history.  Professor  Todd 
submitted  in  this  competition  his  dissertation  prepared  at  Duke 
University,  "A  History  of  Confederate  Finance."  He  also  pre- 
sented a  paper,  "Confederate  Finance,"  at  the  annual  meeting 

[144] 


Historical  News  145 

of  the  Southern  Historical  Association  at  Montgomery,  Novem- 
ber 8-10,  1951. 

Dr.  Loren  C.  MacKinney  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
is  a  member  of  the  American  Historical  Association  committee  on 
documentary  reproduction  and  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  microfilming  in  Italy.  He  is  the  author  of  several  articles 
on  mediaeval  medicine  which  have  appeared  or  are  to  appear 
in  the  near  future  in  various  journals. 

The  fifth  Harriet  Elliott  Social  Science  Forum  was  held  at 
the  Woman's  College  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Greensboro,  November  15,  16,  and  17.  The  forum  subject  was 
"The  Meeting  of  East  and  West  in  China"  and  Hu  Shih,  Derk 
Bodde,  Harold  Isaacs,  and  Vera  Micheles  Dean  were  guest 
speakers. 

On  September  27  a  highway  marker  was  unveiled  at  Rich 
Square  for  the  birthplace  of  Colonel  George  V.  Holloman,  in- 
ventor of  many  significant  devices  for  airplanes.  Dr.  Christopher 
Crittenden  of  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History, 
Raleigh,  and  Mr.  J.  E.  Hunter  of  the  State  Board  of  Education 
delivered  addresses. 

Mr.  William  S.  Powell  of  the  Department  of  Archives  and 
History  attended  the  formal  opening  and  dedication  of  the 
Rowan  Public  Library  in  Salisbury  on  October  4.  The  building 
is  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Francis  Burton  Craige,  a  native 
of  Rowan  County. 

Mr.  W.  Frank  Burton  and  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  of  the 
Department  of  Archives  and  History  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
North  Carolina  Society  of  Tax  Supervisors  at  the  Institute  of 
Government  in  Chapel  Hill  on  October  9.  Mr.  Burton  made  the 
principal  address  of  the  occasion  and  Dr.  Crittenden  also  ad- 
dressed the  group  briefly. 

The  Society  of  American  Archivists  held  its  fifteenth  annual 
meeting  in  Annapolis,   Maryland,   October   15   and   16.   North 


146  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Carolinians  attending  this  meeting  were:  Dr.  James  W.  Patton 
of  Chapel  Hill,  Dr.  T.  H.  Spence  of  Montreat,  and  Mr.  D.  L. 
Corbitt,  Mr.  W.  Frank  Burton,  and  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden 
of  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History.  Dr.  Crittenden 
gave  the  "Report  of  the  Long  Range  Planning  Committee,,  and 
Mr.  Burton  spoke  on  "A  Tar  Heel  Archivist  and  His  Problems." 

On  October  12  at  the  convention  of  the  North  Carolina 
Division  of  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  in  Winston- 
Salem,  the  following  new  officers  were  elected:  Mrs.  E.  R. 
McKethan  of  Fayetteville  and  Mrs.  W.  D.  Pollock  of  Kinston, 
honorary  presidents ;  Mrs.  William  Dickens  of  Enfield,  first  vice- 
president;  Mrs.  A.  R.  Wilson  of  Durham,  third  vice-president; 
and  Mrs.  A.  W.  Hoffman  of  Raleigh,  historian.  Re-elected  officers 
were :  Mrs.  Henry  L.  Stevens,  Jr.,  Warsaw,  president ;  Mrs.  Dan 
Croom,  Winston-Salem,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Litchfield  B. 
Huie,  Warsaw,  corresponding  secretary;  Mrs.  Paul  Fitzgerald, 
Pelham,  treasurer ;  Miss  Jeannette  Biggs,  Fayetteville,  registrar ; 
and  Mrs.  C.  H.  Bass,  High  Point,  recorder  of  crosses. 

On  November  8  Mrs.  Glenn  Long  of  Newton  was  elected 
president-general  of  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy 
at  its  fifty-eighth  national  convention,  held  in  Asheville.  Mrs. 
Long  was  installed  in  office  on  November  9. 

The  Bertie  County  Historical  Association  held  its  fall  meeting 
in  Windsor  on  October  19.  A  portrait  of  John  Watson,  pioneer 
leader  of  the  county,  was  presented  to  the  association  and  re- 
search papers  were  read  as  follows:  "Old  Homes  of  Woodville" 
by  Miss  Stella  Phelps;  "The  William  King  House"  by  Mrs.  John 
Parker ;  and  "The  Indian  Gallows"  by  Mrs.  E.  S.  Askew.  Milton 
F.  Perry  of  the  staff  of  Colonial  Williamsburg,  Inc.,  a  native 
of  Bertie  and  a  charter  member  of  the  association,  outlined  a 
plan  for  the  publication  of  a  quarterly  bulletin. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  of  County  and  Local  Historians, 
on  Sunday,  October  21,  toured  Montgomery  and  northwestern 
Richmond  counties,  with  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Jeffrey  F.  Stanback 
as  hosts.  The  historians  visited  the  Yankee  Graveyard  near 
Mount  Gilead ;  "The  Widow's  Purchase,"  home  of  Col.  and  Mrs. 


Historical  News 


147 


Stanback;  "Carlisle,"  built  by  Colonel  B.  F.  Little;  "Powellton," 
built  by  Pleasant  M.  Powell  about  1842 ;  Pekin  village ;  and  the 
Edmund  DeBerry  home  (now  "Pheasant  Farm").  Following  the 
tour  the  historians  attended  the  unveiling  of  a  new  highway 
marker  for  Edmund  DeBerry,  congressman  from  Montgomery 
County,  1828-1855. 

The  Historical  Society  of  North  Carolina  held  its  fall  meeting 
at  Wake  Forest  on  October  19.  Dr.  Fletcher  M.  Green  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  was  elected  president  for  1952. 
Other  officers  for  1952  are :  Mr.  Aubrey  Lee  Brooks,  Greensboro, 
vice-president ;  Dr.  Frontis  W.  Johnston,  Davidson  College,  secre- 
tary-treasurer;  and  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt,  Department  of  Archives 
and  History,  program  chairman.  As  the  highlight  of  the  evening 
meeting,  Dr.  C.  C.  Pearson  of  Wake  Forest  College,  retiring 
president,  spoke  on  "Why  Can't  You  and  I  Let  People  Go  to 
Hell  in  Their  Own  Way:  A  Virginia  Historical  Study."  Dr. 
Charles  S.  Sydnor  of  Duke  University  spoke  at  the  dinner 
meeting  on  the  subject,  "The  Study  of  American  History  at 
Oxford." 

At  the  afternoon  session  Dr.  Stuart  Noblin  of  State  College 
presented  a  paper,  "Leonidas  L.  Polk,  A  Summary  View" ;  Dean 
Cecil  K.  Brown  of  Davidson  College  read  a  paper,  "The  Develop- 
ment of  Transport  and  Trade  in  North  Carolina  During  the 
Last  Half-Century";  and  Dr.  Hugh  T.  Lefler  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  presented  an  obituary  of  the  late  Albert  Ray 
Newsome. 

On  October  25  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  addressed  the 
Trinity  College  Historical  Society  of  Duke  University  on  the 
subject,  "Preserving  Tar  Heel  Historical  Manuscripts." 


The  Eastern  States  Archaeological  Federation  held  its  annual 
session  in  Chapel  Hill,  October  26  and  27.  Dr.  R.  B.  House  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  and  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden 
extended  greetings,  and  Dr.  Joffre  L.  Coe  of  the  University  and 
Mr.  Ernest  Lewis,  superintendent  of  Town  Creek  State  Park 
(Montgomery  County),  read  papers. 


148  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  North  Carolina  Archaeological  Society  met  in  Chapel 
Hill  on  October  29.  Dr.  Joffre  L.  Coe  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  was  elected  president,  succeeding  Dr.  Christopher  Crit- 
tenden, and  Mr.  Harry  T.  Davis  of  the  State  Museum,  Raleigh, 
was  re-elected  secretary-treasurer. 

The  Southern  Historical  Association  held  its  seventeenth 
annual  meeting  in  Montgomery,  Alabama,  November  8-10. 
North  Carolinians  appearing  on  the  program  included  Dr.  Hugh 
T.  Lefler  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina;  Dr.  Elisha  P. 
Douglass  of  Elon  College ;  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden ;  Dr.  Har- 
old Parker,  Duke  University ;  Dr.  Paul  H.  Clyde,  Duke  Universi- 
ty ;  Dr.  Harold  A.  Bierck,  Jr.,  University  of  North  Carolina ;  Dr. 
Richard  C.  Todd,  East  Carolina  College;  and  Dr.  Wilfred  B. 
Yearns,  Wake  Forest  College.  Other  North  Carolinians  who 
attended  were  as  follows:  Mr.  W.  F.  Burton  and  Mr.  D.  L. 
Corbitt;  Dr.  Fletcher  M.  Green,  University  of  North  Carolina; 
Mr.  William  S.  Powell;  and  Dr.  J.  Carlyle  Sitterson,  University 
of  North  Carolina.  Dr.  Sitterson,  who  was  to  complete  in  De- 
cember three  years  as  secretary-treasurer  of  the  association, 
was  elected  to  the  executive  council  for  a  three-year  term  be- 
ginning in  January,  1952. 

Civic  leaders  of  Boone  and  Western  North  Carolina  have 
organized  the  Southern  Appalachian  Historical  Association  to 
perpetuate  the  historical  culture  of  mountain  people  of  that 
section.  Meeting  early  in  November,  the  group  elected  the  fol- 
lowing officers:  Dr.  I.  G.  Greer  of  Chapel  Hill,  president;  Dr. 
D.  J.  Whitener  of  Appalachian  State  Teachers  College,  Boone, 
vice-president;  Mrs.  B.  W.  Stallings  of  Boone,  corresponding 
secretary ;  Mrs.  Leo  K.  Pritchett  of  Boone,  recording  secretary ; 
and  Mr.  James  Marsh  of  Boone,  treasurer.  Plans  are  being  made 
for  producing  a  drama,  possibly  centering  about  Daniel  Boone. 

A  week-long  celebration  of  Jackson  County's  centennial  was 
climaxed  by  a  parade  and  contests  held  in  Sylva  on  September  8. 
A  capsule  two  feet  in  diameter  and  six  feet  in  length,  containing 
documents,  pictures,  and  other  information  on  the  history  of 
the  county,  was  buried  on  the  courthouse  lawn. 


Historical  News  149 

Elizabeth  City  celebrated  its  sesquicentennial  the  week  of 
November  18-24.  A  parade  and  candle-lighting  ceremony  were 
held  on  November  19,  and  Senator  Willis  Smith  and  Mr.  Robert 
Welch  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  former  residents,  were 
speakers  at  a  banquet  session  on  November  21. 

The  Rutherford  County  Historical  Society  held  a  meeting  in 
Rutherfordton  on  December  4,  and  the  following  officers  were 
elected  for  1952 :  Mr.  Clarence  Griffin  of  Forest  City,  president ; 
Professor  J.  J.  Tarlton  of  Rutherfordton,  vice-president;  Mr. 
Orland  M.  York  of  Rutherfordton,  secretary;  and  Mr.  J.  Worth 
Morgan  of  Forest  City,  treasurer.  Those  elected  directors  were : 
Mr.  Herbert  Crenshaw,  Spindale ;  Mr.  F.  I.  Barber,  Forest  City ; 
Mr.  S.  C.  Elmore,  Spindale;  and  Mr.  R.  E.  Price,  Rutherfordton. 
Plans  were  made  for  the  publication  of  a  300-page  memorial 
volume  to  the  dead  of  Rutherford  County  in  World  War  II. 
This  volume  is  to  include  a  history  of  the  county  from  1937  to 
the  present  and  will  carry  the  names  of  almost  6,000  Rutherford 
county  men  who  served  in  the  armed  forces  during  the  war. 

The  Roanoke  Island  Historical  Association  held  a  business 
meeting  in  Raleigh  on  December  5.  Honorable  R.  Bruce  Eth- 
eridge  of  Manteo  was  elected  temporary  chairman  of  the  asso- 
ciation, succeeding  Mr.  Bill  Sharpe  of  Raleigh. 

The  North  Carolina  State  Art  Society  conducted  its  twenty- 
fifth  annual  session  in  Raleigh  December  5-6.  The  first  day  a 
business  meeting  was  held,  at  which  reports  were  made  on  art 
activities  throughout  the  state,  and  at  a  get-together  luncheon 
Mr.  Hugo  Leipziger-Pearce  spoke  on  "The  United  States  Pro- 
gram of  Restitution  of  the  Looted  Art  Treasures  of  Europe." 
At  the  evening  meeting  awards,  gifts,  and  recognitions  were 
made,  after  which  Miss  Margarita  Salinger,  research  fellow 
of  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  made  an  illustrated  address 
on  "The  Enjoyment  of  Art."  After  this  session  a  reception  and 
preview  of  an  exhibition  of  "Paintings  from  Three  Centuries," 
on  loan  from  the  Knoedler  Galleries,  were  held  in  the  State  Art 
Gallery.  At  the  business  meeting  the  following  officers  were 
elected  for  the  ensuing  year :  president,  Mrs.  Katherine  Pendle- 


150  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ton  Arrington  of  Warrenton;  vice-presidents,  Mrs.  Jacques 
Busbee  of  Steeds,  Mrs.  J.  H.  B.  Moore  of  Greenville,  and  Mr. 
John  Allcott  of  Chapel  Hill;  treasurer,  Mrs.  James  H.  Cordon, 
Raleigh;  and  executive  secretary,  Miss  Lucy  Cherry  Crisp,  Ra- 
leigh. Members  elected  to  the  executive  committee  are  as  follows : 
Mr.  Robert  Lee  Humber,  Greenville,  chairman;  Mr.  Jonathan 
Daniels  of  Raleigh,  Dr.  Clemens  Sommer  of  Chapel  Hill,  Dr. 
Clarence  Poe  of  Raleigh,  and  Mrs.  Isabel  B.  Henderson  of  Ra- 
leigh. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  for  the  Preservation  of  Anti- 
quities held  its  eleventh  annual  meeting  in  Raleigh  on  November 
6.  At  the  morning  meeting  Mrs.  Katherine  Pendleton  Arrington 
of  Warrenton  discussed  the  project  for  an  Elizabethan  garden 
adjacent  to  Fort  Raleigh  and  reports  were  made  on  restoration 
and  preservation  projects.  At  the  luncheon  meeting  Colonel 
Kermit  Hunter  of  Chapel  Hill  spoke  on  our  Elizabethan  heritage. 
At  the  evening  meeting  new  life  members  and  the  Charles  A. 
Cannon  awards  were  presented  by  Associate  Justice  Wallace 
Winborne  of  the  State  Supreme  Court  and  a  program  centering 
around  historic  Beaufort  County,  sponsored  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Harry  McMullan,  included  the  following:  "History  of  Beaufort 
County,"  by  Mrs.  Ford  S.  Worthy,  Washington ;  "Early  History 
of  St.  Thomas  Church,  Bath,"  by  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Wright, 
Wilmington;  "Colonial  Bath,"  a  pageant,  presented  by  the 
Washington  Little  Theatre ;  and  a  benediction  by  Rev.  Alex  C.  D. 
Noe,  Rector,  St.  Thomas  Church,  Bath.  Following  the  program 
a  reception  was  held  for  members  and  guests.  No  election  of 
officers  for  the  ensuing  year  was  held  and  the  following  will 
serve:  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Cannon  of  Concord,  president;  Mrs. 
Inglis  Fletcher  of  Edenton,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Ernest  A. 
Branch  of  Raleigh,  secretary-treasurer.  Vice-presidents  for  the 
congressional  districts  are:  Mr.  Aycock  Brown  of  Manteo,  Mrs. 
Katherine  P.  Arrington  of  Warrenton ;  Mrs.  Elias  Carr  of  Mac- 
clesfield, Mrs.  Charles  Lee  Smith  of  Raleigh,  Mrs.  Edward  M. 
Anderson  of  West  Jefferson,  Mrs.  John  A.  Kellenberger  of 
Greensboro,  Mrs.  J.  Lawrence  Sprunt  of  Wilmington,  Mr. 
George  H.  Maurice  of  Eagle  Springs,  Mrs.  Henkel  Spillman 
of  Statesville,   Mrs.   E.   C.   Marshall  of  Charlotte,   Mrs.  J.   D. 


Historical  News  151 

Lineberger  of  Shelby,  and  Mrs.  E.  Yates  Webb  of  Shelby.  The 
board  of  directors  is  composed  of  the  following:  Mrs.  O.  Max 
Gardner  of  Shelby,  Miss  Gertrude  S.  Carraway  of  New  Bern, 
Mrs.  James  A.  Gray  of  Winston-Salem,  Mrs.  Lyman  A.  Cotton 
of  Chapel  Hill,  and  Dr.  Archibald  Henderson  of  Chapel  Hill. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  of  County  Historians  held  its 
annual  session  in  Raleigh  on  December  7.  Reports  were  made  on 
various  phases  of  local  historical  activity  in  the  state  and  the 
following  officers  were  elected:  Dr.  W.  P.  Jacocks  of  Chapel 
Hill,  president;  Miss  Mary  Louise  Medley  of  Wadesboro  and 
Mr.  Charles  M.  Heck  of  Raleigh,  vice-presidents;  and  Mr.  Leon 
McDonald  of  Olivia,  secretary-treasurer. 

The  North  Carolina  Folklore  Society  held  its  fortieth  session 
in  Raleigh  on  December  7.  Rev.  Gilbert  R.  Combs  of  Walkertown 
delivered  an  address  entitled  "Ballads  and  Songs  of  the  Appala- 
chian Mountains"  and  Mr.  Marshall  Ward  of  Balm  addressed 
the  group  on  "Jack  and  Heifer  Hide."  At  the  business  meeting 
the  following  officers  were  elected :  Mr.  Bascom  Lamar  Lunsf ord 
of  Leicester,  president;  Miss  Isabel  B.  Busbee  of  Raleigh,  first 
vice-president;  Dr.  I.  G.  Greer  of  Chapel  Hill,  second  vice-presi- 
dent; and  Dr.  Arthur  P.  Hudson  of  Chapel  Hill,  secretary- 
treasurer.  Designated  to  serve  on  the  proposed  council  to  be 
set  up  by  the  various  cultural  societies  were:  Dr.  W.  Amos 
Abrams  and  Dr.  Joseph  D.  Clark,  both  of  Raleigh. 

The  State  Literary  and  Historical  Association  held  its  fifty- 
first  annual  session  in  Raleigh  on  December  7.  At  the  morning 
meeting  Mr.  E.  Lawrence  Lee  of  Chapel  Hill  read  a  paper  on 
"Old  Brunswick — the  Birth  and  Death  of  a  Colonial  Town"; 
Mrs.  Frances  Gray  Patton  of  Durham  delivered  an  address  on 
"How  it  Feels  to  be  a  Writer";  and  Dr.  Frontis  W.  Johnston 
of  Davidson  gave  a  review  of  North  Carolina  works  of  non- 
fiction  of  the  year.  At  the  subscription  dinner  Dr.  Charles  S. 
Sydnor  spoke  on  his  experiences  last  year  at  Oxford  University. 
At  the  evening  meeting  Mr.  Robert  Lee  Humber  of  Greenville 
delivered  the  presidential  address,  Dr.  Douglas  S.  Freeman  of 
Richmond,  Virginia,  delivered  an  address,  "Unsolved  Mysteries 
in  the  Life  of  George  Washington,"  and  Judge  S.  J.  Ervin,  Jr., 


152  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

governor  of  the  Society  of  Mayflower  Descendants  in  North 
Carolina,  announced  the  Mayflower  Society  award  to  Jonathan 
Daniels  for  The  Man  of  Independence,  voted  the  best  work  of 
non-fiction  published  during  the  year  by  a  resident  North  Caro- 
linian. A  reception  to  members  and  guests  of  the  association 
followed.  At  a  business  meeting  Dr.  Frontis  W.  Johnston  was 
elected  president ;  Dr.  Alice  B.  Keith  of  Raleigh,  Mr.  J.  Lawrence 
Sprunt  of  Wilmington,  and  Mr.  B.  S.  Colburn  of  Biltmore  Forest 
were  elected  vice-presidents;  and  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden 
of  Raleigh  was  re-elected  secretary-treasurer.  Mrs.  John  A. 
Kellenberger  of  Greensboro  and  Dr.  L.  L.  Carpenter  of  Raleigh 
were  elected  to  the  executive  committee. 

On  December  10  Mr.  William  S.  Powell,  former  researcher 
for  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History,  became  a  member 
of  the  staff  of  the  library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
For  a  few  months  Mr.  Powell  will  continue  to  make  his  home  in 
Raleigh,  commuting  to  Chapel  Hill. 

Books  received  include :  Stella  Brewer  Brookes,  Joel  Chandler 
Harris — Folklorist  (Athens:  University  of  Georgia  Press, 
1950)  ;  Richard  Barksdale  Harwell,  Songs  of  the  Confederacy 
(New  York:  Broadcast  Music,  Inc.,  1951)  ;  Catherine  Harrod 
Mason,  James  Harrod  of  Kentucky  (Baton  Rouge:  Louisiana 
State  University  Press,  1951)  ;  John  P.  Dyer,  The  Gallant  Hood 
(Indianapolis:  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  1950)  ;  Jane  Lucas 
de  Grummond,  Envoy  to  Caracas:  The  Story  of  John  G.  A. 
Williamson,  Nineteenth-Century  Diplomat  (Baton  Rouge :  Louisi- 
ana State  University  Press,  1951)  ;  J.  H.  Easterby,  The  Colonial 
Records  of  South  Carolina — The  Journal  of  the  Commons  House 
of  Assembly,  November  10,  1736-June  7,  1739  (Columbia:  The 
Historical  Commission  of  South  Carolina,  1951)  ;  Frank  G.  Speck 
and  Leonard  Bloom  in  collaboration  with  Will  West  Long,  Chero- 
kee Dance  and  Drama  (Berkeley  and  Los  Angeles:  University  of 
California  Press,  1951)  ;  Willard  M.  Wallace,  Appeal  to  Arms:  A 
Military  History  of  the  American  Revolution  (New  York:  Harp- 
er &  Brothers,  1951)  ;  Kermit  Hunter,  Unto  These  Hills  (Chapel 
Hill:  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1951)  ;  Frederick  Jack- 
son Turner,  The  United  States,  1830-1850:  The  Nation  and  Its  Sec- 


Historical  News  153 

tions  (New  York :  Peter  Smith,  1950)  ;  Mary  Ulmer  and  Samuel  E. 
Beck,  To  Make  My  Bread:  Preparing  Cherokee  Foods  (Cherokee, 
North  Carolina:  Museum  of  the  Cherokee  Indian,  1951)  ;  They 
Gave  Us  Freedom:  The  American  Struggles  for  Life,  Liberty  and 
the  Pursuit  of  Happiness,  as  Seen  in  Portraits,  Sculptures,  His- 
torical Paintings  and  Documents  of  the  Period,  1761-1789  (Wil- 
liamsburg, Virginia:  Colonial  Williamsburg  and  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary,  1951)  ;  Clarence  Edwin  Carter,  Territorial 
Papers  of  the  United  States,  volume  XV,  Louisiana-Missouri 
Territory,  1815-1821  (Washington:  United  States  Government 
Printing  Office,  1951)  ;  Alexander  A.  Lawrence,  Storm  over 
Savannah:  The  Story  of  Count  d'Estaing  and  the  Siege  of  the 
Town  in  1779  (Athens:  The  University  of  Georgia  Press,  1951)  ; 
Quentin  Oliver  McAllister,  The  Southern  Humanities  Confer- 
ence: Business  Executives  and  the  Humanities  (Chapel  Hill:  The 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1951)  ;  J.  0.  Bailey  and 
Sturgis  E.  Leavitt,  The  Southern  Humanities  Conference  and  Its 
Constituent  Societies  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North 
Carolina  Press,  1951)  ;  Daniel  Walker  Hollis,  University  of  South 
Carolina,  volume  I,  South  Carolina  College  (Columbia:  Univer- 
sity of  South  Carolina  Press,  1951)  ;  James  B.  McNair,  Simon 
Cameron's  Adventure  in  Iron,  1837-1846  (Los  Angeles:  pub- 
lished by  the  author,  1950)  ;  George  W.  Williams,  St.  Michael's, 
Charleston,  1751-1951  (Columbia:  University  of  South  Carolina 
Press,  1951)  ;  James  Logan  Godfrey,  Revolutionary  Justice:  A 
Study  of  the  Organization,  Personnel,  and  Procedure  of  the  Paris 
Tribunal,  1793-1795,  The  James  Sprunt  Studies  in  History  and 
Political  Science,  volume  XXXIII  (Chapel  Hill:  University  of 
North  Carolina  Press,  1951)  ;  John  G.  Shott,  The  Railroad  Monop- 
oly: An  Instrument  of  Banker  Control  of  the  American  Economy 
(Washington :  Public  Affairs  Institute,  [1951] )  ;  Meyer  H.  Fish- 
bein  and  Elaine  C.  Bennett,  Preliminary  Inventories,  no.  32 — 
Records  of  the  Accounting  Department  of  the  Office  of  Price 
Administration  (Washington:  The  National  Archives  and  Rec- 
ords Service,  General  Services  Administration,  1951)  ;  William 
F.  Shonkwiler,  Preliminary  Inventories,  no.  33 — Records  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ordnance  (Washington:  The  National  Archives  and 
Records  Service,  General  Services  Administration,  1951)  ;  Ed- 
ward F.  Martin,  Preliminary  Inventories,  no.  34 — Records  of  the 


154  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Solid  Fuels  Administration  for  War  (Washington :  The  National 
Archives  and  Records  Service,  General  Services  Administration, 
1951)  ;  Chalmers  Gaston  Davidson,  Piedmont  Partisan:  The  Life 
and  Times  of  Brigadier-General  William  Lee  Davidson  (David- 
son, North  Carolina:  Davidson  College,  1951)  ;  Martin  W.  Ham- 
ilton, The  Papers  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  volume  X  (Albany: 
The  University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  1951)  ;  C.  Vann 
Woodward,  Origins  of  the  Neiv  South,  1877-1918  volume  IX  of 
A  History  of  the  South  (Baton  Rouge:  Louisiana  State  Univer- 
sity Press  and  the  Littlefield  Fund  for  Southern  History  of  the 
University  of  Texas,  1951)  ;  Helen  G.  Edmonds,  The  Negro  and 
Fusion  Politics  in  North  Carolina,  1894-1901  (Chapel  Hill:  The 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1951)  ;  Blanche  Egerton 
Baker,  Mrs.  G.  I.  Joe  (Goldsboro;  Blanche  Egerton  Baker, 
1951)  ;  Joel  Francis  Paschal,  Mr.  Justice  Sutherland  (Princeton, 
New  Jersey:  Princeton  University  Press,  1951)  ;  R.  V.  Cole- 
man, Liberty  and  Property  (New  York:  Charles  Scribner's 
Sons,  1951)  ;  Gayle  Thornbrough  and  Dorothy  Riker,  Journals 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  Territory,  1805-1815, 
Indiana  Historical  Collections,  volume  XXXII  (Indianapolis: 
Indiana  Historical  Bureau,  1950)  ;  David  Duncan  Wallace, 
History  of  Wofford  College  185U-19U9  (Nashville,  Tennes- 
see: Vanderbilt  University  Press,  1951)  ;  Roberta  D.  Cor- 
nelius, The  History  of  Randolph-Macon  Woman's  College: 
From  the  Founding  in  1891  Through  the  Year  of  19  U9 -19  50 
(Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1951)  ; 
James  F.  Hopkins,  A  History  of  the  Hemp  Industry  in  Ken- 
tucky (Lexington:  University  of  Kentucky  Press,  1951)  ;  J.  F.  J. 
Caldwell,  The  History  of  a  Brigade  of  South  Carolinians  Knoivn 
First  as  "Gregg's,"  and  Subsequently  as  "McGowan's  Brigade" 
(Marietta,  Georgia:  Continental  Book  Company,  1951);  Wil- 
liam Dosite  Postell,  The  Health  of  Slaves  on  Southern  Planta- 
tions (Baton  Rouge:  Louisiana  State  University  Press,  1951)  ; 
Percy  E.  and  Calvin  Goodrich,  A  Great-Grandmother  and  Her 
People  (Winchester,  Indiana:  Privately  Printed,  1951)  ;  Douglas 
Southall  Freeman,  George  Washington:  A  Biography,  volume 
III,  Planter  and  Patriot;  volume  IV,  Leader  of  the  Revolution 
(New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1951)  ;  Richard  K.  Mur- 
doch, The  Georgia-Florida  Frontier,  1793-1796:  Spanish  Reac- 


Historical  News  155 

tion  to  French  Intrigue  and  American  Designs,  University  of 
California  Publications  in  History,  volume  XL  (Berkeley  and 
Los  Angeles:  University  of  California  Press,  1951)  ;  John  Rich- 
ard Alden,  General  Charles  Lee:  Traitor  or  Patriot?  (Baton 
Rouge:  Louisiana  State  University  Press,  1951);  A  Friendly 
Mission:  John  Candler's  Letters  from  America,  1853-1854,  In- 
dianapolis Historical  Society  Publications,  volume  XVI,  number  1 
(Indianapolis,  1951)  ;  Federal  Records  of  World  War  II,  volume 
I,  Civilian  Agencies;  volume  II,  Military  Agencies  (Washington: 
General  Services  Administration,  National  Archives  and  Records 
Service,  The  National  Archives,  1950  and  [volume  II]  1951 ; 
Clarence  Griffin,  Essays  on  North  Carolina  History  (Forest  City, 
N.  C. :  The  Forest  City  Courier,  1951)  ;  Edgar  W.  Knight,  Educa- 
tion in  the  United  States  (Boston:  Ginn  and  Company,  1951)  ; 
Calvin  B.  Hoover  and  B.  U.  Ratchford,  Economic  Resources  and 
Policies  of  the  South  (New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1950)  ;  W.  C.  Dula  and  A.  C.  Simpson,  Durham  and  Her  People 
(Durham,  N.  C. :  The  Citizens  Press,  1951)  ;  E.  Merton  Coulter, 
College  Life  in  the  Old  South  (Athens :  The  University  of  Georgia 
Press,  1951)  ;  Allen  P.  Tankersley,  College  Life  at  Old  Ogle- 
thorpe (Athens:  The  University  of  Georgia  Press,  1951)  ;  Allen 
Johnston  Going,  Bourbon  Democracy  in  Alabama,  1874-1890 
(University:  University  of  Alabama  Press,  1951)  ;  James  H. 
Rodabaugh  and  Mary  Jane  Rodabaugh,  Nursing  in  Ohio:  A  His- 
tory (Columbus,  Ohio:  The  Ohio  State  Nurses'  Association, 
1951). 


CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THIS  ISSUE 

Dr.  Douglas  LeTell  Rights  is  acting  archivist  of  the  Moravian 
Church,  Southern  Province,  and  a  Moravian  minister  of  Winston- 
Salem. 

Dr.  James  S.  Purcell  is  associate  professor  of  English  at 
Davidson  College,  Davidson. 

Dr.  James  High  is  acting  assistant  professor  of  history  in  the 
University  of  Washington  at  Seattle. 

Dr.  Joseph  Davis  Applewhite  is  assistant  professor  of  history 
at  the  University  of  Redlands  in  Redlands,  California. 

Mr.  William  T.  Alderson  is  a  graduate  student  and  teaching 
fellow  at  Vanderbilt  University,  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

Dr.  Mary  Callum  Wiley,  daughter  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley 
and  former  head  of  the  department  of  English  at  R.  J.  Reynolds 
High  School  in  Winston-Salem,  is  the  author  of  a  daily  column, 
"Mostly  Local,"  in  the  Tivin-City  Daily  Sentinel,  Winston-Salem. 

Dr.  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson  is  a  reference  consultant 
of  the  Manuscript  Division  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  Washing- 
ton. 


[156] 


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THE 


North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 


Issued  Quarterly 


Volume  XXIX 


Number  2 


APRIL,  1952 


Published  by 

STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Corner  of  Eden  ton  and  Salisbury  streets 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


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<    « 


THE 'NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORICAL  REVIEW 


Published  by  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


Christopher  Crittenden,  Editor 
David  Leroy  Coreitt,  Managing  Editor 


ADVISORY  EDITORIAL  BOARD 
Walter  Clinton  Jackson  Hugh  Talmage  Lefler 

Frontis  Withers  Johnston  Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

George  Myers  Stephens 


STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Benjamin  Franklin  Brown,  Chairman 
Gertrude  Sprague  Carraway  McDaniel  Lewis 

Clarence  W.  Griffin  Mrs.  Sadie  Smathers  Patton 

William  Thomas  Laprade  Mrs.  Gallie  Pridgen  Williams 

Christopher  Crittenden,  Director 


This  review  was  established  in  January,  1924,  as  a  medium  of  publication 
and  discussion  of  history  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  issued  to  other  institutions 
by  exchange,  but  to  the  general  public  by  subscription  only.  The  regular 
price  is  $2.00  per  year.  To  members  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association  there  is  a  special  price  of  $1.00  per  year.  Back  numbers  may  be 
procured  at  the  regular  price  of  $2.00  per  volume,  or  $.50  per  number. 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  APRIL,  1952  Number  2 

CONTENTS 

THE  BAR  EXAMINATION  AND  BEGINNING  YEARS 
OF  LEGAL  PRACTICE  IN  NORTH 
CAROLINA,  1820-1860 159 

Fannie  Memory  Farmer 

ELECTIONEERING  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA,  1800-1835  171 

John  Chalmers  Vinson 

JIM  POLK  GOES  TO  CHAPEL  HILL 189 

Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr. 

THE  HATTERAS  EXPEDITION,  AUGUST,  1861 204 

James  M.  Merrill 

PAPER  MANUFACTURING  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA 

BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 220 

Ernest  M.  Lander,  Jr. 

PAPERS  FROM  THE  FIFTY-FIRST  ANNUAL  SESSION 
OF  THE  STATE  LITERARY  AND  HISTORICAL 
ASSOCIATION,  Raleigh,  December  7,  1951 

INTRODUCTION    228 

Christopher  Crittenden 

OLD  BRUNSWICK,  THE  STORY  OF  A  COLONIAL 
TOWN    230 

E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr. 

NORTH  CAROLINA  NON-FICTION  WORKS 

FOR  1951 246 

Frontis  W.  Johnston 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO  ANDREW 

JOHNSON    259 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

NORTH  CAROLINA  BIBLIOGRAPHY,  1950-1951 269 

Mary  Lindsay  Thornton 

Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  29,  1928,  at  the  Post  Office  at 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

[i] 


BOOK  REVIEWS   278 

Edmonds's  The  Negro  and  Fusion  Politics  in  North 
Carolina,  1894-1901 — By  Preston  W.  Edsall;  Rec- 
ord's The  Negro  and  the  Communist  Party — By  Pres- 
ton W.  Edsall;  Dula's  and  Simpson's  Durham  and 
Her  People — By  D.  J.  Whitener;  Taylor's  Survey  of 
Marine  Fisheries  of  North  Carolina — By  David  H. 
Wallace;  Bailey's  and  Leavitt's  The  Southern  Hu- 
manities Conference  and  Its  Constituent  Societies — By 
M.  L.  Skaggs;  Going's  Bourbon  Democracy  in  Alabama 
— By  Frontis  W.  Johnston  ;  Carter's  The  Territorial 
Papers  of  the  United  States — By  Walter  H.  Ryle; 
Loth's  The  People's  General:  The  Personal  Story  of 
Lafayette — By  May  Davis  Hill  ;  Fishbein's  and  Ben- 
nett's Records  of  the  Accounting  Department  of  the 
Office  of  Price  Administration,  Shonkwiler's  Records 
of  the  Bureau  of  Ordnance,  and  Martin's  Records  of 
the  Solid  Fuels  Administration  for  War,  Preliminary 
Inventories  of  the  National  Archives,  numbers  32,  33, 
and  34 — By  Dorothy  Dodd. 

HISTORICAL  NEWS 295 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  APRIL,  1952  Number  2 

THE  BAR  EXAMINATION  AND  BEGINNING  YEARS  OF 
LEGAL  PRACTICE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA,  1820-1860 

By  Fannie  Memory  Farmer 

Before  a  young  man  could  launch  out  on  a  legal  career  a 
century  ago  he  was  faced  with  the  same  problem  which  aspirants 
have  today.  He  had  to  go  through  what  is  known  as  a  bar 
examination.  The  feelings  of  those  young  men  were  not  different 
from  those  of  candidates  in  the  twentieth  century.  The  boys, 
no  matter  how  thorough  their  preparation  had  been,  felt  a 
twinge  of  nervousness  as  they  approached  the  august  judges. 
A  son  of  Justice  Thomas  Ruffin,  William  K.  Ruffin,  wrote  to 
his  father  in  1833  that  he  was  really  afraid  to  appear  as  a 
candidate  for  a  license.  He  had  begun  to  realize  the  fact  that 
he  was  inadequately  prepared  and  had  not  studied  enough.  He 
confided  to  his  father  that  he  was  determined  to  be  a  more 
careful  student  after  he  obtained  his  license  than  he  had  been 
in  the  months  just  past.  He  felt  worried  about  some  of  the  fine 
distinctions  of  certain  points  of  law  and  admitted  that  "The 
chapter  on  Assumpsit  I  think  the  most  difficult,  because  perhaps 
I  cannot  understand  his  leading  distinction,  for  though  I  read 
it  twice  I  cannot  tell  when  a  special  assumpsit  should  be  brought 
and  when  a  General  hidebitatis  Assumpsit"1  It  is  easy  to  feel 
sympathetic  with  young  Ruffin. 

While  preparing  for  the  bar  examination,  some  of  the  students 
attempted  to  find  out  from  the  judges  which  subjects  they  should 
stress  in  their  studies.  In  1840  Tod  R.  Caldwell  wrote  to  Thomas 
Ruffin: 

I  wish  to  get  some  advice  from  you  relative  to  a  course  of 
reading.  My  intention  at  present  is,  to  make  application,  at  the 
next  session  of  the  Supreme  Court,  for  license  to  practice  in  the 

1  Joseph  Gregoire   de  Roulhac   Hamilton,    editor,    The   Papers   of   Thomas   Ruffin    (Raleigh, 
1918-1920),  II,  79-80. 

[159] 


160  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

County  Courts  and  I  have  already  read  and  reviewed  second 
and  third  Blackstone,  Walker's  Introduction  to  American  Law 
and  Stephen  on  Pleading.  Gov:  Swain  had  advised  me  to  take 
up  Chitty  on  Contracts  but  on  application  to  Messrs.  Turner 
and  Hughes  I  find  that  that  book  is  not  to  be  had.  It  is  not 
thro'  want  of  confidence  in  any  recommendations  that  the  Gov: 
may  make  that  I  now  solicit  your  advice;  but  because  I  am 
confident  that  it  necessarily  follows  from  the  situation  which 
you  occupy,  that  you  must  be  more  intimately  acquainted  with 
what  is  expected  of  young  men  by  your  court,  when  they  make 
application  for  license.  I  am  sorry  that  I  neglected  the  opportuni- 
ty of  conversing  with  you  on  this  subject,  when  I  last  saw  you.2 

From  1760,  when  the  court  began  to  examine  applicants,  to 
1880,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  definite  amount  of  time  for 
study  was  required  before  an  applicant  could  take  the  bar  exam- 
ination. From  1760  to  1904  there  was  no  supervision  of  legal 
studies.3  The  lack  of  strict  requirements  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  case  of  Robert  Rufus  Bridgers,  a  graduate  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  class  of  1841.  He  studied  law  in  his  spare 
time  during  his  senior  year  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  a  week 
after  graduation.  This  haphazard  method  of  preparation  was 
criticised  by  Chief  Justice  Ruffin,  who  said  it  would  either  inter- 
fere with  college  studies  or  impair  the  health  of  the  student. 
The  court  hoped  to  reject  Bridgers;  but,  though  the  justices 
examined  him  at  great  length,  he  gained  admission  to  the  bar.4 
Despite  the  oral  criticism  of  the  system  by  the  court,  nothing 
was  done  to  remedy  the  situation  for  years.  Students  continued 
to  appear  before  the  judges  when  they  felt  well  enough  prepared 
to  pass  the  examination. 

The  North  Carolina  legislature  conferred  the  power  of  ad- 
mitting attorneys  to  the  bar  on  the  judges  of  the  Superior 
Courts  in  1754.  In  1818  the  power  was  given  to  two  or  more 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court;  this  law  was  in  effect  until  1869.5 
If  the  judges  found  a  candidate  to  be  qualified,  so  far  as  his 
knowledge  of  the  law  was  concerned,  and  of  good  moral  char- 
acter, he  was  given  a  certificate  to  practice  in  any  court  for 


2  Hamilton,  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,   180-181. 

3  Albert    Coates,    "Standards    of   the    Bar,"    North   Carolina    Law    Review,    VI    (December, 
1927),    39,   41. 

*  Samuel    A'Court    Ashe,    Stephen    B.    Weeks,    and    Charles    L.    Van    Noppen,    editors,    Bio- 
graphical History   of  North  Carolina    (Greensboro,    1905-1917),   I,    173. 
5  In  re  Applicants  for  License,   143   N.  C.   11    (1906). 


The  Bar  Examination  161 

which  the  judges  deemed  him  qualified.6  At  this  time  the  exam- 
ination was  oral.7 

The  date  for  the  examination  for  admission  to  the  bar  was 
not  established  at  a  fixed  time  as  it  is  today.  William  A.  Graham 
wrote  in  1827  that  he  had  appeared  for  questioning  on  a  par- 
ticular morning  but  that  Judges  Hall  and  Taylor  did  not  attend 
court  that  day.  Consequently,  his  examination  had  been  deferred 
till  that  night  or  the  next  morning.8  Imagine  the  consternation 
the  boy  must  have  felt  at  having  this  important  event  nonchalant- 
ly postponed  a  day!  In  1838  the  Supreme  Court  provided  that 
"All  applicants  for  admission  to  the  Bar  must  present  them- 
selves for  examination  during  the  first  seven  days  of  the  term."9 
This  put  some  limit  on  the  time  in  which  the  law  student  could 
try  for  his  license,  but  the  time  was  still  none  too  definite. 

At  this  period  of  legal  history,  the  law  required  two  exam- 
inations— one  for  a  County  Court  license  and  one  for  a  Superior 
Court  license ;  and  the  Court  required  the  lapse  of  a  year  between 
the  granting  of  the  two.10  As  was  true  of  many  of  its  ukases, 
the  Court  did  not  strictly  enforce  this  regulation.  For  example, 
William  H.  Battle  was  so  thoroughly  prepared  when  he  pre- 
sented himself  that  the  Supreme  Court  granted  him  County 
and  Superior  Court  licenses  at  a  single  term.11 

In  many  cases  the  bar  examiners  had  taught  several  of  the 
applicants.  The  leaders  of  the  bar  during  this  period  served  on 
the  bench;  the  leaders  also  engaged  in  teaching  and  conducting 
the  most  successful  law  schools.  Because  the  judges  had  often 
taught  the  examinees,  they  frequently  knew  the  capacities  of 
individuals  taking  the  examination;  in  fact,  most  of  the  appli- 
cants were  known  to  at  least  one  of  the  members  of  the  examining 


6  Henry  Potter,  John  Louis  Taylor,  Bartlett  Yancey,  editors,  Laws  of  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  including  the  Titles  of  such  Statutes  and  Parts  of  Statutes  of  Great  Britain  as 
Are  in  Force  in  Said  State;  Together  with  the  Second  Charter  Granted  by  Charles  II.  to 
the  Proprietors  of  Carolina;  The  Great  Deed  of  Grant  from  the  Lords  Proprietors;  The 
Grant  from  George  II.  to  John  Lord  Granville;  The  Bill  of  Rights  and  Constitution  of  the 
State,  including  the  Names  of  the  Members  of  the  Convention  that  formed  the  same;  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  with  the  Amendments;  and  The  Treaty  of  Peace  of  1783; 
with  Marginal  Notes  and  References  (Raleigh,  1821),  I,  Ch.  115,  Sec.  7,  284.  Hereinafter 
cited  Revised  Code  of  1821.  See  also  Bartholomew  F.  Moore  and  Asa  Biggs,  editors,  The 
Revised  Code  of  North  Carolina  (n.  p.,  [1852]),  Ch.  VIII,  Sec.  1,  18.  Hereinafter  cited 
Revised  Code  of   1852. 

7  Charles  F.  Warren,  "The  President's  Address,"  Report  of  the  Second  Annual  Meeting 
of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association,  Held  at  Battery  Park  Hotel,  Asheville,  N.  C, 
June  27th,  28th,  and  29th,  1900    (Durham,  1900),   117. 

8  Hamilton,  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  I,   370. 

9  "Rules  of  Court,"  20  N.   C.   324    (1838). 

10  Kemp  Plummer  Battle,  Memories  of  an  Old-Time  Tar  Heel,  edited  by  William  James 
Battle    (Chapel  Hill,   1945),   81. 

11  Obituaries,  Funeral  and  Proceedings  of  the  Bar  in  Memory  of  the  Late  Hon.  Wm.  H. 
Battle    (Raleigh,   1879),  22. 


162  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

board.12  In  many  respects  this  was  an  advantage  to  the  pros- 
pective lawyers,  for  the  judges  were  more  apt  to  take  a  personal 
interest  in  the  young  men  whom  they  knew  than  in  those 
absolutely  unknown  to  them.  They  were  also  likely  to  take  into 
consideration  the  fact  that  the  applicants  might  not  do  quite  so 
well  under  the  strain  of  an  examination  as  they  could  do  under 
more  favorable  circumstances. 

Good  moral  character  was  a  prerequisite  to  admission  to  the 
legal  profession  in  the  nineteenth  century,  just  as  it  is  in  the 
twentieth  century.  A  certificate  to  the  effect  that  a  man  was  of 
upright  character  was  regarded  as  prima  facie  evidence  of 
his  moral  fitness.13 

Some  of  the  letters  of  recommendation  to  the  Supreme  Court 
are  interesting.  Wright  C.  Stanley  wrote  to  Thomas  Ruffin  in 
1830  saying  he  had  known  the  applicant,  Hamilton  Graham, 
since  infancy.  He  added  that  he  would  appreciate  it  if  Ruffin 
would  "extend  civilities  and  attentions  .  .  ."  to  the  boy.14  John 
Giles  wrote  a  recommendation  for  Burton  Craige  saying  that 
Craige  had  been  deprived  of  his  parents  before  he  finished 
school  but  "without  the  aid  of  these  two  kind  and  best  friends 
.  .  .  ,"  he  had  made  good  in  his  studies.15  James  T.  Morehead 
wrote  on  January  12,  1831,  that  the  bearer  of  the  letter,  Joseph 
C.  Meggison,  was  visiting  Raleigh  with  the  idea  of  securing 
his  law  license.  Morehead  said  that  the  recommendation  was 
a  second-hand  one.  George  Tomas  had  spoken  well  of  the  appli- 
cant and  had  asked  Morehead  to  write  to  Ruffin  on  Meggison's 
behalf.  Thomas  did  not  himself  write  because  he  and  Ruffin  were 
not  acquainted.  Morehead  assured  Ruffin  that  he  had  heard  the 
aspirant  spoken  of  "in  highly  respectable  terms  .  .  ."  by  other 
men.16 

James  C.  Dobbin  wrote  to  J.  J.  Daniel  that  Robert  Strange, 
Jr.,  "possesses  more  moral  qualities  than  are  well  calculated 
to  adorn  the  profession  he  has  assumed."17  William  Gaston, 
writing  about  one  hopeful  applicant,  "Mr.  Sparrow,"  said  that 
the  boy's  father's  calamities  had  induced  Sparrow  to  apply  for 


12  "The  North  Carolina  Bar,"  North  Carolina  Journal  of  Law,  I    (January,  1904),  2. 

13  Reed    Kitchen,    "Applicant's    Character    for    Admission    to    Bar,"    North    Carolina    Law 
Review,   II    (December,    1924),   234. 

14  Hamilton,  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,  16-17. 
ir>  Hamilton,  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,  54. 

16  Hamilton,   Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,  20. 

17  Hamilton,   Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,   II,   232. 


The  Bar  Examination  163 

a  license  earlier  than  he  had  intended.  However,  the  boy  was 
diligent  and  would  hasten  to  make  up  his  deficiencies  in  case 
he  seemed  to  be  unprepared  at  the  examination.18  William  N.  H. 
Smith  observed  that  applicant  A.  P.  Yancey  might  appear  to  a 
disadvantage  because  of  the  embarrassment  of  an  examination, 
but  Smith  felt  certain  that  Yancey's  attainments  were  sufficient 
to  entitle  him  to  practice  in  the  higher  courts  of  the  state.19 

It  is  obvious  that  a  personal  element  entered  strongly  into 
the  matter  of  the  bar  examination  during  the  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Individual  problems  and  difficulties  were  often 
mentioned;  undoubtedly,  the  examining  judges  were  influenced 
by  the  statements  of  their  fellow  lawyers  as  to  the  fitness  of 
those  aspiring  to  the  law.  The  legal  profession  was  not  over- 
crowded; the  judges  did  not  prepare  extremely  difficult  exam- 
inations for  the  boys  who  came  before  them.  Ambition  and  a 
willingness  to  work  were  assets  to  be  taken  into  account  in 
determining  the  quality  of  the  law  student  seeking  recognition 
as  a  full-fledged  attorney. 

Though  it  appears  that  failure  to  pass  the  bar  examination 
was  an  almost  unheard-of  thing,  nearly  every  applicant  felt 
uneasy  about  taking  the  oral  examination  from  the  justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court.  Kemp  P.  Battle  hoped  to  have  a  perfect 
examination,  as  he  thought  he  knew  everything  in  the  textbooks. 
Though  Pearson  asked  him  a  question  he  did  not  know,  he  was 
granted  a  license.20  Surprise  was  sometimes  expressed  at  the 
unusually  good  results  accomplished  by  certain  students.  For 
example,  Frederick  Nash,  writing  to  his  son  about  a  newly 
licensed  lawyer,  said  that  he  had  learned  from  Judge  Ruffin 
that  the  boy  obtained  his  license  with  much  ease  and  that  his 
examination  had  been  very  good,  "much  to  my  surprise."21 

There  was  a  general  rule  that  licenses  should  not  be  issued 
before  the  twenty-first  birthday.  The  Supreme  Court,  however, 
did  not  hold  to  this  regulation  with  uniform  strictness.  Duncan  K. 
McRae  wrote  to  the  Court  requesting  that  his  license  be  issued 
nine  days  "earlier  than  the  Law  suggests  .  .  ."  so  that  he  might 
begin  practicing  at  the  opening  of  the  Onslow  County  Court.22 


18  Hamilton,  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,  215. 
"Hamilton,  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,  289. 

20  Battle,  Memories  of  an  Old-Time   Tar  Heel,   108. 

21  Frederick  Nash  to  his  son,  Fred  Nash,   [month?]  29,  1839,  Nash  Papers,  North  Carolina 
Department  of  Archives   and   History,    Raleigh. 

28  Hamilton,  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,  195. 


164  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  Court  decided  to  overlook  the  nonage  of  George  E.  Badger, 
licensed  in  1815,  because  of  "the  narrowness  of  his  fortunes  and 
the  dependance  of  his  mother  and  sisters  upon  his  exertions 
for  their  support.23 

Successful  applicants  received  licenses  worded  much  like  the 
law  licenses  of  today. 

The  State  of  North  Carolina:  To  the  justices  (or  judges)  of 
the  county  (or  superior)   courts  within  the  state: 

Whereas  hath   applied  to  me  ,  and 

and  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of 

North  Carolina,  for  admission  to  practice  as  an  attorney  and 
counsellor,  in  the  several  county  (or  superior)  courts  within 
the  state  aforesaid  we  do  hereby  certify  that  he  hath  produced 
to  us  sufficient  testimonials  of  his  upright  character,  and  upon 
an  examination  had  before  us,  is  found  to  possess  a  competent 
knowledge  of  the  law,  to  entitle  him  to  admission  according  to 
his  said  examination. 

Given  under  our  hands  at  ,  this  day  of  , 

18 .2* 

The  license  having  been  issued,  the  new  attorney  had  to  be 
sworn  in  in  open  court,25  a  requirement  still  obtaining.  There 
were  three  required  oaths.  The  first  was  the  attorney's  oath. 

I, ,  do  swear  or  affirm  that  I  will  truly  and  honestly 

demean  myself  in  the  practice  of  an  attorney  according  to  my 
best  knowledge  and  ability;  so  help  me  God. 

The  second  oath  was  one  of  allegiance  to  the  state  of  North 
Carolina  and  its  constitution;  the  third  required  a  pledge  of 
allegiance  to  the  United  States  Constitution.26 

Even  the  passing  of  the  examination  and  the  taking  of  the 
three  oaths  did  not  enable  the  attorney  to  enter  upon  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  Before  he  could  practice,  a  new  lawyer  had 
to  pay  a  tax  on  his  license  and  to  produce  the  receipt  of  the 
clerk  showing  that  the  license  tax  had  been  paid.  The  tax  was 
paid  to  the  clerk  of  the  court  in  which  the  attorney  first  ex- 
hibited his  license.27  Several  years  later  a  statute  provided  that 
the  tax  be  paid  to  the  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  when  the 


23  W.  J.  Peele,  editor,   Lives  of  Distinguished  North  Carolinians    (Raleigh,   1898),   185. 

24  Edward  Cantwell,   The  Practice  at  Law  in  North  Carolina    (Raleigh,   1860),   I,  121. 
2C  Revised  Code   of   1852,   Ch.   VIII,    Sec.   3,    18. 

20  Cantwell,   The  Practice  at  Law  in  North  Carolina,  I,   122. 
27  Revised  Code   of   1821,   Ch.  698,   Sees.   1   and  2,    1064. 


The  Bar  Examination  165 

license  was  granted.  The  judge  handed  over  the  license  to  one 
of  the  clerks ;  the  clerk  then  passed  the  license  back  to  the  new 
attorney  after  payment  of  the  tax.28  In  1852  this  tax  was  set 
at  $10.00  ;29  it  was  later  raised  to  $15.00.30  In  discussing  the 
license  tax  in  1827,  Chief  Justice  Taylor  said : 

On  the  subject  of  your  enquiry  I  am  able  to  state,  that  the 
practise  has  been  invariable  when  two  licenses  have  been  granted, 
to  require  a  tax  of  £5  for  a  county  court  license,  and  an  addi- 
tional tax  of  £10  for  a  general  license.  I  know  too  that  it  was 
a  principal  motive  with  Judge  Haywood  in  giving  a  general 
license  at  first  to  save  to  poor  young  men  the  additional  tax. 

I  cannot  call  to  mind  a  single  exception  to  the  practise  first 
stated;  and  you  remember  the  Judges  until  a  few  years  ago, 
were  accustomed  to  collect  the  tax,  and  account  for  it  to  the 
comptroller.  We  always  received  £5  for  a  county  court  license 
and  £10  for  a  superior  court  one.  I  remember  too  having  paid 
both  taxes.31 

After  going  through  all  of  the  procedure  outlined  above,  the 
admission  of  the  new  attorney  to  the  bar  caused  little  fanfare 
or  comment  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day.  Simple  notices  such 
as  the  following,  which  appeared  in  the  Raleigh  Register  on 
June  17,  1848,  were  common.  "The  following  gentlemen  under- 
went an  examination  before  this  Court  on  Tuesday  last,  and 
were  fully  admitted  to  Superior  Court  License.  .  .  ."32  A  list 
of  the  names  of  those  who  had  passed  was  printed  after  the 
preliminary  statement.  After  each  term  of  the  Supreme  Court 
the  newspapers  printed  similar  notices  of  County  and  Superior 


28  The  money  collected  from  this  source  was  used  in  defraying  the  costs  of  state  prosecution 
and  contingent  county  expenses.  Revised  Code  of  1821,  Ch.  769,  Sec.  1,  1155.  The  Supreme 
Court  Clerk  was  required  to  deposit  license  tax  moneys  in  the  public  treasury  within  two 
months  after  their  payment;  if  he  failed  to  perform  this  duty,  he  was  liable  on  his  official 
bond.  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  Passed  by  the  General  Assembly,  at  Its  Session  of 
18^6-U7:  Together  with  the  Comptroller's  Statement  of  Public  Revenue  and  Expenditure, 
Ch.  LXXII,  Sec.  7,   140.  Hereinafter  cited  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina. 

29  Of  this  $10.00  the  clerk  took  six  per  cent  as  his  commission.  Revised  Code  of  1852, 
Ch.  99,  Sec.  36,  209. 

30  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  (1856-1857),  Ch.  34,  Sec.  40,  40.  The  1858-1859  laws 
gave  the  clerk  a  five  per  cent  commission.  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1858-1859), 
Ch.  25,  Sec.  93  (4),  57.  The  state  acquired  more  than  might  be  expected  from  this  source. 
The  treasurer's  report  from  October  31,  1850,  to  November  1,  1852,  shows  that  $210.00  was 
collected  in  January,  1851;  $180.00  in  June;  $400.00  in  January,  1852;  and  $180.00  in  July. 
See  "Public  Treasurer's  Report  to  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina,  for  the  Two  Fiscal 
Years  Ending  Nov.  1,  1852,"  in  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1852),  4-7.  In  1853  the 
comptroller's  statement  showed  that  this  tax  yielded  $590.00.  In  1854  $550.00  came  from 
this  source.  See  "Statements  of  the  Comptroller  of  Public  Accounts,  for  the  Two  Fiscal 
Years  Ending  October  31st,  1853  and  1854,"  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1854-1855), 
148-149,  183,  185.  The  amount  rose  steadily,  until,  in  1859,  $1,647.30  was  received.  See 
"Statements  of  the  Comptroller  of  Public  Accounts,  for  the  Two  Fiscal  Years  Ending 
September  30th,  1859  and  1860,"  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1860-1861),  132.  At  this 
period,  the  Supreme  Court  held  sessions  in  Morganton  as  well  as  in  Raleigh.  The  Morganton 
clerk  was  instructed  to  apply  the  money  paid  to  him  toward  the  purchase  of  law  books  for 
a  Supreme  Court  library  in  Morganton.  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1850-1851),  Ch. 
XCIII,  Sec.  1,  164. 

31  Hamilton,   Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,   1,   421. 
82  Raleigh  Register,  June  17,  1848. 


166  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Court  licenses  that  had  been  issued.  The  names  of  new  lawyers 
first  appeared  in  the  reports  of  the  Supreme  Court  decisions 
in  1854.  This  brief  notice  gave  the  names  of  the  new  members 
of  the  bar  and  the  counties  from  which  they  came.33 

In  1824  the  Raleigh  Register  stated  that  "Another  young 
gentleman  applied  for  a  license,  but  being  born  an  alien  and  not 
naturalized,  he  was  not  examined."34  The  problem  of  admission 
of  aliens  to  the  North  Carolina  bar  and  of  comity  licenses  was 
not  definitely  settled  until  1824.  In  that  year  the  North  Carolina 
Supreme  Court  decided  that  aliens  would  not  be  allowed  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  because  the  licentiate  was  supposed  to  be  po- 
litically, as  well  as  legally  and  morally,  qualified  to  transact 
business  of  a  legal  nature  in  the  state  of  North  Carolina.  The 
court  stated  that  the  legal  profession  was  "  'in  its  nature  the 
noblest  and  most  beneficial  to  mankind ;  in  its  abuse  and  debase- 
ment the  most  sordid  and  pernicious/  .  .  ."35  No  person  coming 
into  North  Carolina  from  a  foreign  country  or  from  another 
state  would  be  admitted  to  practice  unless  he  had  previously 
resided  one  year  in  the  state  or  unless  he  could  produce  a  tes- 
timonial of  good  character  from  the  chief  magistrate  or  from 
some  other  competent  authority.36  The  statute  failed  to  define 
what  was  meant  by  competent  authority,  but  the  admissibility 
of  aliens  and  persons  from  other  states  does  not  seem  to  have 
caused  much  difficulty  in  North  Carolina. 

Most  North  Carolina  lawyers  were  native  born  and  so  there 
was  little  need  to  have  definitely  settled  rules  of  comity.  Several 
inquiries  to  Ruffin  expressed  ignorance  of  the  practice  of  granting 
comity  licenses  in  North  Carolina.  Warren  Winslow  wrote  in 
November,  1840,  that  he  had  an  Alabama  license  and  wanted 
an  examination  in  North  Carolina  at  the  close  of  the  December 
term.  He  was  wholly  uninformed  as  to  the  procedure  he  should 
take  in  arranging  for  such  an  examination.37 

After  being  admitted  to  the  legal  fraternity,  the  newly  licensed 
attorney  had  to  find  some  way  to  establish  himself  in  his  pro- 
fession, but  the  step  from  law  school  to  the  practice  of  law  was 
not  difficult  to  take.  His  training  had  been  practical,  and  the 


38  See  volume  46  of  the  North  Carolina  Supreme  Court  Reports,  5,  6. 

34  Raleigh  Register,  July  25,  1824. 

35  Ex  parte  Thompson,  10  N.  C.   364    (1824). 

M  Revised  Code  of  1821,  I,   Ch.  115,   Sec.   8,  284. 
37  Hamilton,   Papers  of   Thomas  Ruffin,   II,   189. 


The  Bar  Examination  167 

young  lawyer  had  some  idea  of  how  to  proceed  when  he  was 
favored  with  the  patronage  of  a  client.  In  the  later  years  of 
the  period,  the  training  became  more  theoretical  than  practical 
and  the  jump  into  practice  was  more  difficult  than  it  had  been. 
However,  older  lawyers  were  always  eager  to  offer  advice  to 
the  younger  members  of  the  profession. 

Frederick  Nash  wrote  to  his  recently  licensed  son,  shortly 
before  he  launched  his  legal  career. 

Let  the  community  see  that  you  are  determined  to  devote 
yourself  to  your  profession — they  will  have  confidence  in  you 
and  you  will  in  time  reap  your  reward — As  to  books  I  do  not 
know  exactly  what  to  say  or  do — You  must  take  with  you,  your 
brothers  Blackstone — &  Iredells  digest,  tell  him  I  will  let  him 
have  my  Iredell,  when  I  return,  he  must  not  be  without  a  copy 
— Take  also  my  Chitty  on  Civil  Pleading — &  first  and  2nd 
Phillips  on  Evidence — the  latter  you  will  find  very  useful,  in 
telling  you  what  pleas  to  enter,  in  the  various  kinds  of  actions 
&  what  is  the  evidence  appropriate  to  each.  It  is  a  very  useful 
book  to  a  young  beginer  [sic].  Take  also  Selwyns  Nisi 
Prius.  .  .  . 

Nash  said  further  that  his  son  should  have  the  North  Carolina 
Supreme  Court  Reports,  but  he  did  not  feel  that  he  could  afford 
to  buy  them  for  him.  He  suggested  that  his  son  use  the  set  of 
reports  in  the  clerk's  office  or  borrow  that  of  a  fellow  lawyer. 
He  urged  his  son  to  be  very  careful  about  money  and  to  regard 
what  he  advanced  to  him  as  a  sound  deposit,  to  be  used  for 
necessary  expenses  only.  He  wisely  advised  the  young  lawyer  to 
take  time  to  think  and  to  study  every  case  he  had.  In  closing, 
Nash  reminded  his  son  that  he  could  call  on  older  lawyers  when 
he  needed  help.  He  advised  him  that  if  he  was  "called  on  to  file 
a  Bill  in  Equity — old  Harrisons  Chancer  [y]  will  give  you  a  form 
or  you  can  get  one,  by  applying  to  M.  Worth  from  his  office." 
Nash  also  touched  on  the  personal  side  of  his  son's  new  life  by 
saying  "Remember  too  Shepard  you  will  not  have  your  mother 
to  darn  &  mend  for  you — be  careful  of  your  clothes.  .  .  ."38 
Judge  Gaston  wrote  to  a  young  lawyer,  John  L.  T.  Sneed,  in 
1842,  giving  him  a  little  fatherly  advice  on  beginning  his  legal 
career.  He  said: 


38  Frederick  Nash  to  Shepard  K.  Nash,  undated,  Nash  Papers,  North  Carolina  Department 
of  Archives  and   History,   Raleigh. 


168  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

You  have  entered  on  a  career  in  which  diligence  can  scarcely 
fail  to  secure  you  success.  Every  motive  that  can  be  addressed 
to  a  good  heart  and  a  sound  head  concurs  to  impress  upon  a 
lawyer,  the  conviction  that  he  owes  to  his  clients  the  utmost 
fidelity.  He  is  charged  with  the  interests  of  one  unable  to  act 
for  himself,  and  he  is  faithless  to  the  trust  if  he  leaves  any 
honorable  means  unexerted  to  secure  and  advance  those  in- 
terests. There  is  no  mode  so  sure  of  rising  to  eminence  in  the 
profession  as  the  exact,  punctual,  prompt  and  steady  discharge 
of  this  duty.  In  the  greater,  far  greater  number  of  cases,  in 
which  a  lawyer  is  engaged,  extraordinary  talents  are  not  re- 
quired; but  in  all  negligence  may  prove  fatally  destructive.  An 
established  reputation  for  diligence  must  therefore  command 
employment.  No  man  of  common  sense  can  be  willing  to  confide 
important  concerns  to  the  management  of  a  careless  Attorney. 
Next  to  diligence  in  the  discharge  of  the  immediate  duties 
which  you  owe  to  your  client,  is  the  obligation  of  endeavoring  to 
perfect  yourself  in  the  knowledge  of  your  profession.  Suffer 
no  day  to  pass  without  study,  Read  slowly — make  what  you 
read  your  own  by  eviscerating  the  principles  on  which  the 
doctrine  rests.  It  is  impossible  to  charge  the  memory  with  a 
vast  number  of  merely  arbitrary  distinctions ;  but  the  principles 
on  which  they  rest  are  few,  and  these  may  be  faithfully  treas- 
ured.39 

Nash's  and  Gaston's  advice  to  young  lawyers  of  their  acquaint- 
ance is  still  applicable,  and  any  modern  attorney  would  profit 
by  following  the  advice  laid  down  by  two  of  the  great  lawyers 
of  a  century  ago. 

Newly  licensed  lawyers,  full  of  advice  from  fathers  and 
friends,  generally  found  the  first  few  years  of  practice  unprofit- 
able from  a  financial  point  of  view.  They  sometimes  felt  insecure 
in  the  handling  of  the  first  bits  of  business  which  came  into 
their  offices,  but  experienced  members  of  the  bar  were  usually 
kind  and  willing  to  give  them  advice  and  aid.  Though  they  did 
not  have  much  business,  many  young  attorneys  made  a  point 
of  adhering  to  regular  hours  and  of  riding  the  circuits  in  several 
counties  so  as  to  attract  clients.  For  example,  James  C.  Dobbin, 
who  hung  out  his  shingle  in  Fayetteville  in  1835,  made  it  a 
practice  to  be  in  his  office  during  business  hours  whether  anyone 
called  or  not.  He  believed  that  this  regularity  contributed  greatly 
to  his  later  success.  Rather  than  seek  a  large  circuit  at  the 
beginning,  he  gave  his  time  and  energies  to  a  faithful  discharge 


89  North  Carolina  University  Magazine,  VII   (August,  1857),  37-38, 


The  Bar  Examination  169 

of  "chamber  practice"  and  in  attending  the  County  and  Superior 
Courts  of  Cumberland,  Sampson,  and  Robeson  counties.40  At- 
tendance at  the  County  and  Superior  Courts  of  three  counties 
would  seem  a  large  order  for  a  young  attorney  today,  but  evi- 
dently such  a  circuit  was  considered  a  moderate  one  one  hundred 
years  ago. 

Thomas  Ruffin,  Jr.,  wrote  to  his  mother  that  the  circuit  he 
had  just  completed  had  been  pleasant  and  the  judge  had  been 
"very  kind  and  indulgent  to  .  .  ."  him.41  Thomas  S.  Kenan 
related  the  experience  he  had  at  his  first  case.  He  was  licensed 
to  practice  in  the  County  Courts  in  1858  and  in  the  Superior 
Courts  in  December,  1859.  He  opened  his  office  in  1860,  and 
his  first  suit  was  the  collection  of  a  note  for  a  large  amount  of 
money.  When  Kenan  saw  the  docket  and  all  that  had  been  written 
there,  he  felt  inclined  "to  enter  a  nol  pros.,  leave  the  court  house, 
abandon  the  practice  and  engage  in  other  business.'*  Older 
lawyers  reassured  him;  he  completed  the  suit  and  won.  His 
fee  was  $4.00,  taxed  against  the  defendant  as  a  part  of  the 
costs.42  It  is  evident  that  the  older  members  of  the  bar  and  the 
judicial  officers  were  helpful  to  the  fledglings  on  more  than  one 
occasion. 

The  value  of  opening  an  office  in  a  small  town  or  city  and 
staying  in  it  whether  clients  came  or  not  proved  profitable  in 
the  long  run.  William  Horn  Battle  opened  an  office,  but  he  de- 
cided to  farm  on  the  side  while  waiting  for  clients.  He  lived  in 
the  country  for  five  years  and  his  practice  was  negligible;  he 
moved  at  the  end  of  that  time  and  devoted  all  of  his  attention 
to  the  law.  Quickly  he  built  up  a  large  practice.43 

The  remoteness  of  Battle's  office  from  his  home  probably  con- 
tributed to  his  early  failure  as  a  lawyer,  but  the  first  few  years 
of  practice  were  not  usually  crowded  with  work  for  new  lawyers. 
The  Raleigh  Register  related  an  anecdote  about  a  young  lawyer 
whose  time  was  not  fully  occupied.  The  writer  of  the  article 
observed  that  since  young  attorneys  had  little  to  do,  "during 
the  years  of  their  long  apprenticeship,  they  usually  make  most 
of  their  leisure,  in  maturing  schemes  of  frolic  and  fun,  which 


40  James   Banks,   "A   Biographical   Sketch   of  the  Late  James   C.  Dobbin,"   North   Carolina 
University    Magazine,    IX     (February,    1860),    322. 

41  Hamilton,   The  Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  II,  494. 

42  Thomas  S.  Kenan,  "Remarks  by  Thos.  S.  Kenan,   President  of  Bar  Association,"  North 
Carolina  Journal  of  Law,  II    (August,   1905),  345-346. 

43  Battle,   Memories   of   an   Old-Time    Tar   Heel,    12-14. 


170  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

not  only  vastly  delight  themselves,  but  sometimes  provoke  even 
the  grave  and  reverend  seniors  of  the  profession  into  a  momen- 
tary oblivion  of  briefs  and  fee,  green  bag  and  greener  clients."44 
If  the  above  statement  can  be  taken  literally,  the  lawyers,  during 
the  early  years  of  practice,  had  an  amusing  time  but  did  little 
work  and  received  almost  no  financial  reward.  Such  was  un- 
doubtedly the  case.  Several  lawyers  of  the  period  left  statements 
as  to  their  financial  returns  during  the  first  years  in  which  they 
engaged  in  practice.  Bartholomew  Figures  Moore,  who  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  1823,  revealed  that  his  total  income  from 
the  profession  of  law  for  seven  years  was  only  $700.00.45  Daniel 
Gould  Fowle  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1853 ;  his  receipts  from 
the  first  year  of  his  practice  amounted  to  the  small  sum  of 
$64.00.46  It  is  a  wonder  more  young  barristers  were  not  dis- 
couraged in  the  early  years  of  the  practice  of  law  than  were! 
The  Raleigh  Register  commented: 

There  are  .  .  .  young  Lawyers  in  this  city,  who,  we  venture 
to  say,  do  not,  each,  earn  three  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 
A  mason  or  a  carpenter,  boldly  asks  twenty  shillings  a  day 
and  gets  it,  all  the  year  round — and  yet  parents  scorn  to  make 
their  sons  mechanics — but  rather  allow  them  to  starve  in  pro- 
fessions. How  injudicious!!  If  it  was  more  fashionable  to  be  a 
Carpenter  than  a  Lawyer  or  Physician  the  difficulty  would  soon 
be  overcome.  We  know  one  contract  given  to  a  carpenter  and 
Mason  for  $100,000!   This  is   really  business.47 

It  seems  strange  that  despite  the  disadvantages  which  were 
connected  with  the  legal  profession — the  long  period  of  training, 
the  bar  examination,  the  starvation  years  faced  by  every  young 
attorney,  and  the  difficulty  of  building  up  a  practice — it  was  the 
favored  profession.  The  legal  profession  carried  with  it  a  certain 
prestige  not  found  in  other  lines  of  work.  It  was  the  avenue  to 
politics.  A  person  from  one  of  the  lower  classes  of  society  could 
rise  and  be  recognized  as  a  gentleman  by  becoming  a  lawyer. 
The  advantages  outweighed  the  rather  numerous  disadvantages 
in  the  eyes  of  a  large  number  of  young  men,  and  the  legal 
profession  grew  in  size  at  a  rapid  rate  during  the  years  from 
1820  to  1860. 


44  Raleigh  Register,  May   12,   1849. 

45  Ernest  Haywood,  Some  Notes  in  Regard  to  the  Eminent  Lawyers  Whose  Portraits 
Adorn  the  Walls  of  the  Superior  Court  Room  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  Address  before 
Wake   County   Junior   Bar    Association,    June    1,    1936    (n.p.,    n.d.),    15-16. 

46  Haywood,   Some   Notes   in   Regard   to    the   Eminent   Lawyers.    .    .    ,    10. 

47  Raleigh  Register,  May   31,   1836. 


ELECTIONEERING  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA,  1800-1835 
By  John  Chalmers  Vinson 

American  history  is  so  characterized  by  change  that  this 
transmutation  is  frequently  assumed  to  be  all-inclusive.  For 
example,  it  is  sometimes  asserted  that  candidates  today  conduct 
their  campaigns  in  a  manner  far  different  from  that  employed 
in  the  early  days  of  this  country.  According  to  this  school  of 
thought,  candidates  in  the  early  days  of  the  Republic  eschewed 
personal  solicitation  of  votes,  and  left  electioneering  in  the 
hands  of  their  supporters.  However,  with  the  passage  of  time, 
the  candidates  allowed  their  eagerness  to  win  public  offices  to 
corrode  this  high  moral  standard  which  once  governed  their 
conduct  in  campaigns.  While  this  picture  of  pristine  democracy 
may  be  representative  of  some,  it  is  not  applicable  to  all  candi- 
dates. The  practices  of  candidates  in  North  Carolina  for  seats 
in  the  General  Assembly  and  in  Congress  during  the  first  three 
decades  of  the  nineteenth  century  indicate  that  these  candidates 
not  infrequently  solicited  votes.  Furthermore,  a  technique  of 
winning  votes  was  developed  which  was  as  subtle,  persuasive, 
and  infamous  as  any  developed  since  that  time. 

The  prevalence  of  electioneering  by  the  candidate  can  be 
gauged,  roughly  at  least,  by  the  interest  in  elections.  A  closely 
contested  election  was  almost  certain  to  call  forth  every  effort 
that  a  candidate  could  command  to  assure  his  success.  By  this 
criterion  electioneering  must  have  been  frequently  employed, 
for  the  contest  for  office  was  often  bitter,  as  is  shown  clearly 
in  the  following  account: 

I  have  been  to  the  place  of  voting,  and  had  to  carry  a  dirk 
for  fear  of  getting  into  a  scrape  there ;  I  had  some  violent  angry 
disputes;  cursed  my  wife's  brother;  insulted  my  uncle;  told  my 
father  he  was  a  tory ;  dared  my  nearest  neighbor  to  fight ;  have 
not  for  months  been  on  speaking  terms  with  my  oldest  friends 
.  .  .  and  what  is  it  for?  To  elect  a  man  to  an  office  ...  I 
have  been  running  after  his  heels,  freeman  as  I  am,  and  barking 
at  his  enemies  like  a  dog,  ready  to  tear  out  my  neighbor's  eyes, 
bite  off  his  nose,  split  his  thumb,  slit  his  lip,  or  scollop  his  ear.1 

The  editor  of  the  newspaper  in  which  this  account  appeared 
declared  it  a  true  description  of  elections  from  the  smallest  to 


1  The  Star  and  North   Carolina  Gazette    (Raleigh),    November   19,    1835. 

[171] 


172  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  largest;  from  constable  to  President.  By  1835,  when  a  con- 
vention was  called  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  state,  local 
elections  were  denounced  because  they  were  frequently  pro- 
ductive of  "heart-burnings  and  bitterness,"2  and  nurtured  "feuds, 
quarrels,  and  bloodshed."3  Occasionally,  a  Grand  Jury  would 
find  it  necessary  to  denounce  the  prevalence  of  "high  party 
spirit,"  and  adopt  resolutions  recommending  "cool  reflecting 
judgment,  unbiased  by  party  rage  or  intriguing  design."4 

Such  interest  might,  at  first  glance,  appear  to  be  inexplicable 
in  view  of  the  property  qualifications  for  officeholding  and  for 
voting.5  However,  the  percentage  of  the  population  casting  votes 
for  the  candidates  for  Representative  was  so  high  as  to  indicate 
that  few  people  were  disfranchised  by  the  necessity  of  paying 
taxes.  The  requirement  of  a  fifty-acre  freehold  appears  to  have 
reduced  the  number  voting  for  state  Senator  to  about  half  of 
those  voting  for  Representative,  but  even  so,  a  substantial 
part  of  the  populace  could  cast  this  ballot. 

Successful  candidates  had  to  command  a  large  public  follow- 
ing, and  the  early  laws  on  the  conduct  of  elections  indicate  that 
a  variety  of  means  were  employed  to  achieve  this  end.  The 
first  law  in  this  code,  passed  in  1777,  prohibited  bribery,  stuffing 
the  ballot  box,  and  multiple  voting  by  one  person.6  Another 
law,  added  to  the  code  in  1793,  made  the  use  of  "force  and 
violence  to  break  up  an  election  by  assaulting  the  officers  in  charge 
or  depriving  them  of  the  ballot  boxes"  a  misdemeanor  punishable 
by  fine  and  imprisonment.7  Further  protection  for  the  voter 
was  provided  by  a  law  passed  in  1795.  By  the  terms  of  this 
act  a  fine  of  five  hundred  pounds,  later  changed  to  four  hundred 
dollars,  was  assessed  anyone  convicted  of  assembling  at  a  polling 
place  a  regimental  battalion,  company  muster,  or  any  group 
of  armed  men.8  Legal  protection  from  a  more  subtle  form  of 
coercion,  "treating,"  was  afforded  the  voter  by  the  adoption 


2  Proceedings  and  Debates  of  the  Constitution  Convention  of  North  Carolina  Called  to 
Amend  the  Constitution  of  the  State   (Raleigh,  1835),  47,  48. 

3  William  K.  Boyd,  History  of  North  Carolina   (Chicago,  1919),  II,  144. 
*  Western  Carolinian   (Salisbury),  February  12,  1828. 

5  The  constitution  of  North  Carolina,  adopted  in  1776,  was  not  amended  in  regard  to 
provisions  for  elections  until  1835.  Candidates  for  the  House  of  Commons  were  required 
to  own  one  hundred  acres  of  land  and  candidates  for  the  state  Senate  had  to  own  three 
hundred  acres.  To  vote  for  a  Senator  a  citizen  had  to  show  title  to  a  fifty-acre  freehold. 
However,  any  freeman,  black  or  white,  who  paid  taxes  could  vote  for  the  representatives 
to  the  lower  house.  John  Haywood,  A  Manual  of  the  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (Raleigh, 
1819),    138-139.    (Hereafter   referred   to   as   Haywood,    Laws.) 

6  Haywood,  Laws,  366. 

7  Haywood,  Laws,  181. 

8  Revised  Statutes  of  North  Carolina    (Raleigh,   1836),    197-198. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835        173 

of  a  law  in  1801.  It  provided  a  fine  of  two  hundred  dollars  "if 
any  person  shall  treat,  either  with  meat  or  drink,  on  any  day 
of  election  or  any  previous  day  with  the  intention  of  influencing 
the  election.  .  .  ."  The  sheriff,  on  penalty  of  a  fine  of  forty 
dollars,  was  directed  to  publish  this  law  before  each  election.9 
The  final  addition  to  the  legal  framework  for  elections  was 
an  oath,  adopted  in  1812,  which  required  the  appointed  inspectors 
to  discharge  their  duties  with  fairness  and  honesty.10 

In  addition  to  the  restraint  imposed  by  these  laws,  the  candi- 
dates faced  another  limitation — a  popular  theory  of  republican 
government — that  the  electorate  be  independent  and  self-suffi- 
cient in  the  choice  of  public  officials.  The  candidates  should  be 
men  of  outstanding  ability  who  did  not  seek  office,  but  who 
accepted  election  as  a  call  to  public  service.  From  this  ideal 
grew  the  belief  that  candidates  for  office  should  not  influence 
the  voters  unduly  by  actively  seeking  election.  A  candidate  who 
solicited  votes  might  find  the  public  warned  against  "the  vernility 
of  insinuating,  electioneering  characters/'  who  would  seize  the 
opportunity  to  "destroy  the  pivot  on  which  .  .  .  minds  should 
turn/'11  Under  this  theory  any  active  campaign  for  office  might 
be  condemned.  In  North  Carolina,  during  the  early  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  these  principles  were  universally  professed 
by  the  candidates,  but  were  subject,  as  the  legal  provisions  just 
discussed  may  indicate,  to  widely  differing  interpretations  in 
the  heat  of  contested  elections. 

With  reference  to  this  ideal,  the  actual  practices  of  the  can- 
didates thereby  classify  them  into  one  of  three  general  categories. 
The  first  category  was  made  up  of  candidates  who  adhered  to 
the  ideal  in  its  strictest  interpretation  and  made  no  campaign 
to  gain  office.  They  averred  that  any  electioneering  was  a  viola- 
tion of  the  voter's  freedom  of  choice.  The  second  class  of  candi- 
dates campaigned,  but  only  because  they  professed  to  feel  an 
obligation  to  educate  the  public  as  to  issues  and  office  seekers. 
A  third  group  electioneered,  so  they  maintained,  in  self-defense. 
Their  purpose  was  to  protect  themselves  and  the  voters  from 
the  lies  and  slanders  spread  abroad  by  the  opposition. 


9  Revised  Statutes  of  North  Carolina,  298. 

10  Haywood,   Laws,   372. 

11  Broadsides,    S.    C,    1802.    The    broadsides    cited    herein    are    found    in    the    Manuscript 
Collection  at  the  Duke  University  Library. 


174  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Candidates  in  the  first  category,  who  refused  to  make  a 
campaign,  were  well  represented  by  William  Lenoir  who  ex- 
plained his  position  as  follows:  "I  never  asked  a  man  for  his 
Vote  yet,  and  I  think  it  such  an  imposition  on  a  freeman  to  do  it, 
that  I  hope  I  shall  never  be  Guilty  of  so  great  an  insult  on  the 
understanding  and  liberty  of  my  Countrymen."  He  pictured  the 
ideal  election  as  one  in  which  the  people  "would  be  actuated  by 
good  Sound  Principles  of  Honor  and  Justice  .  .  .  and  Vote 
impartially  for  those  they  think  most  faithful  and  capable  to 
serve  them."12  Some  years  later  this  position  was  upheld  by 
John  Stanley,  who  stated  that  he  would  take  pride  in  the  election 
only  if  it  were  the  result  of  a  free  expression  of  the  will  of  the 
people.  "Electioneering,"  he  added,  "I  shall  therefore  abstain 
from."13  An  editor,  in  1833,  indicated  the  universal  profession 
of  this  ideal  when  he  spoke  of  "that  deep  and  abiding  abhorrence 
with  which  sober  and  sensible  people  look  upon  the  shameful 
practice  of  begging  for  office.   .   .   ."14 

An  excellent  expression  of  the  ideal  of  the  second  group  of 
candidates,  who  approved  the  campaign  for  educational  purposes, 
was  printed  in  the  Greensborough  Patriot  in  1833.  According 
to  this  article,  "Electioneering  is  justifiable,  and  even  com- 
mendable where  the  candidates  travel  among  the  people  for  the 
purpose  of  enlightening  their  minds  instead  of  exciting  their 
prejudices."15  This  care  to  appeal  to  reason  rather  than  to 
emotion  was  typical  of  men  who  subscribed  to  the  ideal  of 
political  education  of  the  people.  Their  aim  was  exemplified 
by  a  candidate,  in  1810,  who  stated  that  in  his  campaign  he 
had  "abstained  from  every  remark  and  expression  which  might 
rouse  the  furious  passions  of  a  party."16 

Candidates  who  fell  into  the  third  class  campaigned  to  refute 
misrepresentations  both  actual  and  anticipated.  They  usually 
took  the  field  by  reason  of  circumstances  rather  than  as  a  matter 
of  choice.  Judge  William  B.  Gaston,  a  very  prominent  man  in 
public  life  in  early  North  Carolina  history,  told  the  people  that 
his  active  campaign  was  forced  upon  him  by  the  necessity  of 
answering  the  "electioneering  misrepresentations  which  I  learnt 


12  Fletcher    Melvin    Green,    editor,    "Electioneering    1802    Style,"    in     The    North    Carolina 
Historical  Review,  XX    (July,  1943),  244w. 

13  Broadsides,   July   24,    1822. 

14  Greensborough   Patriot,   July   19,    1833. 

15  Greensborough  Patriot,  July  19,   1833. 
10  Broadsides,  July  24,  1810. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835       175 

have  been  circulated  to  injure  me.  .  .  .'ni  Charles  Fisher  of 
Salisbury,  in  1833,  regretting  that  it  was  necessary  to  intrude 
on  the  voter's  time,  told  him  that  "the  untiring  pains  that  have 
been  taken  for  years  past  to  run  me  down  in  your  good  opinion ; 
and  that  will  continue  to  be  taken  between  this  and  the  election, 
seem  to  require  that  I  should  notice  these  arts  of  malice  and  put 
you  on  your  guard  against  their  authors."18 

As  might  be  expected,  with  such  varying  interpretations  of 
the  ideal  of  a  free  and  enlightened  electorate,  there  was  much 
electioneering  in  North  Carolina  in  the  period  1800-1835.  In 
nearly  all  instances  studied,  the  ideal  of  the  voter's  freedom 
of  choice  was  affirmed  by  the  office  seeker.  It  was  maintained, 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  further  study  of  the  methods  of  candidates, 
that  the  real  purpose  of  the  campaign  was  to  broaden  rather 
than  to  abridge  the  rights  of  the  voter. 

The  electioneering  candidate  usually  made  use  of  all  of  the 
available  means  for  reaching  the  public.  In  this  day  these  in- 
cluded newspapers,  broadsides,  personal  canvasses,  and  speeches. 

The  first  of  these  channels,  the  newspaper,  was  seldom  a  major 
factor  in  local  campaigns.  Newspapers  were  few  in  number,19 
most  of  them  were  weekly,  and  frequently  they  ignored  the 
local  elections  completely.20  The  chief  reasons  for  this  reticence 
by  the  press  were,  on  one  hand,  a  journalistic  policy  which  em- 
phasized literary  works  and  national  news;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  an  instinct  for  self-preservation.  This  latter  attitude  had 
been  instilled  by  the  observation  of  the  untimely  deaths  of  those 
too  critical  of  hotheaded,  straight-shooting  aspirants  to  office.21 

Campaign  by  newspaper  was  hindered  in  still  another  respect. 
Reading  was  an  ability  which  only  a  few  Americans  had  ac- 
quired by  the  1830's.  One  candidate,  recognizing  this  problem, 


17  Broadsides,  July  24,  1810. 

18  Broadsides,  June  25,  1835. 

19  It  is  estimated  that  there  were  only  seven  newspapers  in  North  Carolina  in  1820,  and 
that  the  number  increased  to  twenty-three  by  the  early  thirties.  Willie  P.  Mangum  Papers, 
Duke  University  Manuscript  Collection.  William  K.  Boyd,  Life  of  Willie  P.  Mangum,  un- 
finished manuscript,  ch.  VI,  6.  Also  Clarence  Clifford  Norton,  The  Democratic  Party  in 
Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,   1835-1861    (Chapel  Hill),   12. 

20  The  Carolina  Watchman  of  Salisbury  made  no  mention  of  the  local  election  of  1833 
which,  according  to  information  in  the  broadsides  distributed  by  the  candidates,  was  a 
hotly   contested   affair.   See   Broadsides,    Charles    Fisher,    June   25,    1833. 

21  The  editor  of  a  Raleigh  newspaper  was  involved  in  a  law  suit  in  1816,  because  he 
refused  to  reveal  the  name  of  a  libelous  and  anonymous  critic  who  employed  the  paper 
as  a  sounding  board  for  his  condemnation  of  a  local  politician.  Raleigh  Register  and  North 
Carolina  Gazette,  September  6,  1816.  Willie  P.  Mangum  and  William  Seawell  almost 
engaged  in  a  duel  because  of  a  circular  printed  in  the  latter's  paper,  which  cast  aspersions 
on  Mangum.  He  demanded  satisfaction  for  the  insult.  The  matter  was  settled  by  an  exchange 
of  nothing  more  dangerous  than  heated  words.  Mangum  Papers,  Mangum  to  Seawell,  1823. 


176  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

asked  the  aid  of  his  supporters  in  overcoming  it.  "I  beg  such 
of  my  friends  as  can  read  the  newspaper  to  name  [his  candidacy 
for  office]  to  their  neighbors  who  can't  read,  particularly  the 
mechanics  and  laboring  men.  .  .  ."22  However,  the  chief  factor 
in  eliminating  the  newspaper  from  the  local  political  campaigns 
appears  to  have  been  the  editorial  and  personal  policy  of  the 
owners. 

Printed  matter  was,  nevertheless,  an  important  element  in 
the  strategy  of  the  electioneer.  Instead  of  newspapers,  the  can- 
didate employed  broadsides  and  circulars  couched  in  words  of 
"learned  length  and  thundering  sound."23  These  broadsides  were 
similar  in  form  to  handbills  of  today.  They  usually  consisted 
of  a  single  sheet  about  eight  by  fifteen  inches  in  size  printed  on 
one  side.  There  was  much  variation  in  size,  with  some  as  small 
as  a  filing  card  and  others  nearer  the  dimensions  of  a  present- 
day  news  sheet.  Broadsides  were  distributed  in  several  ways. 
Occasionally,  they  were  printed  in  the  newspapers  and  con- 
stituted the  principal  method  by  which  the  candidate  employed 
the  press  in  his  campaign.  More  frequently,  however,  the  broad- 
sides were  distributed  by  hand  and  by  mail.  Congressmen  often 
used  the  franking  privilege  for  the  latter  method.24 

The  degree  to  which  candidates  made  use  of  broadsides  was 
indicated  by  a  report,  in  1804,  that  there  had  been  a  "great 
influx  of  that  species  of  pestilence,"  the  broadside.  A  candidate 
in  an  election  of  that  year  had  issued  a  thousand  circulars 
written  in  longhand.  One  observer  caustically  described  this 
effort  as  a  "specimen  of  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  the  people."25 
Nor  did  this  form  of  zealousness  decline  during  the  next  few 
decades.  The  Greensborough  Patriot  reported,  in  1833,  that  it 
had  printed  a  thousand  broadsides  for  a  candidate  in  a  local 
election.26 

The  content  of  the  broadside  was  subject  to  much  variation, 
depending  on  the  ideals  of  the  candidate.  If  he  believed  cam- 
paigning should  be  employed  to  educate  the  public,  the  circular 
might  be  a  formal  account  of  his  accomplishments  in  office, 
or  his  qualifications  for  the  post.  If  he  were  refuting  slanders, 


82  Carolina  Observer  and  Fayetteville  Gazette,  August,   1825. 

23  Greensborough  Patriot,   August   10,   1836. 

24  Norton,    The   Democratic   Party,  28. 

^Minerva;  or  Anti-Jacobin    (Raleigh),   August  6,   1804. 
26  Greensborough  Patriot,  May  15,  1833. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835        177 

or  spreading  them,  his  epistle  was  limited  in  form  only  by  his 
imagination  and  ability  as  a  writer.  Another  factor  which  de- 
termined the  style  of  the  broadside  was  the  proximity  of  election 
day.  The  more  formal  circulars  announcing  candidacy  were 
issued  early  in  the  year,  while  the  personal  attacks  and  refuta- 
tions came  later  in  the  campaign.  As  a  general  rule,  an  effort 
was  made  to  release  the  most  damaging  information  on  the 
day  of  election.27 

Nearly  all  candidates,  whether  they  electioneered  or  not,  issued 
circulars  announcing  that  they  were  seeking  office.  They  usually 
felt  it  necessary  to  give  in  this  notice  the  reasons  which  had 
influenced  them  in  reaching  their  decision  to  enter  the  race. 
Frequently,  the  office  seeker  gave  a  simple  explanation,  feeling 
that  no  other  justification  was  needed  beyond  the  fact  that  any 
citizen  who  could  qualify  had  the  right  to  seek  office  in  a 
democracy.28  Others  felt  that  their  candidacy  would  be  enhanced 
by  a  more  detailed  cataloguing  of  their  abilities.  In  this  purpose, 
few  could  surpass  the  candidate  who  asserted  that  he  sought 
re-election,  because  he  had  never  "heard  a  murmur  of  disappro- 
bation or  a  whisper  of  censor  uttered  against  my  [his]  public 
conduct."29 

Many  candidates  did  not  presume  to  judge  their  own  fitness, 
but  entered  the  hustings  because  they  felt  that  a  citizen  owed 
his  country  the  best  service  he  could  give.  John  Scott,  a  candidate 
in  1827,  asserted  that  he  was  seeking  office  because  he  believed 
it  "to  be  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  contribute  something  to 
the  benefit  of  his  country."30  More  eloquent  in  his  expression 
of  this  ideal  was  John  Stanley,  who  averred,  "There  are  few 
among  you  upon  whom  interest,  duty  and  feeling  call  more  loudly 
than  upon  myself,  to  abandon  public  service  and  to  remain  at 
home;  yet  .  .  .  every  man  belongs  to  his  country.  If  it  is  your 
pleasure  to  elect  me,  I  will  serve  you  in  the  Senate."31 

Other  individuals  did  not  consider  themselves  worthy  of 
office,  but  became  candidates,  so  they  asserted,  in  response  to 
an  overwhelming  demand  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Such  was 


27  Announcements  of  candidates  for  Congress  were  usually  released  early  in  the  year. 
The  33  circulars  in  the  Duke  University  collection  show  the  following  distribution:  January 
— 2;  February — 6;  March — 2;  April — 1;  May — 2;  June — 6;  July — 9;  and  August — 5.  Broadsides, 
Duke  University.  These  are  totals  for  all  years. 

28  Broadsides,  August  4,  1823. 

29  Carolina  Federal  Republican    (New  Bern),  August  1,  1812. 

80  Broadsides.   June  25,    1827. 

81  Broadsides,   July  24,   1822. 


178  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  situation  which  brought  about  the  candidacy  for  Congress 
of  W.  B.  Grove.  He  declared  that  he  had  not  sought  office,  but 
was  entering  the  contest  because  of  the  "solicitations  of  a  re- 
spectable number  of  my  fellow  citizens."32  Apparently,  the  effec- 
tiveness of  this  approach  to  the  voter  was  enhanced  if  the  candi- 
date was  in  no  way  involved  in  eliciting  the  popular  clamor. 
In  any  event,  the  candidate-to-be  was  surprised,  with  startling 
regularity,  by  a  popular  demand  that  he  serve  his  country  in 
office.  A  candidate,  in  1831,  stated,  "A  very  flattering  nomination 
having  been  made  of  my  name  without  my  privity  or  consent, 
I  have  no  option  but  to  comply  with  what  seems  to  be  the  desire 
of  a  large  portion  of  my  fellow  citizens."33 

A  variation  of  this  technique  was  an  expression  of  the  popular 
demand  for  candidacy  by  an  open  letter  printed  in  the  local 
newspaper.  With  remarkable  presence  of  mind  the  candidate 
usually  mastered  his  surprise  in  time  to  accept  the  nomination, 
sometimes,  with  a  letter  in  the  same  issue  of  the  paper.34 

Those  candidates  who  did  not  believe  in  electioneering  would, 
after  the  announcement  of  entry,  quietly  await  the  expression 
of  the  unprejudiced  opinion  of  the  public.  However,  for  those 
candidates  who  felt  a  duty  to  educate  the  public  this  announce- 
ment was  merely  the  beginning.  They  then  set  about  presenting 
their  qualifications  to  the  public  in  the  most  convincing  fashion 
that  they  could  command. 

To  these  candidates  the  approach  which  aimed  to  appeal  to 
the  common  man  was  well  known.  The  voter  was  assured  that 
the  candidate  was  a  poor  and  unpretentious  person  who  knew 
and  shared  the  problems  of  the  common  man.  James  Wellborn, 
in  an  appeal  to  the  voters  in  1802,  pointed  out  that  "he  never 
kicked  the  people,  he  was  a  Republican,  he  was  Elected  by  the 
Poor  men  and  not  by  the  rich."  His  opponent,  he  charged,  was 
by  contrast  "in  Combination  with  the  rich"  and  would  be  dan- 
gerous to  elect  since  his  "interest  was  different  from  theirs."35 

A  more  eloquent  effort  to  establish  the  same  democratic  re- 
lationship of  interest  was  offered  by  a  candidate,  in  1817,  who 
said,  "The  bread  of  labor  is  sweet.  I  have  eaten  thereof — I  am 


32  The  North  Carolina  Chronicle;  or,  Fayetteville  Gazette,  January  24  and  January  31,  1791. 
Other  examples  of  this  technique  are  found   in  Broadsides,   July  4,   1817,  and  June  30,   1824. 
38  Broadsides,  July  4,  1831. 
34  Hillsborough   Recorder,    July   25,   1834. 
85  Green,   "Electioneering  1802   Style,"  245. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835       179 

acquainted  with  your  toils,  and  can  justly  appreciate  your 
worth."36  This  candidate  enlarged  the  scope  of  his  appeal  by 
modestly  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  had  worked  at 
mercantile,  agricultural,  mechanical,  and  professional  callings.37 
Perhaps,  such  nearly  universal  assertions  of  plainness  did  not 
arouse  the  suspicion  of  the  people.  They  did,  however,  cause 
candidates  who  were  trying  to  excel  in  the  affections  of  the 
masses,  to  become  skeptical  of  these  professions.  Such  was  the 
case  with  an  office  seeker,  in  1823,  who  declared,  "I  am,  as 
many  of  you  know,  a  plain  farmer  (I  mean  a  farmer  on  land, 
not  on  paper)  .  .  .  my  interests  in  no  respect  differ  from 
yours."38 

The  candidate,  having  identified  his  interests  with  those  of 
the  voters,  usually  continued  his  appeal  to  the  people  by  defining 
the  issues  in  the  election,  and  stating  the  policy  which  he  advo- 
cated. Most  candidates  felt  it  necessary  to  adopt  a  specific  plat- 
form. If  they  failed  to  do  so,  the  opposition  would  supply  the 
deficiency  by  imputing  to  them  a  program  false  to  the  candidate's 
real  ideals.39  Even  though  the  candidate  did  not  believe  in  elec- 
tioneering, he  might  distribute  a  broadside  in  which  he  com- 
mented on  the  issues  in  a  learned  and  dispassionate  manner. 
Generally,  such  a  circular  would  be  devoted  completely  to  the 
survey  of  public  policy,  and  only  a  sentence  or  two  would  be 
devoted  to  soliciting  votes.40 

The  more  active  campaigners  did  not  regard  a  platform  merely 
as  a  process  of  education  or  protection;  they  recognized  that 
it  could  be  a  valuable  device  for  winning  votes.  To  serve  this 
practical  purpose  the  candidate  found  it  expedient  to  fashion 
a  platform  which  overlooked  the  vital  issues  difficult  to  treat, 
while  vigorously  belaboring  fictitious  menaces,  which  could  be 
expelled  easily.  Although  this  technique  was  widely  used,  it 
was  not  universally  condoned.  One  irate  citizen  denounced  these 
candidates  who  got  a  theme  and  rode  it  "as  a  hobby"  into  the 
seats  of  power  as  "besotted  demagogues,"  who  walked  over  the 
people's  "prostrate  liberties  into  the  halls  of  legislation."  In 
"riding  a  hobby"  one  candidate  would  promise  the  building  of  a 


38  Broadsides,  July  4,  1817. 

87  Broadsides,  July  4,   1817. 

88  Broadsides,  July   8,    1823. 
88  Broadsides,  July   4,    1817. 

40  Broadsides,  April    15,    1822;    June    25,    1827;    January,    1829;    February,    1829;    June    24, 

1829;   February  16,   1831. 


180  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

railroad  as  an  internal  improvement,  while  another  would  oppose 
the  project  in  order  to  save  taxes.  The  fact  that  he  was  not  a 
lawyer  by  profession  supplied  a  suitable  "hobby"  for  one  office 
seeker;  at  the  same  time  another  commended  himself  to  the 
public  because  he  was  one.  These  and  many  other  "hobbies" 
the  observer  branded  as  devices  designed  to  distract  and  confuse 
rather  than  to  educate  and  enlighten  the  public.  The  epitome 
of  this  issue-evading  approach  was  the  campaign  technique  of 
G.  T.  Moore.  This  would-be  solon  conveniently  overlooked  the 
local  issues  in  his  campaign  speech,  the  burden  of  which  was, 
"Huzza  for  Jackson,  and  damn  the  Tariff."41 

A  variation  of  the  technique  of  circumventing  the  local  issues, 
blameless  in  itself,  was  the  flag-waving  praise  of  democracy, 
frequently  emphasized  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  issues.  John 
Giles,  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  1823,  devoted  so  much  of  his 
circular  to  enthusiastic  praise  of  democracy  that  no  space  was 
left  for  any  other  matter.  "Where,"  began  this  oration,  "was 
caught  the  holy  flame  which  warms  and  animates  the  oppressed 
Greek?  From  America,  were  wafted  on  the  wings  of  heaven, 
those  sacred  truths  contained  in  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence."42 Praise  of  the  free  elections  of  the  Republic  furnished 
another  candidate  a  similar  theme.  "The  time,  Fellow  Citizens, 
is  now  at  hand,  when  as  men  breathing  the  air  and  treading 
the  soil  of  liberty,  with  none  to  molest  or  make  you  afraid  you 
must  again  go  forth  to  the  polls.  .  .  ."43  The  editor  of  the 
Greensborough  Patriot  condemned  this  interminable  "shouting 
of  liberty,"  which  he  scorned  as  being  nothing  more  than  a  fig 
leaf  to  hide  the  candidate's  naked  failure  to  provide  a  positive 
program  for  the  public  good.44  This  same  paper  condemned  in 
a  verse,  more  distinguished  in  feeling  than  in  technical  perfec- 
tion, the  whole  "hobby"  technique  of  electioneering. 

Our  candidates,  some  hobby  ride, 
Like  the  boy  his  cow  astride, 
Some  dogma  use  to  gain  affection, 
If  they  can  find  the  favorite  toast, 
They  use  anything  almost, 
To  gain  their  election.45 


41  Greensborough  Patriot,  August  29,   1832. 

42  Broadsides,   no   date,    1823. 

An  Greensborough  Patriot,  August  29,    1832. 

44  Greensborough  Patriot,  July  25,   1832. 

45  Greensborough  Patriot,   August  11,   1830. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835       181 

Some  candidates  made  no  promise  to  the  voter  beyond  the 
assurance  that  they  would  use  their  own  judgment  in  promoting 
the  general  welfare.  They  felt  that  it  was  the  representative's 
duty  to  be  independent  and  to  remain  free  of  his  constituents' 
influence  on  specific  issues.  William  Lenoir  let  the  voters  know 
that  he  would  "make  no  promis  [sic]  to  serve  them  if  Elected 
but  would  do  what  I  [he]  thought  was  right."46  Jesse  Slocumb, 
in  1819,  was  no  less  independent  when  his  only  promise  to  the 
public  was  to  do  "what  shall  appear  to  me  the  best  interest  of 
our  country."47 

These  statements  were  diametrically  opposed  to  another  theory 
common  at  the  time — the  instruction  of  candidates.  According 
to  this  idea,  the  voter  should  decide  all  matters  of  policy,  and 
the  office  seeker  should  make  known  his  will.48 

In  any  event,  the  character  of  the  candidate  and  the  confidence 
that  he  could  inspire  were  doubtless  of  more  importance  than 
any  specific  platform  he  might  adopt.  Personal  popularity  and 
integrity  were  vital  factors  in  the  campaign.  The  editor  of  the 
Hillsborough  Recorder,  speaking  of  an  election  in  1823,  observed 
that  "the  comparative  merit  of  the  two  gentlemen  .  .  .  was 
the  pivot  on  which  the  contest  turned."49 

With  the  emphasis  thus  focused  on  the  character  of  the  can- 
didate, it  was  natural  that  the  politician  of  the  day  often  sought 
to  raise  himself  in  the  voter's  estimation  by  degrading  his  op- 
ponent. This  tendency  was  deplored  by  a  candidate  who  reported, 
"Scarcely  had  my  name  been  announced  when  the  ever  ready 
tongue  of  slander  began  its  worthy  work."50  This  experience 
was  evidently  typical,  for  an  editor  of  the  time  stated,  "A  seat 
in  the  legislature  can  not  be  obtained  without  wading  belly-deep 
in  falsehood,  slander  and  vituperation."51 

Specific  cases  show  that  a  wide  variety  of  improprieties  were 
alleged  in  these  attacks.  A  candidate,  in  1812,  was  accused  of 
disloyalty  to  the  federal  government.52  A  congressman,  seeking 
re-election  in  1816,  had  to  deny  the  charge  that  he  advocated 


48  Green,    "Electioneering    1802    Style,"    244. 

47  Broadsides,  June  10,  1819. 

48  Broadsides,  July  4,  1831.  An  interesting  contemporary  discussion  of  this  question  of 
the  relation  between  the  representatives  and  the  people  is  found  in  John  Augustine  Smith, 
Syllabus  of  the  Lectures  Delivered  to  the  Senior  Students  in  the  College  of  William  and, 
Mary,  on  Government    (Philadelphia,  1817),  32-47. 

49  Hillsborough  Recorder,  September  10,  1823. 

50  Greensborough  Patriot,  July  25,  1832. 

51  Greensborough  Patriot,   August  29,  1832. 

52  Carolina  Federal  Republican,  August  29,  1812. 


182  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

a  raise  in  pay  for  representatives.53  A  statesman  who  had 
succeeded  in  gaining  re-election  on  several  occasions  was  branded 
a  professional  politician,  whose  only  motive  was  self-advance- 
ment, while  candidates  just  entering  politics  were  scorned  be- 
cause of  their  lack  of  experience.54  In  another  instance,  the 
voters  were  warned  of  the  general  incompetence  of  a  candidate 
who  was  "too  stupid  to  write  and  too  cowardly  to  fight."55 

An  exchange,  typical  of  the  charge  and  countercharge  which 
this  method  evoked,  took  place  in  1834  between  David  Worth 
and  an  unnamed  opponent  who  operated  a  grog  shop.  Worth 
stated  that  his  opponent's  place  of  business  had  "aptly  been 
compared  to  hell  itself."  The  dispenser  of  drinks  replied  by 
saying  that  Worth  was  the  shop's  most  faithful  customer  and 
sought  there  the  "fluid  with  which  he  kept  his  body  constantly 
electrified."  Worth  contradicted  this  charge  and  asserted  that 
no  respectable  white  man  would  patronize  an  establishment 
which  catered  to  the  lowest  class  of  Negroes.56 

In  some  instances,  even  an  apparently  flawless  character  did 
not  afford  the  candidate  immunity  from  criticism  by  his  oppo- 
sition. For  example,  a  candidate,  in  1830,  stated,  "It  is  perfectly 
out  of  all  character  for  a  man  who  has  no  other  claims  upon 
your  confidence  than  those  of  honesty,  promptness  and  fidelity, 
to  remain  in  office  forever."57 

Perhaps,  the  most  damaging  misinformation  that  a  candidate 
could  spread  was  the  rumor  that  his  opponent  had  withdrawn 
from  the  race.  The  newspapers  frequently  ran  circulars  in  which 
candidates  frantically  protested  that  they  did  choose  to  run 
and  were  still  in  the  race.58  For  maximum  effectiveness,  this, 
and  other  especially  damaging  accusations,  were  generally  re- 
served until  shortly  before  the  election.  The  voter  might  doubt 
the  truth  of  the  indictment,  but  would  not  have  time  to  verify 
his  opinion  before  casting  his  ballot.  The  candidates,  well  aware 
of  this  situation,  made  every  effort  to  turn  it  to  their  own  ad- 
vantage.59 The  air  of  election  day  was  often  filled  with  incrim- 
ination and  recrimination.  Falsehood,  base  calumnies,  sneaking 


53  Raleigh  Register  and  North   Carolina  Gazette,   July   25,   1816. 
64  Broadsides,    August   3,    1833. 

55  Carolina  Federal  Republican,   July   17,    1813. 

56  Broadsides,    August    13,    1834. 

67  Greensborough  Patriot,  July  28,  1830. 

58  Carolina  Observer  and  Fayetteville  Gazette,  August  5,   1824. 

59  Norton,    The  Democratic   Party,  29. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835       183 

insinuations,  and  vulgar  abuse  "either  privately  circulated  in 
whispers  or  thrown  out  with  dashing  effrontery  at  the  moment 
of  election"  were  a  part  of  the  usual  election  scene.60  Apparently, 
this  situation  continued  to  exist  throughout  the  entire  period, 
for  an  observer,  in  1812,  declared  that  this  deplorable  state  of 
affairs,  as  just  described,  had  so  long  been  in  use  as  to  be 
commonplace.  As  late  as  1830  a  candidate  complained  of  the 
same  sort  of  last-minute  attack.  "I  do  not  say  that  he  intended 
by  this  late  maneuvre,  to  take  any  advantage ;  but  I  must  confess 
I  cannot  see  any  other  object  he  can  have."61  Anticipation  was 
the  only  defense  against  such  eleventh-hour  attacks,  and  often 
both  sides  came  to  the  election  well  supplied  with  countercharges 
and  refutations  designed  to  meet  any  eventuality. 

The  practice  of  dealing  in  personalities  was  thoroughly  re- 
prehensible to  many  public-spirited  citizens  who  subjected  it  to 
vigorous  attack.  One  critic  ran  a  satirical  advertisement  which 
stated,  "Our  machinery  can  be  turned  to  the  manufacture  of 
falsehoods,  suited  to  the  peculiar  situation,  prospects  and  neces- 
sities of  each  candidate.  Any  who  wish  a  supply  wholesale  or 
retail  apply  to  No.  6950-Tattle  Row  Greensborough."62 

Objections  to  dealing  in  personalities  did  not  eradicate  the 
evil,  and  candidates  met  the  situation  by  devising  special  tech- 
niques in  addition  to  the  usual  denials.  One  of  those  was  the 
distribution  of  circulars  containing  short,  signed  statements  by 
witnesses  who  vouched  for  the  integrity  of  the  candidate,  and 
upheld  his  innocence  of  specific  charges  made  against  him. 
Henry  Tillman,  a  candidate  in  1812,  was  defended  by  four 
witnesses  who  denied  the  accuracy  of  derogatory  reports  about 
his  political  ideals.63  D.  G.  Rae,  accused  of  beating  a  boathand 
with  an  oar,  had  five  witnesses  to  testify,  "We  have  never  known 
him  to  strike  with  a  stick,  switch,  or  other  weapon,  any  white 
man  in  his  employ  at  any  time."64  Evidently,  integrity  rather 
than  literacy  was  the  prime  requisite  of  the  compurgators  for, 
in  some  instances,  they  signed  with  an  X.e5 


60  Carolina  Federal  Republican,  August  29,  1812. 

61  Greensborough  Patriot,  August  11,   1830. 

62  Greensborough  Patriot,  July  25,  1832. 

63  Carolina   Federal   Republican,   August   22,    1812. 

64  Broadsides,   July  23,    1836. 

65  Broadsides,  August  3,  1840.  No  candidate  was  able  to  gather  for  his  testimonial  the 
distinguished  array  of  witnesses  claimed  by  Beckwith's  Anti-Dyspeptic  Pills  for  the  "cure 
of  almost  every  variety  of  functional  disorder.  .  .  ."  This  panacea  was  recommended 
by  three  preachers,  a  bishop,  a  governor,  a  state  treasurer,  and  even  a  professor.  Raleigh 
Star  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  November  19,  1835. 


184  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Important  as  printed  matter  was  in  the  conduct  of  a  campaign, 
it  is  probable  that  the  office  seeker's  chief  reliance  was  in  direct 
meetings  with  the  people.  The  candidate  in  this  personal  contact 
with  the  voter  fostered  his  cause  chiefly  by  the  use  of  "flowery 
speeches  and  free  liquor."66  Such  accounts  of  speeches  as  are 
available  show  that  the  candidates  usually  made  the  same  type 
of  appeal  to  the  voter  which  is  revealed  in  the  broadsides.  There 
was  widespread  agreement  as  to  the  effectiveness  of  political 
oratory  or  speaking  "on  the  fence,"  as  it  was  then  called.67 
Thomas  Clingman  urged  Willie  P.  Mangum  to  leave  the  United 
States  Senate  long  enough  to  aid  in  a  local  campaign,  declaring, 
"Half  a  dozen  speeches  at  dinners  would  get  a  majority."68 
Mangum,  himself,  attributed  his  narrow  victory  in  the  Con- 
gressional race  of  1825  to  a  rainstorm  which  prevented  his 
eloquent  opponent  from  delivering  the  last  speech  of  the 
campaign.69  The  zeal  with  which  some  candidates  employed  this 
method  was  illustrated  by  Josiah  Crudup,  a  minister  who,  ac- 
cording to  his  opponent,  electioneered  from  the  stump  six  days 
a  week  and  from  the  pulpit  on  the  seventh  day,  winning  more 
votes  in  his  Sunday  sermon  than  in  the  rest  of  the  week  com- 
bined.70 Occasionally,  the  lay  candidates  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  for  electioneering  which  the  gathering  of  a  Sunday 
congregation  afforded,  and  mixed  the  things  of  Caesar  with 
those  of  God.  D.  L.  Barringer,  on  one  occasion,  made  such  un- 
restrained statements,  at  the  Spring  at  Hepzibah  meeting  house, 
that  his  opponent  challenged  him  to  a  duel.71  As  a  general  thing, 
the  speaking  campaign  was  carried  on  not  only  at  church,  but 
also  at  musters,  court  days,  and  on  any  other  occasions  where 
a  crowd  might  be  gathered.72 

Speechmaking  became  a  campaign  issue  in  some  cases.  Some 
candidates  made  it  a  point  to  refrain  from  oratory,  asserting 
that  as  plain  honest  farmers  they  were  unaccustomed  to  public 
speaking.  Others,  however,  built  their  whole  campaigns  around 
speaking  tours  on  which  they  delivered  memorized  orations 
which  they  "let  off  like  hail  on  sheepskin."73 


66  Greensborough  Patriot,  August  11,  1830. 

67  "On   the   fence"   was   the   equivalent   of   the   present-day   term    "stump    speaking."    Green 
"Electioneering    1802    Style,"    243«. 

68  Mangum    Papers,    Boyd,    Life   of   Mangum,    unfinished    manuscript,    Ch.    V,    17. 

69  Boyd,  Life  of  Mangum,   Ch.   IV,   8. 

70  Boyd,   Life  of  Mangum,   Ch.  IV,   8. 

71  Boyd,   Life  of  Mangum,   Ch.  IV,   4. 

72  Broadsides,   June  25,   1838. 

™  Greenaborough  Patriot,  August  29,   1832. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835       185 

The  importance  of  stump  speaking  as  a  campaigning  method 
was  attested  by  the  various  techniques  which  were  developed  to 
prevent  its  effective  use  by  the  opposition.  One  candidate,  for 
example,  complained  that  his  opponents  would  ride  as  far  as 
twenty  miles  to  break  up  meetings  at  which  he  spoke.  Various 
methods  were  developed,  he  reported,  to  accomplish  this  end. 
In  one  instance,  as  the  speaker  rose  to  his  feet  to  begin  his 
address,  riders  galloped  up  to  the  crowd  and  offered  to  bet  five 
hundred  dollars  against  his  chances  for  election.  Apparently, 
this  tactic  sorely  tried  the  faith  of  some  of  the  candidate's 
followers,  and,  consequently,  had  a  disastrous  effect  on  the  morale 
of  the  meeting.74  In  another  instance,  a  more  subtle,  and  probably 
more  effective,  method  was  employed.  Here,  the  rival  partizans 
offered  free  whiskey  to  all  who  would  come  over  to  a  barrel, 
set  up  just  outside  the  range  of  the  persuasive  voice  of  the 
speaker.  The  orator  took  up  the  challenge  and  told  his  listeners 
to  choose  liquor  or  eloquence  as  their  inclinations  dictated.75 
Unfortunately,  no  record  exists  as  to  the  number  selecting  each 
alternative. 

Another  technique  used  by  the  candidate  to  contact  the  public 
directly  was  a  canvass  of  individual  voters.  The  thoroughness 
with  which  this  method  was  employed  by  one  office  seeker  was 
indicated  by  the  editorial  observation:  "We  understand  that  he 
will  not  'Electioneer'  as  he  wishes  to  raise  another  crop  before 
he  dies  and  does  not  wish  to  ride  his  horse  to  death."76  Another 
critic  complained  that  the  office  seekers  would  not  let  the  voters 
rest,  and  intruded  "upon  their  time  and  patience  with  such  a 
disgusting  slang,  as  should  make  a  dog  howl  in  derision!"77 
Few  escaped  these  visitations,  for  it  was  not  uncommon  for  a 
candidate  to  "scour  every  section  of  the  country  in  search  of 
votes."78 

While  the  voters  themselves  might  decry  the  importance  of 
the  canvass,  the  candidates  professed  to  feel  that  it  was  a 
public  service.  G.  Munford,  seeking  office  in  1816,  stated  that 
he  sought  only  to  educate  the  public.  He  intended  to  "go  through 
the  district  as  much  as  I  can,  and  .  .  .  make  candid  disclosures 


7±  Broadsides,  July  30,  1833. 

75  Broadsides,   July   30,   1833. 

76  Greensborough   Patriot,   July   24,    1833. 

77  Greensborough   Patriot,   July    19,    1834. 

78  Raleigh  Register  and  North   Carolina  Gazette,  August  30,    1816. 


186  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

of  my  sentiments  on  all  civil  questions,  civilly  addressed."79  This 
canvass  of  voters  was  probably  a  more  rewarding  method  of 
campaigning  than  the  broadside,  for,  from  time  to  time,  circulars 
were  published  in  the  newspapers,  explaining  that  the  candidate 
was  advertising  his  candidacy  in  print  only  because  he  would 
be  unable  to  see  all  of  the  voters  personally.80  He  sometimes 
included  in  his  broadside  the  explanation  that  he  was  doing  his 
best  to  see  each  voter  and  to  visit  each  muster  ground;  any 
failure  to  contact  a  voter  would  be  the  result  of  a  lack  of  time 
rather  than  a  lack  of  interest.81 

The  use  of  free  liquor  was  a  mainstay  of  electioneering 
throughout  the  period,  despite  the  existence  of  a  law  forbidding 
the  exchange  of  "treats"  for  votes.82  One  candidate  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1816  distributed  liquor  with  such  a  free  hand  that  it 
was  reported  he  had  "drenched  every  muster  ground  with 
inspiring  whiskey."83  However,  not  every  office  seeker  could 
afford  the  liquor  necessary  to  float  a  whole  campaign.  Conse- 
quently, a  more  frequent  and  reliable  use  of  this  facility  was 
to  reserve  it  until  the  election  day.  John  Stanley,  a  candidate 
in  1822,  condemned  and  described  this  practice  in  the  following 
words:  "Who  in  his  calm  moments,  can  look  without  grief  and 
shame,  upon  the  picture  of  an  election  scene,  in  which  the 
Candidate  with  his  jug,  and  the  voter  with  his  glass,  perhaps 
reeling  together,  belch  forth  their  patriotism  and  fidelity?"84 
Another  candidate,  who  also  viewed  this  situation  with  despair, 
declared  that  people  would  sell  their  votes,  but  he  hoped  that 
in  time  they  would  progress  to  a  point  where  they  would  demand 
a  higher  price  for  their  franchise  than  a  drink  of  grog.85 

Treating  to  gain  votes  became  such  a  prevalent  abuse  that 
additional  steps  were  taken  to  curb  it.  Despairing  of  succeeding 
in  prohibiting  the  disposal  of  whiskey  in  exchange  for  votes, 
the  law-makers  of  1823  adopted  what  seemed  a  more  practical 
approach.  The  period  of  election,  formerly  three  days,  was 
reduced  to  one.  The  longer  period  had  been  instituted  in  order 
to  give  all  citizens  an  opportunity  to  get  to  the  polls.  However, 


79  Broadsides,  1816. 

80  Raleigh  Standard,  May  5,   1836. 

81  Broadsides,   February  17,   1821;   January   8,   1831;   July   4,   1817. 

82  Haywood,  Laws,  366,  Law  passed  in   1801. 

83  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  August  30,  1816. 

84  Broadsides,  July  24,  1822. 

85  Broadsides,  July  24,  1822. 


Electioneering  in  North  Carolina,  1800-1835       187 

experience  showed  that  the  extended  period  did  not  serve  its 
purpose,  and  was  merely  an  incitement  to  dissipation,  intem- 
perance, and  violence,  with  the  result  that  "time  and  health 
were  both  squandered."86 

Even  this  step  did  little  to  solve  the  problem,  for  seven 
years  later  a  poet  measured  the  effectiveness  of  electioneering 
in  the  following  terms: 

For  who  can  stoop,  and  treat  the  most 

Is  very  sure  to  rule  the  rest, 

And  worst  of  all,  the  last  dram, 

Turns  the  vote  of  a  man, 

Whose  vote  was  sold  before  we  guess.87 

Election  day  in  a  closely  contested  race  was  likely  to  be  the 
scene  of  a  desperate  effort  to  win  the  deciding  votes.  Whisper 
campaigns,  slanderous  circulars,  and  free  liquor,  were  only  a 
few  of  the  factors  which  frequently  made  an  election  "a  wild 
affair."  Voters  might  be  bribed,  dragged  up  to  vote,  threatened 
with  law  suits,  and  menaced  with  bodily  violence.  Prominent 
local  citizens,  not  infrequently,  spent  the  whole  day  on  horseback 
electioneering  among  the  free  Negroes,  and  buying  votes.88 

Such  elections  must  have  been  fairly  common.  One  reason 
given  for  the  abolition  of  the  borough  representation  in  1835 
was  the  general  disruption  brought  on  by  the  annual  election. 
One  of  the  delegates  to  the  convention  declared  that,  in  addition 
to  feuds  and  bloodshed,  "mechanics  and  others  are  excited  by 
the  parties  interested  in  such  elections,  business  is  neglected, 
and  the  morals  of  the  people  corrupted."89 

In  conclusion,  it  appears  that  the  candidates  for  state  office 
in  early  nineteenth-century  North  Carolina  adopted  an  ethical 
ideal  of  electioneering  in  which  they  recognized  the  desirability 
of  freedom  of  choice  on  the  part  of  the  voter.  However,  it 
has  been  shown  that  in  practice  the  candidates  at  times  violated 
this  standard. 

When  the  complaint  is  made  today  that  our  politicians  are 
corrupt,  callous  of  public  good,  and  self-seeking,  some  comfort 
may  be  taken  in  the  realization  that  this  species  of  American 


86  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  August  15,  1823. 

87  Greensborough  Patriot,  August  11,  1830. 

88  Carolina  Watchman,   September  1,   1832. 

89  Proceedings  and  Debates  of  the  Convention  of  North  Carolina,  35,  36. 


188  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

is  not  of  recent  origin.  Candidates  for  public  office  were  described 
as  far  back  as  1804  as  being  "bold,  impudent,  and  unprincipled 
demagogues."90  Perhaps,  there  is  some  hope  in  the  fact  that 
it  has  been  one  hundred  and  forty  years  since  Judge  William 
Gaston  opined  that  the  candidates  of  his  day  were  motivated 
by  the  selfish  interest  of  "what  will  most  contribute  to  the 
strength  of  our  party,"  rather  than  by  the  true  ideal  of  republi- 
can government  of  "what  will  best  advance  the  interest  of  the 
country."91 


w.Minerva,  September  10,  1804. 
01  Broadsides,  July  24,  1810. 


JIM  POLK  GOES  TO  CHAPEL  HILL 
By  Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  two  Presidents  born  in  North 
Carolina  and  a  third,  whom  the  Old  North  State  has  always 
vigorously,  if  a  bit  dubiously,  claimed,  all  arrived  at  the  White 
House  through  careers  in  Tennessee.  But  at  least  one  of  the 
three,  James  K.  Polk,  had  enough  of  North  Carolina  in  his 
background  to  qualify  as  both  "Tar  Heel  born"  and  "Tar  Heel 
bred." 

Sam  Polk's  oldest  son  was  just  eleven  in  the  fall  of  1806, 
when  the  family  pulled  up  its  roots  in  Mecklenburg  County 
and  made  the  trek  across  the  mountains  to  settle  on  a  farm  in 
Maury  County,  Tennessee.  A  sickly  lad,  Jimmy  did  not  take 
happily  to  the  chores  of  the  farm  or  to  the  arduous  trips  through 
the  Tennessee  wilderness  with  his  surveyor  father,  when  the 
boy  was  expected  to  take  care  of  the  pack  horses  and  camp 
equipage  and  to  prepare  the  meals.1  He  was  continually  bothered 
by  grinding  abdominal  pains,  which  were  eventually  diagnosed 
as  evidence  of  gallstone.  When  Jim  was  seventeen,  Sam  Polk 
took  him  230  miles  on  horseback  to  Danville,  Kentucky,  for 
an  operation  by  Doctor  Ephraim  McDowell,  the  pioneer  surgeon 
in  the  West.  Anesthesia  and  antisepsis  were  still  unknown,  but 
the  operation  was  successful  and  brought  about  a  miraculous 
transformation  in  the  boy.  Polk  later  acknowledged  that  but 
for  McDowell  he  would  never  have  amounted  to  much.2 

As  his  vitality  returned,  however,  Jim  Polk  showed  no  en- 
thusiasm for  farm  work  or  the  rough  outdoor  life  of  a  surveyor, 
and  his  father,  finally  despairing  of  his  son's  following  in  his 
own  footsteps,  placed  him  with  a  merchant  to  learn  the  business. 
But  Jim's  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  grand  and  alluring  career  of 
a  professional  man,  and  after  a  few  weeks  in  the  store,  his 
father  yielded  to  his  entreaties  that  he  be  allowed  to  go  to 
school.3 


1  John  S.  Jenkins,  The  Life  of  James  K.  Polk,  Late  President  of  the  United  States  (Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  1850),  37-38. 

2  Samuel  D.  Gross,  Lives  of  Eminent  American  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century  (Philadelphia,  1861),  210-211,  221,  223,  229;  Mary  Young  Ridenbaugh,  The  Biog- 
raphy of  Ephraim  McDowell,  M.  D.,  "The  Father  of  Ovariotomy"  (New  York,  1890),  76-78; 
Archibald  H.  Barkley.  Kentucky's  Pioneer  Lithotomists    (Cincinnati,   1913),   38. 

3  [J.  L.  Martin,]  "James  K.  Polk,"  United  States  Magazine  and  Democratic  Review,  II 
(1838),  199-200. 

[189] 


190  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Polk  had  a  good  mind,  but  the  training  he  had  received 
was  so  meagre  that  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  spelled  badly  and 
wrote  in  the  worst  style.4  In  July,  1813,  he  enrolled  in  the  school 
at  Zion  Church,  about  three  miles  south  of  Columbia,  the  seat 
of  Maury  County.  The  school  was  taught  by  the  Reverend 
Robert  Henderson,  one  of  the  first  Presbyterian  preachers  in 
that  part  of  the  country  and  a  forthright  and  effective  orator. 
Henderson  had  once  won  the  respect  of  Andrew  Jackson  by 
preaching  a  sermon  against  cock-fighting  to  the  general  and  a 
number  of  other  prominent  men  who  had  gathered  for  a  weekend 
of  the  sport.  This  was  young  Polk's  first  introduction  to  fash- 
ionable classical  education;  he  commenced  Latin  grammar  and 
for  about  a  year  "read  the  usual  course  of  Latin  Authors,  part 
of  the  greek  [sic]  testament  and  a  few  of  the  dialogues  of 
Lucian."5  The  whole  experience  was  tonic  in  its  effect.  He  was 
older  than  most  of  the  scholars  and  worked  indefatigably,  mak- 
ing up  for  lost  time.  The  teacher  was  not  allowed  to  whip  stu- 
dents, but  once  a  week  "Uncle  Sam"  Frierson,  the  patriarch  of 
the  community,  came  to  the  school,  took  wrongdoers  down  to  the 
spring, 

talked  over  their  sins  with  them,  and  when  necessary  vigorously 
applied  a  birch  from  a  nearby  thicket.  If  such  actions  did  not 
prove  corrective  "Uncle  Sam"  would  proceed  to  pray  over  the 
misdoer  long  and  loudly — something  much  more  to  be  dreaded 
than  three  hard  whippings.6 

It  is  unlikely  that  Jim  Polk  ever  required  such  treatment. 

Sam  Polk  was  so  impressed  with  his  son's  accomplishments 
that  he  agreed  at  the  beginning  of  1815  to  send  him  to  a  more 
distinguished  academy,  conducted  by  another  Presbyterian, 
Samuel  P.  Black,  at  the  newly  established  town  of  Murfrees- 
borough,  some  fifty  miles  to  the  northeast.  When  Polk  presented 
himself  at  the  log  building  which  housed  the  school,  he  was 
still  small  for  his  age.  "His  hair  was  much  fairer  and  of  lighter 
growth  than  it  afterwards  became.  He  had  fine  eyes,    [and] 


4  Gross,  Eminent  American  Physicians,  221. 

5  Certificate  of  Henderson,  quoted  in  Eugene  Irving  McCormac,  James  K.  Polk:  A  Political 
Biography  (Berkeley,  1922),  3.  See  also  Mary  Wagner  Highsaw,  "A  History  of  Zion  Com- 
munity in  Maury  County,  1806-1860,"  Tennessee  Historical  Quarterly,  V  (1946),  113;  A.  V. 
Goodpasture,  "The  Boyhood  of  President  Polk,"  Tennessee  Historical  Magazine,  VII  (1921), 
47;  S.  G.  Heiskell,  Andrew  Jackson  and  Early  Tennessee  History  (Nashville,  1920-1921),  III, 
681-683. 

6  Quoted  in  Highsaw,  "Zion  Community,"  113. 


Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill  191 

was  neat  in  appearance."7  He  boarded  with  a  family  in  town 
and  worked  hard  at 

English  Grammar  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  Arithmetic, 
the  most  useful  branches  of  the  Mathematics,  Geography, 
Natural  and  Moral  Philosophy,  Astronomy,  Belles-letters  [sic], 
Logic,  and  such  other  useful  and  ornamental  branches  of  Litera- 
ture.8 

The  school  term  was  closed  in  October  with  an  "exhibition,"  at 
which  the  students  delivered  orations  and  acted  in  portions 
of  plays.  Polk  showed  "the  finest  capacity  for  public  speaking," 
— he  had  probably  learned  more  than  Latin  grammar  from 
Parson  Henderson — and  a  spectator  remarked  that  he  was  "much 
the  most  promising  young  man  in  the  school."9 

Such  was  young  Polk's  progress  at  Murfreesboro  that  in  less 
than  a  year  he  felt  ready  to  enter  college.  It  was  only  natural 
that  he  should  choose  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where 
his  cousin,  Colonel  William  Polk,  was  one  of  the  most  active 
trustees.  Arriving  at  Chapel  Hill  in  the  fall  of  1815,  he  was 
examined  by  the  faculty  on  Latin  and  Greek  grammar,  Caesar's 
Commentaries,  Sallust,  Virgil,  Mair's  Introduction,  ten  chapters 
of  Saint  John's  Gospel  in  Greek,  and  Murray's  English  Grammar. 
On  the  basis  of  this  examination,  he  was  given  credit  for  all 
the  freshman  and  half  the  sophomore  work  and  was  admitted 
to  the  sophomore  class  when  the  second  term  opened  in  January, 
1816. 10  This  is  striking  evidence  of  his  intelligence  and  of  the 
assiduity  with  which  he  had  pursued  his  studies  in  the  two  and 
a  half  years  since  he  had  commenced  them  under  Parson 
Henderson. 

The  University  of  North  Carolina  was  the  same  age  as  Polk 
himself.  Its  early  years  had  been  neither  prosperous  nor  dis- 
tinguished, and  in  1815  it  had  a  faculty  of  only  five.  The  Reverend 
Robert  Chapman  was  president,  but  the  real  leader  of  the  insti- 
tution was  the  Professor  of  Mathematics,  Doctor  Joseph  Cald- 


7  Samuel  H.  Laughlin,  "Sketches  of  Notable  Men,"  Tennessee  Historical  Magazine,  IV 
(1918),  77-78.  See  also  Thomas  B.  Wilson,  "Reminiscences  of  the  Civil  War,"  Tennessee 
Historical  Quarterly,  V  (1946),  93-94;  C.  C.  Henderson,  The  Story  of  Murfreesboro  (Mur- 
freesboro, Tenn.,  1929),  27-29;  Nashville  Whig,  Oct.  25,  1814. 

8  Certificate  of  Samuel  P.  Black,  Stanley  F.  Horn,  ed.,  "Holdings  of  the  Tennessee  Histori- 
cal Society:  Young  James  K.  Polk's  Credentials,"  Tennessee  Historical  Quarterly,  IV  (1945), 
339 

9  Laughlin,  "Sketches  of  Notable  Men,"  77-78. 

10  The  Laws  of  the  University  of  North-Carolina.  As  Revised  in  1813  (Hillsborough,  N.  C, 
1822),  5.    (Hereafter  referred  to  as  U.  N.  C.  Laws.) 


192  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

well,  who  was,  like  Chapman,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  In 
addition  there  was  a  senior  tutor,  William  Hooper,  later  to  be 
Professor  of  Languages,  and  two  other  tutors,  recently  graduated 
students,  who  lived  in  the  dormitories,  tried  to  keep  order,  and 
taught  the  lower  classes.  There  were  eighty  students  at  the 
beginning  of  1816,  the  number  rising  to  ninety-one  by  the  end 
of  the  year.11 

However  poor  in  some  respects,  the  University  had  a  mag- 
nificent situation,  lying  on  a  great  ridge  rising  out  of  piedmont 
North  Carolina,  some  thirty  miles  west-northwest  of  the  capital 
at  Raleigh.  The  whole  countryside  was  heavily  forested,  cool, 
clear  springs  ran  from  the  slopes  around  the  sides  of  the  emi- 
nence, and  from  Point  Prospect,  a  promontory  at  its  eastern 
end,  one  could  look  off  for  miles  toward  the  coastal  plain.  The 
University  buildings  were  set  upon  the  highest  point  of  the 
broad  and  gently  rolling  plain  which  was  the  top  of  the  ridge. 
Old  East,  a  two-story  dormitory  with  sixteen  rooms,  had  been 
constructed  in  1795.  At  right  angles  to  it  was  the  recently  com- 
pleted Main  Building  (now  South  Building) ,  a  more  pretentious 
structure  with  three  floors  and  a  cupola  and  containing  class- 
rooms, library,  society  rooms,  and  dormitory  rooms.  Stretching 
northward  from  the  Main  Building  was  the  "Grand  Avenue," 
a  wide  park  of  oaks  and  hickories  with  natural  undergrowth. 
At  the  far  end,  some  three  hundred  yards  away,  ran  the  main 
street  of  the  straggling  village  of  Chapel  Hill,  and  hidden  in 
the  woods  beyond  was  the  small  frame  building  which  housed 
the  University's  preparatory  school.  Directly  across  the  Grand 
Avenue  from  Old  East  stood  the  small,  plain  chapel,  and  in  the 
opposite  direction  was  the  large,  frame  Steward's  Hall,  where 
many  of  the  students  ate  their  meals.  Beyond  the  Steward's 
Hall  and  toward  the  east,  another  broad,  cleared  avenue  ran 
along  the  Raleigh  road  to  Point  Prospect,  affording  a  vista  over 
the  plain  beyond.  The  tiny  village  itself  had  only  thirteen  houses, 
two  stores,  and  a  tavern.12 


11  Treasurer's  Accounts,  November  20,  1816,  University  of  North  Carolina  Papers  (Southern 
Historical  Collection,  University  of  North  Carolina),  hereafter  referred  to  as  U.  N.  C.  Papers; 
University  of  North  Carolina,  Minutes  of  the  Trustess,  1811-1822,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina 
Collection,  Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina),   153,   159. 

12  Archibald  Henderson,  The  Campus  of  the  First  State  University  (Chapel  Hill,  1949),  15, 
25n,  42-43,  45,  60,  65;  William  D.  Moseley  to  Professor  Elisha  Mitchell,  August  15.  1853,  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  Letters,  1796-1835,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina  Collection,  Library 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina). 


Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill  193 

From  its  earliest  years  the  infant  university  had  been  under 
strong  Presbyterian  influences  and  had  tried  to  model  itself 
upon  Princeton.  It  was  ordained  that  a  student  who  denied  the 
being  of  God  or  the  divine  authority  of  the  Christian  religion 
should  be  dismissed,  and  the  entire  student  body  was  examined 
periodically  on  the  Bible.13  The  bell  on  top  of  the  Main  Building 
was  rung  at  six  in  the  morning,  and  fifteen  minutes  later  another 
bell  summoned  to  morning  prayers  in  the  Chapel ;  prayers  were 
held  again  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  and  on  Sunday  students 
were  required  to  attend  public  worship  clad  in  "neat  black 
gowns."  The  bell  was  rung  again  at  eight  at  night  in  the  winter 
and  nine  in  the  summer,  after  which  students  were  supposed 
to  repair  to  their  rooms  for  study.  The  year  was  divided  into 
two  terms,  with  vacations  between,  one  of  a  month  during 
December,  and  the  other  of  six  weeks  in  the  summer.  Each 
term  was  concluded  by  a  public  examination,  the  one  in  Novem- 
ber by  the  faculty  and  the  one  at  commencement  in  June  by 
a  committee  of  the  trustees.  In  addition  to  their  regular  studies, 
the  students  were  required  to  give  orations  following  evening 
prayers,  two  or  more  each  evening  as  their  names  came  up 
alphabetically,  and  seniors  were  required  to  deliver  two  original 
orations  during  the  year,  one  of  them  at  commencement.14  Tuition 
was  $10  and  later  $15  a  term,  and  room  rent  was  $1.15 

Polk's  health  was  still  feeble,  but  he  threw  himself  with  his 
usual  energy  into  the  sophomore  studies16 — Cicero's  Select  Ora- 
tions, Xenophon's  Cyropoedia,  Homer,  geography,  arithmetic, 
and  Murray's  Grammar.  The  classics  were  less  important  after 
July,  when  he  entered  upon  the  junior  course — elements  of 
geometry,  algebra,  trigonometry,  logarithms,  mensuration,  select 
parts  of  the  classics,  and  the  inevitable  Murray's  Grammar.17 
The  extensive  training  in  mathematics  was  given  by  Doctor 
Caldwell,  while  William  Hooper,  "tall  and  erect,  polished  in 
manners,  gentle  in  disposition,  and  a  ripe  scholar,"  a  rigid 
disciplinarian,18  was  responsible  for  the  classical  work.  Caldwell 


13  U.  N.  C.  Laws,  10;  University  of  North  Carolina,  Reports  from  the  Faculty  to  the 
Trustees,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina  Collection,  Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina), 
December  6,   1816. 

14  V.  N.  C.  Laws,  4,  7-8,  10,  17-18;  U.  N.  C.  Trustee  Minutes,  131-132. 

15  U.  N.  C.  Laws,  16;  U.  N.  C.  Trustee  Minutes,  154. 

16  John  Y.  Mason,  Address  before  the  Alumni  Association  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Delivered  in  Gerard  Hall,  June  2,  1847.  The  Evening  Preceding  Commencement  Day 
(Washington,  1847),  7. 

»  U.  N.  C.  Laws,  5. 

18  Edward  J.  Mallett,  Address  to  the  Graduating  Class  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
at  Commencement,  June  2d,  1881   (Raleigh,  1881),  3. 


194  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

had  composed  his  own  geometry  text,  which  was  then  copied  in 
manuscript  by  the  students.  The  copies  were,  of  course,  filled 
with  errors. 

But  this  was  a  decided  advantage  to  the  junior,  who  stuck  to 
his  text,  without  minding  his  diagram.  For,  if  he  happened  to 
say  the  angle  at  A  was  equal  to  the  angle  at  B,  when,  in  fact 
the  diagram  showed  no  angle  at  B  at  all,  but  one  at  C,  if  Dr. 
Caldwell  corrected  him,  he  had  it  always  in  his  power  to  say: 
"Well,  that  was  what  I  thought  myself,  but  it  ain't  so  in  the 
book,  and  I  thought  you  knew  better  than  I."  We  may  well 
suppose  that  the  Dr.  was  completely  silenced  by  this  unexpected 
argumentum  ad  hominem.  You  see  how  good  a  training  our 
youthful  junior  was  under,  by  a  faithful  adherence  to  his  text, 
to  become  a  "strict  constructionist"  of  the  constitution,  when 
he  should  ripen  into  a  politician.19 

At  the  semiannual  examination  in  November  it  was  found  that 
"James  K.  Polk  and  William  Moseley  are  the  best  scholars"  in 
the  class,  and  the  entire  class  was  highly  approved.20 

The  course  of  study  in  the  final  year  was  natural  and  moral 
philosophy,  chronology,  select  parts  of  the  Latin  and  Greek 
classics,  and,  again,  Murray's  Grammar.21  At  the  midyear  ex- 
amination this  time,  the  faculty  was  able  to  pronounce 

only  a  general  sentence  of  approbation.  Distinctions  might  be 
made  in  scholarship,  but  it  would  be  difficult  [to  know]  at  what 
point  to  stop.  They  are  all  approved.  And  this  class  is  especially 
approved  on  account  of  the  regular  moral,  and  exemplary  de- 
portment of  its  members  as  students  of  the  university.22 

The  faculty  was  strengthened  in  the  second  half  of  Polk's 
senior  year  by  the  addition  of  Elisha  Mitchell,  fresh  from  Yale, 
as  professor  of  mathematics.  Polk  was  "passionately  fond"  of 
this  subject,  and  under  Professor  Mitchell  his  was  the  first 
class  at  the  University  to  study  such  advanced  geometry  as  conic 
sections.  The  class  was  unfortunate  in  just  missing  the  teaching 
of  Denison  Olmstead,  another  Yale  man,  who  had  been  hired 
along  with  Mitchell  to  teach  chemistry  but  who  stayed  at  New 
Haven  for  an  additional  year  of  advanced  study  under  Benjamin 
Silliman  before  coming  to  Chapel  Hill.23 


19  William  Hooper,  Fifty  Years  Since:  An  Address,  Delivered  before  the  Alumni  of  the 
University  of  North-Carolina,  on  the  7th  of  June,  1859.  (Being  the  Day  before  the  Annual 
Commencement)    (Raleigh,  1859),  23. 

20  U.  N.  C.  Faculty  Reports,  December  5,  1816. 

21  U.  N.  C.  Laws,  5-6. 

22  U.  N.  C.  Faculty  Reports,  January  4,  1818. 

28  U.  N.  C.  Trustee  Minutes,  145;  W.  D.  Moseley  to  Professor  Elisha  Mitchell,  August  15, 


Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill  195 

As  in  most  colleges  at  that  time,  much  of  the  important  train- 
ing was  received  outside  the  classroom,  through  the  "literary 
societies."  At  Chapel  Hill  most  of  the  students  were  members 
of  either  the  Dialectic  or  the  Philanthropic  Society,  between 
which  there  was  the  keenest  rivalry.  Polk  became  a  member  of 
the  former  during  his  first  term.24  The  societies  met  weekly  in 
their  own  halls  in  the  Main  Building,  with  a  topic  arranged  for 
debate  at  each  meeting.  Each  member  was  required  to  participate 
in  the  debates  every  other  week  and  to  present  compositions  at 
the  alternate  meetings.  The  best  compositions  were  filed  in  the 
society  archives,  eight  of  Polk's  being  so  honored,  two  of  which 
are  still  extant. 

The  first  of  these,  written  in  1817,  an  argument  against  "The 
Admission  of  Foreigners  into  Office  in  the  United  States,"  was 
filled  with  the  spread-eagle  patriotism  characteristic  of  the 
expanding  America  which  emerged  from  the  War  of  1812.  Polk 
feared  that  foreigners  would  be  imbued  with  aristocratic  or 
monarchical  ideas,  or  that  they  would  try  to  establish  a  state 
church.  Nor  did  he  show  much  faith  in  the  ability  of  the  people 
to  make  correct  decisions.  So  soon  as  foreign  influence  insinuates 
itself  into  the  favor  of  a  credulous  populace,  he  said,  "party 
is  established  and  faction  is  founded,  yes,  faction,  that  destroyer 
[of]  social  happiness  and  good  order  in  society,  that  monster 
that  has  sunk  nations  in  the  vortex  of  destruction."25  Twenty 
years  later  Polk  would  have  thought  such  a  sentiment  clear 
evidence  that  its  author  was  either  an  aristocrat  or  a  Bank 
hireling,  but  in  1817  government  was  entrusted  by  almost  com- 
mon consent  to  Republican  elder  statesmen,  and  parties  were 
often  considered  not  only  unnecessary  but  highly  dangerous. 

The  second  composition,  an  effusion  of  schoolboy  enthusiasm 
"On  the  Powers  of  Invention,"  reflects  all  the  winds  of  thought 
which  blew  upon  students  at  Chapel  Hill  in  the  early  nineteenth 
century.  Based  on  John  Locke's  analysis  of  human  psychology, 
it  showed  that  Doctor  Caldwell's  lectures  on  "moral  philosophy" 


1853,  U.  N.  C.  Letters. 

24  University  of  North  Carolina,  Dialectic  Society,  Minute  Book,  1812-1818,  MS.  vol.  (North 
Carolina  Collection,  Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina),  January  25,  1816. 

25  Composition  of  James  K.  Polk,  University  of  North  Carolina,  Dialectic  Society,  Addresses 
of  the  Dialectic  Society,  First  Series,  MS,  Vol.  IV,  P  to  Y  (North  Carolina  Collection,  Library 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina).  There  is  a  "List  of  Compositions  and  Addresses  now 
in  the  Archives  of  the  Dialectic  Society"  in  University  of  North  Carolina,  Dialectic  Society, 
Temporary  Laws,  Etc.,  1818,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina  Collection,  Library  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina),  which  lists  eight  Polk  compositions,  only  two  of  which  seem  to  have 
survived. 


196  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

had  left  a  strong  impress  of  the  Age  of  Reason  on  his  hearers. 
Polk's  theme  was  a  profound  faith  in  the  powers  of  human 
reason  and  an  ecstatic  view  of  man's  progress,  through  reason, 
from  ignorance  and  superstition  to  where  "he  sits  enthroned  on 
the  pinnacles  of  fame's  proud  temple."  But  by  1817  reason  had 
its  limits,  and  the  youthful  writer  regrets  that  the  noble  works 
of  invention  have  been  "basely  used  by  a  Paine  a  Hume  and  a 
Bolinbroke  [sic'}  as  the  harbinger  of  infidelity."  The  influence 
of  romantic  thought  was  also  beginning  to  be  felt,  and  the 
romantic  hero  appears :  "St.  Helena  blooms  with  nature's  richest 
production  wafted  to  her  shore  by  the  winds  of  adversity  and 
though  fallen  yet  noble,  debased  yet  acting  with  philosophical 
composure."  Romanticism  is  even  more  evident  in  the  full-blown 
style  and  bombastic  exaggeration,  characteristics  which  are  in 
striking  contrast  with  everything  else  Polk  is  known  to  have 
said  or  written.  The  composition  closes  with  an  apostrophe  to 
America,  which  is  forging  ahead  of  Europe  "under  the  happy 
auspices  of  an  equilibrium  in  government."26 

The  Dialectic  Society  was  strict  in  enforcing  its  rules,  attend- 
ance was  required,  and  Polk  was  a  half  dozen  times  among  those 
fined  for  absence.  He  was  also  penalized  a  number  of  times 
for  "irregularity"  and  once  for  "gross  irregularity."  Whether 
these  fines  were  levied  for  keeping  library  books  out  too  long, 
spitting  tobacco  juice  on  the  floor,  or  for  some  other  impropriety 
has  not  been  determined,  but  they  do  dissipate  the  myth  of 
Polk,  the  superhumanly  correct  student,  who  never  failed  in 
the  punctual  performance  of  every  duty.  The  debates  at  Society 
meetings  were  often  hotly  contested,  and  one  evening  a  member 
was  fined  ten  cents  for  using  threatening  language  to  James  K. 
Polk,  and  Polk  was  fined  a  like  sum  for  replying. 

Many  of  the  debates  were  on  questions  with  which  Polk  had 
to  deal  in  his  later  public  career.  The  record  for  the  evening 
of  his  admission  to  the  Society  unfortunately  does  not  show 
whether  Polk  voted  or  argued  on  the  side  of  the  negative  ma- 
jority on  the  question,  "Would  an  extension  of  territory  be  an 
advantage  to  the  U.  S.?"  The  decision  was  again  negative  on, 
"Would  it  be  justifiable  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  for  the  United 
States  to  assist  Spanish  America  in   deffence    [sic]    of  their 

26  Ten-page  MS.  in  Polk's  hand,  Dialectic  Addresses. 


Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill  197 

liberty?"  On  still  another  occasion,  after  "warm  and  animated 
debate,"  it  was  decided  that  the  practice  of  law  is  congenial  to 
the  pure  precepts  of  Christianity.  Polk's  later  views  triumphed 
in  the  debate  over,  "Ought  a  representative  to  exercise  his  own 
judgment  or  act  according  to  the  directions  of  his  constituents  ?" 
when  the  decision  was  in  favor  of  the  latter.  These  aspiring 
politicians  also  decided  that  the  life  of  a  statesman  was  prefer- 
able to  that  of  a  warrior.  But  not  all  the  questions  were  so 
serious,  as  witness,  "Is  an  occasional  resort  to  female  company 
beneficial  to  students?"  the  outcome  of  which  may  well  be 
imagined.27 

Each  of  the  two  societies  had  a  library  superior  to  the  Uni- 
versity's meagre  stock  of  books.  To  the  Dialectic  collection  of 
1,623  volumes,  Polk  contributed  a  set  of  "Gibbon's  Rome," 
"Williams'  France,"  "Darwin's  Memoirs,"  "Addison's  Evi- 
dences," and  John  H.  Eaton's  recent  biography  of  Jackson.  The 
interest  in  history  indicated  here  is  shown  also  by  the  frag- 
mentary record  of  books  taken  from  the  University  library, 
which  indicates  that  Polk  borrowed  Gibbon's  Rome  and  one  of 
David  Ramsay's  works  on  the  American  Revolution.28  Among 
its  innumerable  activities,  the  Di  also  included  philanthropy; 
the  members  taxed  themselves  two  dollars  per  term  for  a  loan 
for  the  education  of  one  of  their  fellows  who  seems  to  have  had 
no  other  means  of  support.29 

Polk  was  an  active  leader  in  the  society.  He  served  two 
monthly  terms  as  treasurer  and  held  other  offices,  principally 
secretary  and  chairman  of  the  executive  committee.30  At  the 
end  of  his  junior  year  he  was  elected  president  of  the  society, 
and  the  following  spring  was  chosen  for  a  second  term,  a 
mark  of  respect  without  precedent.31  This  mark  of  confidence 


27  Dialectic  Minutes,  January  25,  1816-May  20,  1818,  passim;  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Dialectic  Society,  Committee  Minutes,  1816-1824,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina  Collection,  Library 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina),  February  24,  1817. 

28  Catalogue  of  Books  Belonging  to  the  Dialectic  Society,  Chapel-Hill,  February,  1821 
(Hillsborough,  N.  C,  1821),  4;  Dialectic  Minutes,  October  16,  1816;  University  of  North 
Carolina,  "Library  Books  Borrowed,  August  26,  1817-March  25,  1819,"  MS.  bound  with  Uni- 
versity Demerit  Roll,  October  26,  1838-September  18,  1840,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina  Col- 
lection, Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina). 

29  University  of  North  Carolina,  Dialectic  Society,  Treasurer's  Individual  Accounts,  1811- 
1818,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina  Collection,  Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina), 
207-208. 

30  University  of  North  Carolina,  Dialectic  Society,  Treasurer's  Book,  1807-1818,  MS.  vol. 
(North  Carolina  Collection,  Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina),  August,  1816,  and 
March,  1817,  for  Polk's  accounts  as  treasurer;  his  individual  accounts  with  the  Society  are  in 
Dialectic  Individual  Accounts,  1811-1818,  221,  260,  307,  and  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Dialectic  Society,  Treasurer's  Individual  Accounts,  1818-1821,  MS.  vol.  (North  Carolina  Col- 
lection, Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina),  29;  Dialectic  Committee  Minutes, 
August,  1816-March,  1818,  passim. 

81  Dialectic  Minutes,  May  8,  1817,  and  April  29,  1818. 


198  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

may  have  been  the  result  of  Polk's  efforts  to  preserve  the  honor 
of  the  society  by  pushing  the  impeachment  of  a  member  accused 
of  stealing  some  tongs  and  a  shovel  from  another  member, 
letting  himself  "be  publickly  kicked  in  one  of  the  passages  of 
the  main  building  .  .  .  without  making  any  honorable  resist- 
ance," charging  $25  worth  of  books  to  the  Society  and  then 
presenting  them  to  the  Society  as  his  own  gift,  leaving  Chapel 
Hill  without  paying  his  debts,  claiming  to  have  a  large  estate 
with  the  intention  "of  imposing  himself  upon  some  too  credulous 
one  of  the  female  sex,"  and  permitting  himself  to  be  called  a 
liar  without  doing  anything  "to  vindicate  his  character."  Polk 
industriously  collected  evidence  against  the  villain,  who  was 
expelled  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Society.32 

Polk's  second  inaugural  address,  on  "Eloquence,"  shows  that 
he  already  had  an  eye  to  politics.  You  may,  he  told  his  listeners, 

be  called  upon  to  succeed  those  who  now  stand  up  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  people,  to  wield  by  the  thunder  of  your  eloquence 
the  council  of  a  great  nation  and  to  retain  by  your  prudent 
measures  that  liberty  for  which  our  fathers  bled.  It  may  be  a 
delusive  phantom  that  plays  before  my  imagination,  but  my 
reason  tells  me  it  is  not.  For  why  may  we  not  expect  talents  in 
this  seminary  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  youths  which  it 
fosters,  and  with  the  advantages  which  have  been  named  may  we 
not  expect  something  more  than  ordinary.  But  even  if  it  were 
visionary  I  would  delight  to  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  the 
pleasing  hope.  .  .  .  Although  our  body  resembles  what  Rhe- 
toricians would  term  a  miscellaneous  assembly  your  proficiency 
in  extemporaneous  debating  will  furnish  you  with  that  fluency 
of  language,  that  connexion  of  ideas  and  boldness  of  delivery 
that  will  be  equally  serviceable  in  the  council,  in  the  pulpit  and 
at  the  bar. 

That  his  own  technique  was  already  well  developed  is  indicated 
by  his  further  remarks: 

I  cannot  but  remark  two  very  fatal  and  opposite  faults  that 
prevail  in  the  exercises  in  debating  that  are  exhibited  in  this 
body.  The  one  is  looseness  of  preperation  [sic]  before  assembling 
in  this  Hall.  The  other  is  writing  and  memorizing  your  exhibi- 
tions in  which  there  is  often  too  much  attention  paid  to  the 
elegance  of  language  and  too  little  to  the  ideas  conveyed  by  it. 
The  former  so  far  from  making  you  fluent  and  bold,  will  only 

32  Hardy  L.  Holmes  to  James  K.  Polk,  November  12,  1817,  "James  H.  Simeson's  Impeach- 
ment &  Expulsion,  January  21st  1818,"  Dialectic  Society  Papers  (Southern  Historical  Col- 
lection, University  of  North  Carolina). 


Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill  199 

tend  to  corrupt  language  and  embarrass  your  address.  The  latter 
will  make  you  timorous  and  unprepared  to  engage  in  an  un- 
foreseen discussion.  A  due  degree  of  attention  should  be  given 
to  the  subject  under  consideration.  The  several  heads  upon 
[which]  you  mean  to  touch  should  be  distinctly  arranged  in 
the  memory,  but  the  language  in  which  your  ideas  are  expressed 
should  not  be  elaborate,  but  that  which  is  suggested  at  the 
moment  of  delivery  when  the  mind  is  entirely  engrossed  by  the 
subject  which  it  is  considering.  The  attention  of  your  hearers 
will  not  then  be  diverted  from  the  merits  of  the  question  by  the 
studied  metaphors  and  flowers  of  language.33 

Such  a  concept  of  forensic  technique  was  not  very  common  in 
the  nineteenth  century  and  indicates  a  bold  and  original  mind. 
Polk's  assiduity  in  applying  and  developing  it  in  the  debates  of 
the  Society  and  later  were  to  make  him  a  formidable  foe  on 
the  stump  in  Tennessee  and  in  the  give  and  take  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  It  would  have  been  hard  to  improve  on  the 
Dialectic  Society  as  a  school  for  statesmanship. 

Many  of  Polk's  fellow  students  did  indeed  rise  to  eminence. 
William  D.  Moseley,  with  whom  he  roomed  on  the  third  floor 
of  Main  Building,  later  became  governor  of  Florida.  In  after 
years  he  recalled  to  Polk  the  "many  tedious  and  laborious  hours" 
they  had  spent  together,  "attempting  to  discover  the  beauties 
of  Cicero  and  Homer  and  the  less  interesting  amusements  of 
quadratic  equations  and  conic  sections."34  John  Y.  Mason,  who 
later  became  a  United  States  Senator  from  Virginia  and  a 
member  of  Polk's  cabinet,  graduated  during  Polk's  first  year 
at  Chapel  Hill,  while  John  M.  Morehead,  subsequently  governor 
of  North  Carolina,  was  in  the  class  ahead  of  Polk.  In  his  own 
class  of  fourteen  there  were,  besides  himself  and  Moseley,  a 
future  Bishop  of  Mississippi,  William  Mercer  Green,  the  first 
president  of  Davidson  College,  Robert  Hall  Morrison,  and  a 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  senate,  Hugh  Waddell.  William 
H.  Haywood,  to  be  a  United  States  Senator  from  North  Carolina, 
was  among  the  younger  boys  at  Chapel  Hill  in  Polk's  time.35 

Life  at  "the  Hill"  was  not  all  serious,  however.  Much  of  the 
time  was  spent  in  sports,  excursions  through  the  surrounding 


33  MS.  in  Dialectic  Addresses. 

34  William  D.  Moseley  to  James  K.  Polk,  November  29,  1832,  James  K.  Polk  Papers  (Di- 
vision of  Manuscripts,  Library  of  Congress);  William  D.  Moseley  to  Professor  Elisha  Mitchell, 
August  15,  1853,  U.  N.  C.  Letters. 

35  "Catalogue  of  Students  (copied  by  Wm.  D.  Moseley),"  U.  N.  C.  Letters;  Catalogus 
Universitatis  Carolinae  Septentrionalis  (Raleigh,  1817),  14-16;  Kemp  Plummer  Battle,  History 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina   (Raleigh,  1907,  1912),  I,  258-259. 


200  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

forests,  or  deviltry.  Playing  ball  against  the  walls  of  the  buildings 
got  to  be  such  a  nuisance  that  it  had  to  be  prohibited  by  the 
trustees.36  Swimming  in  nearby  ponds  was  a  favorite  in  the  sum- 
mer. Bandy,  or  shinny,  the  most  popular  game,  was  rough  and 
dangerous.  Hygiene  and  sport  were  combined  at  the  "Twin 
Sisters/'  two  small  brooks  on  the  north  slope  of  the  campus, 
whose  waters  had  been  channelled  so  as  to  provide  a  natural 
shower  bath.  More  exciting  were  midnight  marauding  and  such 
standard  college  pranks  as  tying  a  cow  to  the  bell  or  building 
rude  fences  across  the  village  streets.  President  Caldwell  was  in 
the  habit  of  making  midnight  excursions  of  his  own  and  was  so 
fleet  of  foot  and  adept  in  the  apprehension  of  wrong-doers  that  he 
was  dubbed  "Diabolus,"  usually  shortened  to  "Bolus."  Youthful 
energy  occasionally  got  completely  out  of  hand,  as  in  1817  when 
the  trustees  were  so  infuriated  by  "the  late  outrages  on  the  build- 
ings of  the  University  &  grove,"  that  they  ordered  the  faculty 
to  prosecute  the  offenders  in  the  courts.37 

It  is  doubtful  whether  Polk's  health  permitted  him  to  engage 
in  the  more  strenuous  diversions,  but  he  got  abundant  exercise 
in  the  walk  of  a  mile  or  more  down  a  long,  steep  hill  to  the  farm- 
house in  the  valley  north  of  the  village  where  he  took  his  meals 
during  a  part  of  his  stay.38  There  were  also  vacation  excursions 
with  Moseley  and  others  to  Raleigh,  where  the  boys  stayed  at  the 
home  of  Colonel  William  Polk,  and  probably,  also,  visits  to  the 
homes  of  classmates  during  the  longer  summer  recesses.39 

The  most  stirring  event  which  occurred  during  Polk's  residence 
at  Chapel  Hill  was  the  rebellion  of  1816.  College  life  in  those  days 
exhibited  a  perpetual  warfare  between  the  students  and  their 
preceptors.  Even  the  punctilious  Polk  had  advised  his  fellows 
to  "stoop  not  from  the  true  principles  of  honor  to  gain  the  favour 
of  the  Faculty  and  thus  succeed  in  your  views  of  promotion."40 
President  Chapman  had  been  an  opponent  of  the  War  of  1812, 
and  the  University  had  long  been  suspected  in  the  state  of  being 


38  Resolution  of  the  Trustees,  December  6,  1817,  U.  N.  C.  Papers. 

87  Resolution  of  the  Trustees  [December,  1817,]  U.  N.  C.  Papers.  See  also  Henderson, 
Campus,  57,  110;  Hooper,  Fifty  Years  Since,  25-31;  W.  D.  Moseley  to  Prof.  E.  Mitchell,  August 
15,  1853,  U.  N.  C.  Letters.  Caldwell  had  again  become  president  of  the  University  in  1816. 

38  William  Hillyard  to  John  Haywood  and  others,  December  6,  1816,  U.  N.  C.  Papers;  John 
D.  Hawkins  to  John  Y.  Mason,  April  17,  1847,  photostatic  copy  (North  Carolina  Collection, 
Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina). 

39  William  Hillyard  to  John  Haywood  and  others,  December  6,  1816,  U.  N.  C.  Papers; 
John  D.  Hawkins  to  John  Y.  Mason,  April  17,  1847,  photostatic  copy  (North  Carolina 
Collection,   Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina). 

40  James  K.  Polk,  "Eloquence,"  MS.  in  Dialectic  Addresses. 


Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill  201 

under  Federalist  domination.  One  evening  in  September,  1816, 
after  prayers,  the  customary  oration  was  given  by  William  B. 
Shepard.  He  had  submitted  his  address,  as  was  the  rule,  to  Chap- 
man, who  had  made  certain  changes.  But  in  delivering  it,  he 
defied  the  president  and  gave  it  as  originally  written.  When 
ordered  to  sit  down,  he  persisted,  to  the  enthusiastic  applause  of 
the  assembled  student  body.  Afterwards  there  was  "great  noise 
and  riot"  in  the  dormitories  for  most  of  the  night,  and  the  next 
morning  twenty-seven  students,  mostly  members  of  the  Philan- 
thropic Society,  answered  a  call  for  a  meeting  in  the  Chapel  to 
support  Shepard. 

The  harassed  faculty  retaliated  at  once.  Shepard  and  two  of 
his  principal  encouragers  were  suspended  forthwith.  Those  pres- 
ent at  the  student  meeting  who  would  sign  a  recantation,  among 
them  William  Moseley,  were  forgiven,  but  the  rest  were  likewise 
suspended.  Meanwhile  the  incident  was  becoming  a  state-wide 
political  issue.  The  Republican  papers  denounced  the  tyranny  of 
the  faculty,  while  the  Federalist  organ  printed  Doctor  Chap- 
man^ claim  that  he  had  ordered  Shepard  to  delete  only  passages 
smacking  of  infidelity — though  the  bitter  criticisms  of  Great 
Britain  in  the  offensive  passages  were  doubtless  primarily  re- 
sponsible for  arousing  the  president's  choler.  The  Phi  Society, 
reduced  to  thirteen  members  by  the  suspensions,  bitterly  accused 
the  Di  men  of  promising  to  attend  the  student  meeting  then  fail- 
ing to  appear,  a  charge  which  was  hotly  denied. 

The  students  were  outwardly  cowed  by  the  disciplinary  meas- 
ures, but  the  explosion  of  a  bomb,  made  of  a  brass  doorknob,  in 
front  of  the  room  of  one  of  the  tutors  showed  the  depth  of  their 
resentment.  And  they  eventually  triumphed.  The  trustees,  sensi- 
tive to  public  opinion,  forced  President  Chapman  to  resign  a  few 
months  later  and  replaced  him  with  Doctor  Caldwell.  In  the  in- 
terest of  discipline,  though,  they  were  finally  forced  to  expel 
Shepard  and  the  chief  promoter  of  the  student  meeting.  Six 
months  later,  with  enrollment  down  to  sixty,  the  University  was 
still  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  incident.41 


a  Battle,  U.  N.  C,  I,  231,  235-239;  John  Patterson  to  Thomas  T.  Armstrong,  September  24, 
1816,  typed  copy,  and  William  M.  Green  to  Martin  W.  B.  Armstrong,  October  17,  1816, 
typed  copy,  bound  with  U.  N.  C.  Faculty  Reports;  Minerva  (Raleigh),  October  18,  1816; 
Raleigh  Register  and  North-Carolina  Gazette,  October  4,  1816;  Thomas  B.  Slade  to  Alfred  M. 
Slade,  October  9,  1816,  U.  N.  C.  Papers;  William  Hooper  to  Walter  Alves,  March  6,  1817, 
copy,  J.  C.  Norwood  Papers  (Southern  Historical  Collection,  University  of  North  Carolina); 
U.  N.  C.  Trustee  Minutes,  122,  133,  136. 


202  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

On  the  last  Wednesday  in  May,  1818,  a  committee  of  the 
trustees  arrived  in  Chapel  Hill  to  spend  a  week  examining  the 
students  preparatory  to  commencement.42  This  annual  event  was 
one  of  the  state's  outstanding  social  occasions,  and  its  high  point 
for  the  students  was  the  ball  held  in  the  dining  room  of  the 
Steward's  Hall.  A  member  of  the  Class  of  1818  later  recalled : 

At  commencement  ball  (when  I  graduated)  my  coat  was  broad- 
cloth of  sea  green  color,  high  velvet  collar  to  match,  swallow  tail, 
pockets  outside,  with  lapels  and  large  silver  plated  buttons ;  white 
damask  vest,  snowing  the  edge  of  a  blue  undervest ;  a  wide  open- 
ing for  bosom  ruffles,  and  no  shirt  collar.  The  neck  was  dressed 
with  a  layer  of  four  or  five  cornered  cravats,  artistically  laid  and 
surmounted  with  a  cambric  stock,  pleated  and  buckled  behind. 
My  pantaloons  were  white  Canton  crape,  lined  with  pink  muslin, 
and  showed  a  peach  blossom  tint.  They  were  rather  short,  in  order 
to  display  flesh  colored  silk  stockings ;  and  this  exposure  was  in- 
creased by  very  low  cut  pumps,  with  shiny  buckles.  My  hair  was 
very  black,  very  long  and  queued.  I  would  be  taken  for  a  lunatic 
or  a  harlequin  in  such  costume  now.43 

On  the  last  day  of  the  festivities,  each  senior  delivered  an 
oration  in  the  chapel,  and  Polk,  graduating  with  the  "First 
Honor,"  gave  the  Latin  Salutatory  before  a  large  company  of  the 
first  men  of  the  state.44  Commencement  was  a  proud  occasion  for 
Polk,  but  also  part  of  it  was  the  sadness  of  taking  leave  of  good 
friends  and  pleasant  associations;  mementos  were  exchanged, 
Polk  presenting  his  friend  Moseley  with  a  breast-pin  which  the 
latter  cherished  for  years.45 

Polk's  precarious  health  had  again  been  impaired  by  the  pres- 
sure of  studies  and  activities  as  his  senior  year  drew  to  a  close, 
so  he  did  not  return  immediately  to  Tennessee,  but  spent  a  few 
months  resting  and  visiting  friends  in  North  Carolina.  He  was 
doubtless  in  Chapel  Hill  for  the  wedding  of  one  of  his  classmates 
two  weeks  after  commencement  and  was  back  again  in  August, 
when  he  drew  some  books  from  the  University  library.  Finally, 
in  the  fall,  he  turned  homeward.46 

It  was  only  five  years  since  Jim  Polk  had  entered  Parson  Hen- 


42  Raleigh  Register  and  North-Carolina  Gazette,  May  1,  1818. 

43  Memoirs  of  Edward  J.  Mallett,  a  Birthday  Gift  for  Each  of  His  Children.  May  1st,  1880 
(n.  p.,  n.  d.),  38-39. 

44  Battle,   U.  N.  C,  I,  258. 

^William  D.  Moseley  to  James  K.  Polk,  December  1,  1830,  Polk  Papers. 
46  Raleigh  Register  and  North-Carolina  Gazette,   June   19,    1818;    "U.   N.   C.   Library   Books 
Borrowed,"  entries   for  August   15,   22,   1818;   Goodpasture,   "Boyhood  of  Polk,"   48-49. 


Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill  203 

derson's  little  academy  at  Zion  Church,  and  the  young  man  had 
good  reason  to  take  pride  in  the  industry  and  intelligence  which 
in  so  short  a  time  had  brought  the  uncouth  country  boy  to  the 
head  of  the  University's  graduating  class.  These  were  the  five 
years  that  had  made  the  man,  and  of  the  five  the  latter  ones, 
spent  at  Chapel  Hill,  had  been  by  far  the  most  important. 


THE  HATTERAS  EXPEDITION,  AUGUST,  1861 
By  James  M.  Merrill 

It  was  late  at  night.  Bursting  with  excitement,  Postmaster 
General  Montgomery  Blair,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Gus- 
tavus  Fox,  and  Major-General  Benjamin  F.  Butler  roused  the 
White  House  watchman.  Fifteen  minutes  later,  President  Lincoln 
"flew  around  the  [Cabinet]  room,  .  .  .  [his]  night  shirt  .  .  .  con- 
siderably agitated,"  and  danced  a  jig  with  Fox,  who  had  just  in- 
formed him  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Hatteras.1  About  4 :00  a.  m.  the 
following  morning,  August  31,  1861,  the  telegraph  key  at  the 
headquarters  of  the  Department  of  Virginia  drummed  out  the 
official  report: 

a  glorious  victory  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  [North  Carolina]  by  the 
joint  [army-navy]  expedition  under  the  command  of  Major  Gen- 
eral Butler  and  Commodore  [Silas]  Stringham.  .  .  .  Many 
captured.  .  .  .2 

The  Union  North  was  shaken  from  its  doldrums  by  the  Bull 
Run  defeat.  Bands  blared;  whistles  shrieked;  crowds  gathered. 
The  Boston  Journal  termed  the  victory  an  entering  wedge  into 
the  Confederacy ;  the  New  York  Herald  described  the  exploit  as 
a  "splendid  and  decisive  blow  .  .  .  which  surpasses  in  importance 
anything  yet  accomplished  against  the  enemy" ;  the  Philadelphia 
Public  Ledger  heralded  the  success  as  one  of  "the  most  important 
advantages  yet  gained  by  the  Government."3  In  Washington, 
General  Butler  was  led  to  the  National  Hotel  where  he  bellowed 
to  the  crowd:  "Oh,  it  was  glorious  to  see  .  .  .  [the]  arm  of  the 
Union  stretched  out  against  its  rebellious  children."4 

In  the  Confederate  South  the  scene  was  different.  "The  gleam 
of  sunshine  from  Hatteras,"  observed  a  London  Times  corre- 
spondent, "has  thrown  a  dark  shadow  across  the  South."5  Public 
reaction  varied.  An  irate  Confederate  Congress  demanded  in- 
telligence on  the  Hatteras  collapse.6  The  Richmond  Daily  Dis- 


1  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Autobiography  and  Personal  Reminiscences  .  .  .   (Boston,  1892),  288. 

2  Wool  to  Cameron,  Fort  Monroe,  August  31,  1861,  Jessie  A.  Marshall  [editor].  Private 
and  Official  Correspondence  of  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  .  .  .   (Norwood,  1917),  I,  236. 

a  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Frank  Moore,  ed.,  The  Rebellion  Record  .  .  .  (New  York,  1862),  III, 
24;  New  York  Herald,  n.  d.,  quoted  in  Salem  Register,  September  5,  1861;  and  Public  Ledger, 
(Philadelphia),  September  2,  1861. 

4  Public  Ledger   (Philadelphia),  September  3,  1861. 

5  The  Times    (London),  September  23,   1861. 

6  Resolution  of  Burton  Craige  (North  Carolina),  August  31,  1861,  "Journal  of  the  Congress 
of  the   Confederate  States   of  America,    1861-1865,"   Senate  Document,   No.   23k,   58   Cong.,   2 

[204  ] 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  205 

patch  admonished  southerners  for  being  spoiled  by  previous 
successes,  while  the  Petersburg  Express  jested  that  no  fresh 
water  existed  at  Hatteras  and  "Old  Butler  will  have  to  take  his 
brandy  and  whiskey  undiluted,  and  such  as  we  have  been  in- 
formed he  generaly  uses,  will  speedily  consume  his  vitals."7  But 
the  North  Carolinians  did  not  consider  the  defeat  a  jest.  The 
House  of  Representatives  was  aghast;  state  officials  scrambl- 
ed desperately  to  deflect  blame;  investigations  began;  tension 
heightened.8  "The  Yankee  capture,"  fretted  a  Raleigh  resident, 

amounts  to  this :  The  whole  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  is  now 
exposed  to  the  ravages  of  the  merciless  vandals.  .  .  .  [It]  is  now 
plunged  into  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  .  .  .  9 

One  Kentuckian  jotted  to  Navy  Secretary  Gideon  Welles  that  the 
attack 

has  alarmed  the  Confeds  more  than  anything  yet  that  has  been 
done.  We  have  people  continually  coming  from  that  direction, 
the  South,  who  tell  us  that  the  alarm  of  such  an  expedition  is 
raising  the  devil  in  all  their  sea  ports  and  distracts  them  very 
much.10 

The  elation  in  the  North  over  this  first  naval  victory  relieved 
the  Navy  Department  from  pressure,  which  had  been  continually 
mounting.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  the  Union  was 
caught  unprepared:  commissioned  vessels  were  scattered  from 
the  Mediterranean  to  the  South  Pacific.  Other  ships  were  under- 
going extensive  repairs.  A  Navy  Department  survey  counted 
only  twelve  vessels  in  home  waters,  of  which  four  were  in  north- 
ern ports  ready  for  duty.11  Without  waiting  for  Congress  to 

sess.  (Washington,  1904),  I,  456.  Also  see  Davis  to  Cobb,  Richmond,  August  31,  1861,  Official 
Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Navies  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  (Washington, 
1897),  ser.  1,  VI,  137.    (Hereafter  cited  as  NOR.  All  Subsequent  citations  are  series   1.) 

7  Daily  Dispatch  (Richmond),  August  31,  1861;  and  Express  (Petersburg,  Virginia),  n.  d., 
quoted  in  Sacramento  Daily  Union,  October  1,  1861. 

8  Clark  to  Dortch,  Raleigh,  September  5,  1861,  North  Carolina,  Governor,  Capture  of  Hat- 
teras .  .  .  [Raleigh,  1861],  3-4;  Winslow  to  Clark,  Raleigh,  September  6,  1861,  North  Carolina, 
Governor,  Capture  of  Hatteras,  7;  Morris  to  Winslow,  Raleigh,  September  5,  1861,  North 
Carolina,  Governor,  Capture  of  Hatteras,  12.  Also  see  Standard  (Raleigh),  August  31,  1861, 
quoted  in  Sacramento  Daily  Union,  October  1,  1861;  Goldsborough  Tribune,  n.  d.,  quoted  in 
Daily  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  3,  1861;  and  Howard  Swiggett,  editor,  A  Rebel  War 
Clerk's  Diary  .  .  .    (New  York,  1935),  I,  77. 

9  Express  (Petersburg,  Virginia),  n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  26.  For  addi- 
tional information  on  panic  caused  by  the  Hatteras  expedition,  see  Charleston  Mercury,  n.  d., 
quoted  in  Daily  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  7,  1861;  Wilmington  Journal,  n.  d.,  quoted 
in  Daily  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  2,  1861;  Newbern  Progress,  n.  d.,  quoted  in  Sacra- 
mento Daily  Union,  October  1,  1861;  and  Rowan  to  Stringham,  Fort  Hatteras,  September  5, 
1861,  NOR,  VI,  172. 

10  Nelson  to  Fox,  Maysville,  Kentucky,  September  25,  1861,  Robert  M.  Thompson  &  Richard 
Wainwright,  editors,  Confidential  Correspondence  of  Gustavus  Vasa  Fox  .  .  .  (New  York, 
1918),  I,  380. 

11  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  July  4,  1861,"  Senate  Executive  Document,  No.  1, 
37  Cong.,  1  sess.    (Washington,  1861),  86. 


206  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

assemble,  a  large  building  plan  was  undertaken,  and  great  quan- 
tities of  ships  of  all  sizes  were  purchased. 

The  Navy  Department's  sketch  of  its  operational  plans  in  early 
1861  included:  1)  the  blockade  of  southern  ports;  2)  the  organi- 
zation of  combined  army-navy  expeditions  against  strongholds 
on  the  Confederate  seaboard;  and  3)  the  pursuit  of  enemy 
privateers.  President  Lincoln  in  April,  1861,  issued  proclama- 
tions for  the  blockade  of  the  southern  seaboard  with  its  3,500 
miles  of  coastline.  Although  the  blockade  proved  to  be  the  Navy's 
greatest  contribution  to  the  Union  victory,  it  existed  only  on 
paper  for  several  months  after  the  proclamations.  The  lack  of 
ships  and  personnel  hindered  construction  of  the  commercially 
important  harbors.12  By  the  late  spring  of  1861,  the  Navy  was  in 
disrepute  for  its  inactivity.  Municipal,  state,  and  federal  officials 
descended  upon  the  department  demanding  ships  to  defend  har- 
bors and  to  patrol  the  coast.  One  public  official  stormed : 

The  growing  discontent  created  in  the  public  mind  by  the  ex- 
traordinary and  disheartening  delays  of  the  Navy  Department 
will  undoubtedly  soon  result  in  meetings  of  the  People,  who  will 
declare  their  want  of  confidence.  ...  A  month  has  elapsed  since 
the  Blockade  proclamation.  .  .  .  [yet]  every  Port,  south  of  the 
Chesapeake  ...  is  still  open.13 

An  obstacle  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  Union  blockade  was  the 
protection  afforded  southerners  by  their  coastline,  much  of  which 
was  supplied  with  a  double  shore,  punctured  with  numerous  in- 
lets. Small  ships  from  Carolina  ports  would  sneak  along  the 
inside  passage  until  they  reached  an  outlet,  and  then  dash  for 
the  open  seas.  Hatteras  Inlet  was  such  an  obstacle.  "The  Swash," 
as  the  inlet  was  referred  to  by  the  Federals,  was  a  long,  sandy 
barrier  off  the  coast  of  North  Carolina,  six  miles  south  of  Cape 
Hatteras  and  about  ninety  miles  by  water  from  New  Bern  and 
Washington,  North  Carolina.  "Norfolk  and  Richmond,"  diag- 
nosed a  Union  naval  officer  in  June,  1861,  "are  not  yet  blockaded 
or  completely  cut  off  from  the  sea.  They  have  a  back  outlet.  .  .  ." 
Confederate  ships  could  be  passed  from  these  cities  through 


12  Charles  O.  Paullin,  "President  Lincoln  and  the  Navy,"  American  Historical  Review,  XIV 
(1909),  284-285,  294;  Carroll  S.  Alden  &  Allan  Westcott,  The  United  States  Navy  (Chicago, 
1943),  132-137,  140,  142-146;  and  Dudley  W.  Knox,  A  History  of  the  United  States  Navy 
(New  York,  1936),  191-195. 

13  Crea  to  Fox,  New  York,  May  29,  1861,  Thompson  &  Wainwright,  Confidential  Cor- 
respondence of  Gustavus  Vasa  Fox,  I,  359. 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  207 

internal  waterways  to  Hatteras  or  neighboring  inlets.  This 
should  convince  officers,  continued  the  lieutenant,  of  "the  great 
advantages  and  facilities  the  enemy  will  have  in  possessing  this 
vast  internal  water  navigation  unmolested."14  Secessionists  also 
recognized  these  advantages.  Fortifications  of  these  outlets  were 
begun  and  by  the  middle  of  June,  1861,  despite  sandstorms,  the 
major  work  had  been  accomplished  on  Fort  Hatteras.15 

About  five  feet  high  with  slanting  sides  and  situated  an  eighth 
of  a  mile  from  the  channel  entrance,  the  fort  was  constructed 
from  sand,  mud,  and  turf.  Its  62-  and  32-pounders  commanded 
the  approaches  by  land  and  sea.  "I  hardly  think,"  speculated 
Colonel  W.  Bevershaw  Thompson,  chief  engineer  for  North  Caro- 
lina's coastal  defenses,  that  "a  flotilla  can  get  into  the  harbor."16 
A  second  bastion,  Fort  Clark,  "an  irregular  figure,"  smaller,  but 
constructed  similarly  to  Fort  Hatteras,  was  ready  for  service  in 
late  July  of  the  same  year.  The  two  redoubts,  located  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  from  one  another  on  the  same  island,  "secures  to 
us,"  boasted  Thompson,  "a  cross  fire  upon  .  .  .  the  entrance  to 
this  inlet.  I  now  consider  this  .  .  .  secure  against  any  attempt  of 
the  enemy  to  enter."17  Quickly,  other  fortifications  were  marked 
off  and  built  at  Ocracoke  and  Oregon  inlets,  two  neighboring 
outlets  to  the  sea. 

Gales  and  high  seas  off  the  North  Carolina  coast  frequently 
wrecked  Union  merchantmen  on  Hatteras  Island,  where  their 
crew  and  cargo  were  seized  by  Confederate  troops.18 

These  losses  were  unimportant  compared  to  the  toll  taken  by 
Confederate  privateers,  operating  from  Hatteras  Inlet.  A  look- 
out station  at  Cape  Hatteras  and  a  system  of  signals  enabled 
raiders  anchored  in  the  inlet  to  pounce  on  lone  merchantmen, 
when  the  blockading  vessels  patrolled  other  areas.  The  marauders 
would  "dash  out,"  bewailed  a  Union  naval  officer,  and  be  "back 
again  in  a  day  with  a  prize."19  After  Fort  Hatteras  was  con- 
structed, two  side-wheelers,  a  schooner,  a  tugboat,  and  a  pilot 


14  Lowry  to  Welles,  on  board  the  Pawnee,  Potomac  River,  June  1,  1861,  NOR,  V,  688. 

15  Thompson  to  Winslow,  Fort  Hatteras,  June  17,  1861,  quoted  in  The  Times  (London), 
September  21,  1861. 

16  Thompson  to  Bradford,  Newbern,  June  13,  1861,  quoted  in  The  Times  (London),  Sep- 
tember 21,  1861. 

17  Thompson  to  Winslow,  Fort  Hatteras,  July  25,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  713. 

18  Statements  of  Penny  and  Campbell,  New  York,  August  12,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  78;  news 
clippings,  n.  d.,  enclosed  in  letter  Welles  to  Stringham,  Washington,  August  8,  1861,  NOR, 
VI,  67-68;  Andrews  to  Clark,  Fort  Hatteras,  July  22,  1861,  quoted  in  The  Times  (London), 
September  21,  1861;  and  Washington  columnist  quoted  in  Sacramento  Daily  Union,  September 
30,  1861. 

19  Selfridge  to  Welles,  on  board  the  Cumberland,  at  sea,  August  10,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  72. 


208  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

boat  operated  as  privateers,  the  most  notorious  of  which  was  the 
side-wheeler  Winslow.20  The  schooner  Priscilla  with  600  bushels 
of  salt,  a  large  brig  cargoed  with  sugar  and  molasses,  and  three 
schooners  were  a  week's  catch  during  July,  1861.21 

The  Confederate  ravages  caused  repercussions  in  Washington. 
Letters  deluged  the  Navy  Department.  A  committee  of  the  New 
York  Board  of  Underwriters  clamored  for  action  to  prevent 
further  captures  "by  the  pirates  who  sally  out  from  those  inlets" ; 
the  State  Department  reminded  Welles  that  the  rebels  were 
"doing  a  very  active  business  through  the  various  inlets  of  .  .  . 
North  Carolina" ;  the  Treasury  Department  mentioned  the 
depredations  on  United  States  commerce.22  As  irritating  were 
the  letters  from  junior  naval  officers,  hinting  that  something 
should  be  done  at  Hatteras.  The  "coast  of  Carolina  is  infested 
with  a  nest  of  privateers  that  have  thus  far  escaped  capture, 
advised  a  naval  lieutenant,  and  "in  the  ingenious  method  of  their 
cruising,  are  probably  likely  to  avoid  the  clutches  of  our 
cruisers."23 

In  turn,  Secretary  Welles  goaded  Commodore  Silas  H.  String- 
ham,  commanding  the  Atlantic  Blockading  Squadron,  with  a 
flood  of  derogatory  news  clippings  and  letters.  Welles  scolded 
that  Confederate  coastal  activities  had  alarmed  the  commercial 
community  and  had  caused  embarrassment  to  the  department. 
"There  is  no  portion  of  the  coast  which  you  are  guarding  that 
requires  greater  vigilance,"  continued  the  secretary,  "or  where 
well-directed  efforts  and  demonstrations  would  be  more  highly 
appreciated  by  the  Government  and  country  than  North  Caro- 
lina."24 Badgered,  Stringham  retorted  that  his  naval  force  was 
insufficient  to  cope  with  the  menace,  and  that  permanent  benefit 


20  Statements  of  Penny  and  Campbell,  New  York,  August  12,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  78;  Thompson 
to  Winslow,  Fort  Hatteras,  July  25,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  713;  Barron  to  Sinclair,  Newbern,  August 
27,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  718;  and  William  H.  Parker,  Recollections  of  a  Naval  Officer,  1841-1865 
(New  York,  1883),  212. 

21  Andrews  to  Clark,  Fort  Hatteras,  August  2,  1861,  quoted  in  The  Times  (London),  Sep- 
tember 21,  1861.  Also  see  letters  Andrews  to  Clark,  Fort  Hatteras,  July  27,  August  8,  1861, 
quoted  in  The  Times  (London),  September  21,  1861.  For  an  account  of  privateering  activities 
at  Hatteras,  see  William  M.  Robinson,  Jr.,  The  Confederate  Privateers  (New  Haven,  1928), 
101-115. 

23  Smith,  Bierwirth,  and  Thompson  to  Welles,  New  York,  August  12,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  77-78; 
Godfrey  to  [State  Department],  Washington,  August  17,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  110-111;  Chase  to 
Welles  and  enclosures,  Washington,  July  16,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  27-29.  Also  see  The  New  York 
Times,  n.  d.,  quoted  in  Daily  Richmond  Examiner,  September  3,  1861;  and  The  Times  (Lon- 
don), September  24,   1861. 

23  Self  ridge  to  Welles,  on  board  the  Cumberland,  at  sea,  August  10,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  72; 
and  Lowry  to  Welles,  on  board  the  Pawnee,  Potomac  River,  June  1,  1861,  NOR,  V,  688-689. 

2*  Welles  to  Stringham,  Washington,  August  23,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  110.  Also  see  Welles  to 
Stringham,  Washington,  August  10,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  71. 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  209 

could  only  result  with  the  aid  of  a  cooperating  army  detachment 
to  occupy  the  forts  at  the  mouths  of  the  harbors.25 

The  necessity  of  the  Hatteras  expedition  is  clear;  its  origin 
is  vague.  It  is,  perhaps,  to  be  credited  to  the  numerous  sugges- 
tions that  came  to  the  attention  of  Secretary  Welles.  Intelligence 
reports  of  Confederate  strength  filtered  back  to  Washington.  Im- 
prisoned for  months  at  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  ten  survivors 
of  captured  Union  merchantmen  were  released,  travelled  north- 
ward through  the  sounds  in  an  open  boat ;  and  were  subsequently 
picked  up  by  the  Quaker  City  and  taken  to  Hampton  Roads. 
Questioned,  they  reported  that  they  had  watched  as  many  as 
fifty  vessels  pass  through  Hatteras  Inlet,  nine  of  which  were 
prizes.  According  to  their  observations,  three  companies  were 
stationed  at  the  two  forts,  whose  supply  of  ammunition  was 
very  short.  In  calm  weather  pickets  extended  nearly  ten  miles 
up  the  beach ;  on  rough  days,  about  a  mile.  To  conclude,  the  sur- 
vivors declared  that  Union  forces  could  be  landed  anywhere  along 
the  beach  without  difficulty,  if  not  opposed  by  land  forces.26 

A  memorandum  from  naval  Lieutenant  Robert  B.  Lowrey  in 
June,  1861,  advised  Welles  that  there  was  no  part  of  the  country 
in  armed  rebellion  against  the  government  which  could  so  easily 
be  made  to  feel  the  power  of  the  United  States  by  its  occupation 
than  the  inland  coast  of  North  Carolina.27  A  similar  recom- 
mendation by  another  naval  lieutenant  pompously  predicted  that 
if  his  scheme  were  carried  into  operation  nothing  more  would 
be  heard  of  the  Carolina  marauders.28  According  to  Welles,  the 
seizure  of  important  ports  on  the  Confederate  seaboard  early 
commanded  the  attention  of  the  Navy  Department.  A  committee 
was  convened  by  the  secretary  to  make  a  thorough  investigation 
of  the  "coast  and  harbors,  their  access  and  defences,"29  and,  pre- 
sumably, to  sift  through  the  numerous  suggestions.  This  work 
completed,  Welles  acted. 

Confidential  information  was  dispatched  to  Stringham  on 
August  9,  1861,  advising  that  the  obstruction  of  the  North  Caro- 


25  Stringham  to  Welles,  Hampton  Roads,  July  18,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  12.  Also  see  Stringham 
to  Welles,  August  8,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  66-67. 

26  Statements  of  Penny  and  Campbell,  New  York,  August  12,  1861,  NOR,  VI.  78-80.  Also 
see  Andrews  to  Clark,  Fort  Hatteras,  August  8,  1861,  quoted  in  The  Times,  (London),  Sep- 
tember 21,  1861. 

27  Lowry  to  Welles,  on  board  the  Pawnee,  Potomac  River,  June  1,   1861,   NOR,   V.   688-689. 

28  Selfridge  to  Welles,  on  board  the  Cumberland,  at  sea,  August  10,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  72-73. 

29  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  December  2,  1861,"  Senate  Executive  Document, 
No.  1,  37  Cong.,  2  sess.    (Washington,  1862),  6. 


210  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

lina  coast  should  be  "thoroughly  attended  to.  .  .  ."30  The  opera- 
tional plan  called  for  the  capture  of  forts  Hatteras  and  Clark  and 
the  clogging  of  the  channel  entrance  by  sinking  schooners  loaded 
with  stone.  The  island  was  not  to  be  held  permanently.  On 
August  13,  orders  were  sent  to  Major-General  John  E.  Wool,  who 
had  recently  relieved  Butler  of  his  command  at  Fort  Monroe,  to 
organize  a  detachment  to  assist  the  naval  operations  against 
Hatteras;  on  the  22nd  Wool  was  informed  that  the  expedition 
"originated  in  the  Navy  Department,  and  is  under  its  control" ; 
on  the  24th  Wool  pressed  General  Winfield  Scott  for  25,000 
troops  to  carry  out  his  assignment;  on  the  25th  860  men  were 
assigned.31  Commanded  by  Major-General  Butler,  the  infantry 
was  composed  of  the  Ninth  and  Twentieth  New  York  Volunteers, 
plus  a  company  of  the  Second  United  States  Artillery  from  Fort 
Monroe.  To  news  reporters,  Wool  blurted  that  he  was  going  to 
make  such  demonstrations  upon  the  coasts  of  North  Carolina, 
Florida,  and  Louisiana  as  were  necessary  for  the  rebels  to  keep 
their  armies  at  home.32  To  army  officials,  Stringham  hinted  that 
the  transports  chartered  for  the  expedition  were  unseaworthy, 
causing  the  Navy  Department  "extreme  astonishment."33  Albeit, 
the  unsafe  steamers  Adelaide  and  George  Peabody  were  included 
in  the  conglomerate  naval  force,  which  consisted  of  Stringham's 
flagship,  the  steam  frigate  Minnesota,  steam  frigate  Wabash, 
gunboats  Monticello  and  Harriet  Lane,  steam  sloop  Pawnee,  tug- 
boat Fanny,  and  a  retinue  of  smaller  vessels — two  dismasted 
schooners,  two  iron  boats,  and  several  flat  fishing  smacks.  The 
sail  sloop  Cumberland  was  assigned  to  join  the  squadron  at  sea. 
In  addition  to  the  army  detachment,  the  sailors,  and  the  marines, 
a  group  of  Union  coastguardsmen  accompanied  the  expedition.34 
Secrecy  surrounded  the  force's  destination,  but  a  few  south- 
erners were  awake  to  the  peril  of  a  coastal  attack.  Our  defenses, 
bragged  the  Raleigh  Standard,  will  give  "the  Yankees  a  warm 
reception,"  and  assured  its  readers  that  the  southern  seacoast 
had  been  rendered  not  only  secure  against  attack,  but  prepared 


so  Welles  to  Stringham,  Washington,  August  9,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  70. 

31Townsend  to  Wool,  Washington,  August  13,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  82:  Townsend  to  Wool, 
Washington,  August  21,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  106;  Wool  to  Scott,  Fort  Monroe,  August  24,  1861, 
The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  .  .  .  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies 
(Washington,  1882),  ser.  1,  IV,  603  (Hereafter  cited  as  AOR.  All  subsequent  citations  are 
series  1);  and  Churchill  to  Butler,  Fort  Monroe,  August  25,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  112. 

32  Albany  Evening  Journal,  n.  d\,  quoted  in  Public  Ledger   (Philadelphia),  August  19,  1861. 

^Welles  to  Stringham,  Washington,  August  22,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  107;  and  Stringham  to 
Welles,  Hampton  Roads,  August  23,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  108. 

84  See  Stringham  to  Welles,  New  York,  September  2,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  120. 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  211 

for  offensive  operations.35  The  harbors  may  be  amply  protected, 
but,  questioned  the  Savannah  Republican,  are  the  creeks  and 
inlets  safe?36 

Early  on  the  morning  of  August  27,  a  Confederate  operator  at 
Norfolk  telegraphed  a  dispatch  southward:  "Enemy's  fleet  .  .  . 
left  last  evening;  passed  out  of  the  capes  and  steered  south," 
headed  for  the  coast  of  North  Carolina.37 

The  Union  squadron's  passage  from  Hampton  Roads  to  Fort 
Hatteras  proved  uneventful.  At  9:30  a.  m.  on  August  27,  Cape 
Hatteras  Light  was  sighted,  and,  after  rounding  the  shoals,  the 
squadron  dropped  anchor  to  the  southward  during  the  afternoon 
watch.  Gathered  in  the  wardroom  of  the  Minnesota,  officers  dis- 
cussed the  next  day's  operation.  Attack  plans  were  outlined. 
"The  works  are  pretty  strong,  and  we  may  have  a  hard  fight  of 
it,"  noted  Butler  to  his  wife  that  evening,  "but  we  mean  to  take 
them."38 

Across  the  water  in  a  Confederate  tent,  a  private  was  being 
court-martialled  for  catnapping  on  watch.  The  proceeding 
against  the  unfortunate  was  dropped.  The  Union  force  had  been 
sighted.  Colonel  William  A.  Martin,  commanding  the  forts,  hav- 
ing but  350  men,  urgently  dispatched  a  pilot  boat  to  Portsmouth, 
North  Carolina,  for  more  troops.39  An  army  lieutenant  expecting 
action  penned  to  his  father: 

In  all  probability  .  .  .  tonight  or  tomorrow  the  rattle  of  musketry 
and  roar  of  cannon  will  be  heard  here.  Old  Abe  has  waited  long, 
but  at  last  has  come,  and  one  would  suppose  with  the  determina- 
tion to  break  up  this  'hornet's  nest'  at  Hatteras.40 

The  Federal  assault  commenced  at  6:40  a.  m.  on  August  28. 
The  Monticello,  Harriet  Lane,  and  Pawnee  took  their  stations  to 
cover  the  landing  two  miles  from  Fort  Clark,  while  soldiers, 
marines,  and  coastguardsmen  in  small  boats  maneuvered  toward 
shore.  But,  reported  one  eye-witness,  "as  fast  as  they  neared  the 


35  Standard   (Raleigh),  n.  d.,  quoted  in  Public  Ledger   (Philadelphia),  September  4,   1861. 

36  Savannah  Republican,  n.  d.,  quoted  in  The  Southern  Enterprise  ( Thomasville,  Georgia), 
September  4,  1861.  Also  see  Wilmington  Journal  n.  d.,  quoted  in  Sacramento  Daily  Union, 
October  1,  1861;  and  a  Pensacola  correspondent  quoted  in  Daily  Richmond  Examiner,  Sep- 
tember 3,  1861. 

87Huger  to  Cooper,  Norfolk,  August  27,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  137.  Also  see  Clark  to  Walker, 
Raleigh,  August  29,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  137;  and  Gatlin's  report  concerning  North  Carolina's 
affairs,  Everettsville,  October  1,  1862,  AOR,  IV,  574. 

38  Butler  to  his  wife,  on  board  the  Minnesota,  at  sea,  August  27,  1861,  Marshall,  Private 
and  Official  Correspondence  of  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  I,  227-228. 

"Martin  to  [Gatlin],  on  board  the  Minnesota,  at  sea,  August  31,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  140. 

40  Briggs  to  his  father,  [Fort  Hatteras],  August  22-27,  1861,  quoted  in  The  Times  (London), 
September  21,  1861. 


212  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

beach  the  breakers  carried  them  aground.  .  .  ."41  Swamped,  the 
small  detachment  scrambled  up  the  beach  to  safety.  There  was 
confusion.  Colonel  Max  Weber  grimly  pictured  the  condition  of 
his  320  men:  "All  of  us  were  wet  up  to  the  shoulders,  cut  off 
entirely  from  the  fleet,  with  wet  ammunition,  and  without  any 
provisions."42  The  surf  boats  bilged,  whaleboats  were  then  em- 
ployed in  a  futile  attempt  to  discharge  more  troops.  By  late 
afternoon  further  plans  to  land  men  were  discarded.43 

Since  10 :10  a.  m.,  Fort  Clark  had  been  under  heavy  bombard- 
ment from  the  Wabash,  Cumberland,  and  Minnesota.  "Being  a 
fire  of  shells  only,"  said  Martin  in  the  bulwark,  "it  might  well 
be  spoken  of  as  a  flood  of  shells."44  Continually,  the  three  Union 
ships  passed  and  repassed,  belching  round  after  round  at  the 
fort  and  its  environs  where  troops  might  possibly  be  concealed. 
Promptly,  the  fort  had  returned  the  fire,  but  a  shout  of  "derisive 
laughter"  was  heard  from  the  Minnesota's  gundeck,  when  the 
shells  fell  a  half  mile  short.45 

The  side-wheeler  Susquehanna,  returning  to  Hampton  Roads 
after  her  tour  of  duty  with  the  West  Indian  Squadron,  chugged 
upon  the  scene  and  was  immediately  directed  to  join  in  the 
bombardment  at  11 :00  a.  m.  The  cannonading  was  stepped  up, 
and  the  air  was  "so  filled  with  smoke"  that  it  was  only  occas- 
sionally  that  the  Federals  could  see  the  batteries  on  shore,  noted 
a  news  reporter.46 

The  condition  of  Fort  Clark  became  precarious.  Brutally 
pasted  with  Yankee  troops  only  three  miles  away  and  ammuni- 
tion nearly  exhausted,  the  officers  agreed  to  evacuate  and  to  fall 
back  to  Fort  Hatteras.  Grasping  everything  they  could  carry 
and  spiking  their  five  guns,  the  fifty-five  men  retreated.47  At 
12:25  p.  m.,  a  shout  rang  out  on  board  the  Minnesota:  "They're 
running !"  Union  guns  were  silenced ;  the  Confederate  forts  were 
not  flying  their  colors.  Feeling  ran  high.  Officers  in  the  Minne- 
sota's wardroom,  who  that  morning  had  asked  the  surgeon  ques- 


41  New  York  Herald,  n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  24. 

42  Weber  to  Butler,  Fort  Hatteras,  September  5,  1861,  AOR,  IV,  589. 

43  Butler  to  Wool,  on  board  the  Minnesota,  off  Hatteras  Inlet,  August  30,  1861,  AOR, 
IV,  582;  and  Hawkin's  account,  Robert  U.  Johnson  &  Clarence  C.  Buel,  editors,  Battles  and 
Leaders  of  the  Civil  War  .  .  .    (New  York,   1887),  I,  632-633. 

44  Martin  to   [Gatlin],  on  board  the  Minnesota,  at  sea,  August  31,   1861,  NOR,  VI,  141. 

45  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Moore,   The  Republican  Record,  III,   18. 

46  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Moore,   The  Republican  Record,  III,  18. 

47  Martin  to  [Gatlin],  on  board  the  Minnesota,  at  sea,  August  31,   1861,  NOR,  VI,   141. 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  213 

tions  about  wounds  and  treatments,  met  again  to  congratulate 
each  other  upon  the  victory.48  Their  joy  was  premature. 

To  reconnoiter  and  to  aid  the  soldiers  on  shore,  Butler,  at 
4:00  p.  m.,  had  the  Harriet  Lane  and  the  Montice llo  ordered  into 
the  treacherous  inlet.  As  the  Harriet  Lane,  preceded  by  the 
Monticello,  attempted  to  cross  the  bar,  guns  roared  from  Fort 
Hatteras.  The  Monticello's  pivot  gun  and  starboard  battery 
quickly  returned  the  fire.  In  peril  of  running  aground  and  the 
target  of  the  brisk  fire  from  the  fort,  the  gunboat,  declared  its 
commanding  officer,  was  in  a  "tight  place."  Having  little  room  in 
which  to  work  the  ship,  the  sailors  had  difficulty  heading  the 
Monticello  toward  open  water.  One  shell  tore  away  her  boat 
davits,  ramming  fragments  through  the  armory,  pantry,  and 
galley,  another  fragment  ripped  up  the  main  deck,  passed 
through  the  berthing  compartment,  the  paint  locker,  across  the 
fire  room  and  lodged  in  the  port  coal  bunker.49 

This  short  range  blasting  lasted  fifty  minutes  until  the  Minne- 
sota, Wabash,  and  Susquehanna  started  pummeling  both  forts 
with  their  batteries.  Viciously  drubbed,  the  Monticello  escaped 
out  of  range.  Dumbfounded,  the  Federal  troops,  who  by  this  time 
had  raised  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  were  shelled  out  of  Fort  Clark. 
A  retreat  was  hastily  executed.50  During  the  second  dog-watch, 
the  squadron's  guns  ceased  firing  because  of  darkness  and  the 
threatening  appearance  of  the  weather.  Stringham  commanded 
his  ships  to  withdraw  out  to  sea,  except  the  Monticello,  Harriet 
Lane,  and  Pawnee,  who  were  directed  to  lay  off  the  beach  to 
protect  the  soldiers.51 

On  board  the  flagship,  officers  and  men  were  uneasy  and 
despondent.  One  correspondent  chafed : 

The  feeling  throughout  the  ship  .  .  .  was  that  we  were  beaten.  It 
seemed  probable  that  the  vessels  stationed  to  protect  our  men  on 
shore  would  be  compelled  to  leave  them  to  the  mercy  of  the  rebels, 
.  .  .  During  the  night  the  secessionists  might  make  our  soldiers 
prisoners,  reinforce  their  own  forts,  repair  damages,  and  be 
ready  to  show  that  they  were  not  to  be  easily  vanquished. 


48  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  19.  Also  see  Stringham  to 
Welles,  New  York,  September  2,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  121. 

49  Gillis's  preliminary  report,  on  board  the  Monticello,  off  Hatteras  Inlet  August  30,  1861, 
NOR,  VI,  123;  and  Gillis  to  Welles,  on  board  the  Monticello,  off  Hatteras  Inlet.  August  31, 
1861,  NOR,  VI,  125-127;  and  abstract  of  the  Monticello's  log,  August  28,  1861,  NOR,  VI, 
135. 

50  Weber  to  Butler,  Fort  Hatteras,  September  5,  1861,  AOR,  IV,  589;  and  New  York  Herald, 
n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  25. 

61  Stringham  to  Welles,  New  York,  September  2,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  121. 


214  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Tired,  hungry,  and  disgusted,  officers  sat  down  to  their  evening 
meal  only  to  discover  that  it  had  been  stolen  from  the  galley.52 

Federal  troops  on  the  beach  suffered  greater  discomfort.  Rain 
fell.  The  men  discussed  the  possibility  of  capture.  An  officer  and 
twenty-eight  men  were  sent  that  night  to  regain  possession  of 
Fort  Clark;  pickets  were  put  out;  a  second  detachment  was  de- 
ployed to  occupy  the  beach  near  Fort  Hatteras.53 

A  mile  away  Confederate  spirits  were  heightened,  when,  under 
cover  of  darkness  Commodore  Samuel  Barron,  chief  of  the  Con- 
federate coastal  defenses,  and  about  230  officers  and  men  dis- 
embarked from  the  Winslow  and  other  light  draft  vessels  and 
joined  the  garrison.  The  new  arrivals  found  the  fort's  men 
exhausted  from  exposure  and  hard  fighting.  Urged  by  fellow 
officers,  Barron  consented  to  take  command  of  Hatteras.  Antici- 
pating further  reinforcements  at  or  before  midnight,  he  designed 
an  attack  upon  Fort  Clark  which  he  was  forced  to  discard  since 
the  additional  troops  did  not  arrive.54 

During  the  first  watch  the  Monticello,  Harriet  Lane,  and 
Pawnee  were  driven  seaward  by  the  weather,  but  before  dawn 
the  heavy  seas  subsided,  and  Union  ships  bustled  with  activity. 
At  5 : 30  a.  m.  the  squadron  weighed  anchor  and  stood  in  toward 
shore.  Warned  not  to  fire  on  Fort  Clark,  the  lead  ship,  the  Sus- 
quehanna, followed  closely  by  the  Wabash,  steamed  in  and  opened 
fire  on  Hatteras.  Later  the  Cumberland  came  in  under  sail, 
anchored,  and  turned  her  guns  on  the  fort  with  excellent  effect ; 
the  Harriet  Lane  joined  in  the  hostilities.  One  Confederate  officer 
described  the  barrage : 

Firing  of  shells  became  .  .  .  literally  tremendous,  as  we  had  fall- 
ing into  and  immediately  around  the  work  not  less  on  an  average 
of  10  each  minute,  and  the  sea  being  smooth,  the  firing  was 
remarkably  accurate.55 

The  ineffective  range  of  Confederate  guns,  the  lack  of  ammu- 
nition, and  the  casualties  finally  convinced  officers  that  further 
resistance  would  only  result  in  a  greater  loss  of  life  without 
damaging  the  adversary.  As  if  to  settle  their  hesitation,  a  shell 


52  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  19-20. 

53  Weber  to  Butler,  Fort  Hatteras,  September  5,  1861,  AOR,  IV,  689;  and  New  York  Herald, 
n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  25. 

54  Barron  to  Mallory,  on  board  tbe  Minnesota,  at  sea,  August  31,  1861,  NOR.  VI,  138-139. 

55  Andrews  to  [Gatlin],  on  board  the  Minnesota,  at  sea,  September  1,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  144. 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  215 

fell  down  the  ventilator  shaft  into  a  room  next  to  the  principal 
magazine  locker.  Although  the  ensuing  fire  was  brought  under 
control,  Barron  ordered  the  white  flag  run  up  at  11 :07  a.  m.56 

Spying  the  surrender  colors,  the  sailors  on  board  the  Minne- 
sota "flew  to  the  rigging,  and  from  ship  to  ship  rang  the  cheers 
of  victory."57  Shortly  before,  Butler  with  a  small  detachment 
had  disembarked  into  the  Fanny  to  effect  a  landing.  Hearing  the 
cheers  and  whistles  of  victory,  the  General  ordered  the  tugboat 
to  head  into  the  inlet.  The  Fanny  anchored,  Butler  sent  his  aide 
in  a  rowboat  ashore  to  demand  the  meaning  of  the  white  flag. 
He  returned  quickly  bringing  a  memorandum  from  Barron, 
which  stated  that  to  avoid  further  bloodshed  he  was  willing  to 
surrender  the  bulwark,  if  the  officers  and  men  were  set  free. 
In  reply,  Butler  irately  dispatched  the  following : 

The  terms  offered  are  these:  Full  capitulation;  the  officers  and 
men  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war.  No  other  terms  admis- 
sable.  .  .  . 58 

Meanwhile,  the  transports  George  Peabody  and  Adelaide  with 
the  remaining  troops  headed  into  the  inlet,  followed  by  the 
Harriet  Lane.  The  George  Peabody  safely  navigated  the  channel, 
but  the  Adelaide  and  the  Harriet  Lane  piled  up  on  a  sand  bar. 
The  quick  action  of  Commander  Henry  Stellwagen  freed  the 
transport;  the  Harriet  Lane,  however,  remained  hard  aground. 
"This  to  me,"  said  Butler  later, 

was  a  moment  of  the  greatest  anxiety.  By  this  accident  a  valuable 
ship  of  war  and  transport  steamer  [loaded  with  troops]  .  .  .  was 
[sic]  in  front  of  the  enemy.  I  had  demanded  the  most  stringent 
terms  which  he  was  considering.  He  might  refuse,  and  .  .  .  renew 
the  actions.59 

After  waiting  anxiously  forty-five  minutes  but  determined  "not 
to  abate  a  'tittle/  "  Butler's  fears  were  eased  when  Barron  and 
two  high-ranking  officers  boarded  the  tugboat  and  informed  the 
General  that  his  terms  had  been  accepted.  Weighing  anchor,  the 
Fanny  steered  out  of  the  inlet  toward  the  Minnesota.  On  board 


56  Barron  to  Mallory,  on  board  the  Minnesota,  at  sea,  August  31,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  139. 

57  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  20. 

58  Butler  to  Barron,   [Hatteras  Inlet,  August  29,  1861],  AOR,  IV,  583. 

68  Butler  to  Wool,  on  board  the  Minnesota,  off  Hatteras  Inlet,  August  30,  1861,  AOR,  IV, 
584. 


216  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  flagship,  the  Confederate  officers  signed  the  articles  of  capi- 
tulation, which  called  for  unconditional  surrender.60 

Butler  and  a  small  force,  together  with  Colonel  Weber  and  his 
troops,  who  by  this  time  had  surrounded  Hatteras,  formally  took 
the  surrender  of  the  fort.  Disembarked  from  the  transports  now 
anchored  in  the  sound,  the  Federal  troops  marched  into  the 
bastion  and  raised  the  Union  flag.  To  celebrate  the  victory,  Butler 
and  his  men  set  about  to  fire  a  thirteen-gun  salute.  At  the  order 
"fire"  the  guns  sputtered  and  then  fizzled,  and,  due  to  the  strong 
wind,  the  men  standing  a  few  yards  away  instantly  became 
covered  with  kernels  of  unburned  powder.61 

About  600  Confederates  were  herded  on  board  the  Adelaide 
along  with  their  wounded.  Southern  casualties  were  seven  dead 
and  thirty  wounded.62  When  the  prisoners  were  on  board  the 
Adelaide,  "the  call  for  water  was  universal,"  reported  one  crew 
member, 

and  their  thirst  appeared  unquenchable.  .  .  .  The  prisoners  said 
they  had  had  no  water  fit  to  drink  since  they  had  been  in  the 
Fort.  They  were  perfectly  exhausted,  and  could  lie  down  any- 
where for  a  nap.63 

Upon  examination  of  the  redoubt,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
enemy's  armament  was  deficient,  not  because  of  its  grade,  but 
for  "the  utter  worthlessness  of  the  powder  used."64  Surrendered 
were  650  stands  of  small  arms,  twenty-five  cannon  in  and  around 
the  fort,  tents  for  650  men,  a  supply  of  onions,  bread,  and  coffee, 
a  brig  containing  a  quantity  of  cotton,  two  schooners,  and 
whiskey,  which,  said  a  pious  Boston  reporter,  "was  the  most 
dangerous  enemy  our  troops  were  called  upon  to  meet."65 

The  only  damage  to  the  Union  force  was  the  Harriet  Lane, 
still  aground  in  the  inlet.  The  crew  endeavored  to  float  her; 
ammunition,  stores,  provisions,  spars,  coal,  and  32-pounders 
were  jettisoned.  Men,  boats,  and  equipment  were  rushed  from 


so  Articles  of  Capitulation,  August  29,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  120. 

81  Butler's  testimony,  January  15,  1862,  "Report  of  the  Point  Committee  on  the  Conduct  of 
the  War,"  Senate  Report,  No.  108,  pt.  iii,  37  Cong.,  3  sess.    (Washington,  1863).  284. 

62  For  Confederate  casualties,  see  King  to  Stellwagen,  Hampton  Roads,  August  31,  1861, 
NOR    VI    128-129 

68  Public  Ledger  (Philadelphia),  September  3,  1861. 

6t  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  22;  and  Butler's  testimony, 
January  15,  1862,  "Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  .  .  .  ,"  Senate  Report,  No.  108,  pt.  iii,  37 
Cong.,   3  sess.,  284. 

66  Boston  Journal,  n.  d.,  Moore,  The  Republican  Record,  III,  22. 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  217 

the  other  ships  in  the  squadron.  On  board  the  grounded  vessel, 
all  hands  were  kept  busy  throughout  the  night,  but  to  no  avail.66 

Late  the  same  evening,  Butler  and  Stringham  met  in  the  com- 
modore's cabin.  Their  orders  had  been  explicit.  The  Federal 
forces  were  to  level  the  forts,  block  the  channel,  and  return. 
However,  the  General  recognized  that  Hatteras  would  be  invalu- 
able as  a  depot  for  the  blockading  squadron,  as  a  safe  refuge  in 
all  weathers  for  the  coasting  trade,  and  as  a  staging  area  for 
future  operations  against  North  Carolina  and  Virginia.67  Orders, 
therefore,  were  disobeyed:  the  forts  were  not  levelled,  nor  the 
channel  blocked. 

To  hold  the  inlet,  troops  and  a  naval  force  consisting  of  the 
Monticello,  Pawnee,  Susquehanna,  and  the  grounded  Harriet 
Lane  remained  behind.  The  following  day,  August  30,  1861,  the 
squadron  headed  northward  and  Butler  arrived  in  Washington 
late  the  same  night.  On  September  5,  Secretary  of  War  Simon 
Cameron  dispatched  the  following  message  to  Wool: 

The  position  at  Cape  Hatteras  must  be  held,  and  you  will  adopt 
such  measures,  in  connection  with  the  Navy  Department,  as  may 
be  necessary  to  effect  the  object.68 

The  seizure  of  Hatteras  was  successful  because  of  the  squad- 
ron's accurate  fire  with  its  smothering  effect  on  the  forts.  The 
most  notable  flaw  in  the  execution  of  the  maneuver  was  the  lack 
of  organization.  Faulty  intelligence  may  have  been  responsible 
for  the  singular  lack  of  foresight  displayed  in  landing  troops 
through  the  breakers.  If  the  planning  had  been  thorough  or 
Union  leaders  more  aggressive,  thrusts  at  neighboring  Con- 
federate cities  might  have  created  considerable  havoc.  Instead 
of  "wasting  time  in  speechifying,"  censured  the  Philadelphia 
Public  Ledger,  Stringham  and  Butler  should  have  followed  up 
their  blows.69  A  Confederate  naval  officer  confided  that  the 
enemy  erred  in  not  taking  possession  of  the  sounds  immediately 

after  capturing  Hatteras — "there  was  nothing  to  prevent  it "70 

Had  there  been  more  troops,  more  light  draft  vessels  which  could 
easily  navigate  through  the  sounds,  a  carefully  elaborated  and 


66  Faunce  to  Stringham,  Hampton  Roads,  September  6,  1861,  NOR,  VI,  129-131. 

67  Butler  to  Wool,  on  board  the  Minnesota,  off  Hatteras  Inlet,  August  30,  1861,  AOR,  IV, 
584-585. 

68  Cameron  to  Wool,  Washington,  September  5,  1861,  AOR,  IV,  606. 

69  Public  Ledger    (Philadelphia),   September  6,    1861. 

70  Parker,  Recollections  of  a  Naval  Officer,  215. 


218  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

aggressive  plan  of  attack,  the  Hatteras  expedition  could  have 
pushed  into  North  Carolina,  as  Federal  troops  did  a  year  later. 

Credit  for  the  initial  success  of  the  expedition  must  be  given 
to  the  Federal  Navy — unaided,  the  squadron  gained  the  imme- 
diate objective.  Confederate  officers  refused  to  surrender  to  the 
Army,  but  insisted,  since  it  was  a  naval  victory,  the  articles  of 
capitulation  be  drawn  up  jointly  between  Union  army  and  naval 
officers.  Although  the  Army  played  a  secondary  part  in  the 
attack,  it  was  essential  to  hold  what  had  been  won.  The  wisdom 
of  the  decision  to  garrison  the  island  became  evident  in  1862, 
when  Hatteras  became  the  staging  area  for  the  successful  army- 
navy  expedition  against  Roanoke  Island.  Lessons  learned  during 
the  Hatteras  attack  no  doubt  aided  future  combined  expeditions 
against  Port  Royal,  Roanoke  Island,  New  Orleans,  Mobile  Bay, 
and  Fort  Fisher. 

The  capture  of  forts  Hatteras  and  Clark  was  a  timely  victory 
for  the  Union.  Coming  soon  after  the  disaster  at  Bull  Run,  it 
bolstered  northern  morale.  The  effect  of  the  victory  in  New  York, 
a  columnist  declared,  "contributes  to  the  cheerful  feeling  that 
prevails,  by  encouraging  hope  that  the  tide  of  victory  is  now 
turned  from  the  rebels  to  the  Union  arms."71  In  Washington,  the 
Hatteras  success  strengthened  the  position  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment. Merchants  and  insurance  officers  of  New  York  posted  a 
congratulatory  letter  to  Commodore  Stringham,  expressing  their 
gratitude  for  the  breakup  of  the  Hatteras  privateers.72  The  vic- 
tory "has  gilded  the  weathercocks  of  the  Navy  Department.  .  .  " 
observed  a  foreign  correspondent.73  "It  gives  us  the  advantage  . . . 
of  our  navy,  from  which  we  have  hitherto  derived  no  benefit 
commensurate  with  its  cost  or  its  power,"  noted  one  Union  news- 
paper.74 Not  only  did  the  expedition  quicken  northern  morale  and 
gain  prestige  for  the  department,  but  it  caused  alarm  in  North 
Carolina  and  dejection  throughout  most  of  the  South.  According 
to  Chief  Engineer  Thompson,  North  Carolina  had  relied  upon 
its  fortifications  at  the  island,  and,  when  these  installations  gave 
way,  residents  thought  the  whole  thing  was  gone.75  The  Union 
Navy's  timing  had  caught  the  southern  coastal  defenses,  at  least 


71  New  York  columnist  quoted  in  Public  Ledger   (Philadelphia),  September  2,  1861. 

72  Public  Ledger   (Philadelphia),  September  4,  1861. 

78  The  Times    (London),   September  23,   1861.  Also  see   September   16,   1861. 
7*  Public  Ledger    (Philadelphia),   September  2,  1861. 

75  Butler's  testimony,   January   15,   1862,    "Report  of  the   Joint   Committee  .   .   .   ,"   Senate 
Report,  No.  108,  pt.  iii,  37  Cong.,  3  sess.,  288. 


The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861  219 

at  Hatteras,  unprepared.  The  officers  and  men  at  the  fort  had 
gone  about  their  daily  affairs,  satisfied  with  the  success  6i  th^ 
privateers,  and  had  been  unconcerned  with  strengthening  the 
defenses. 

Another  important  result  of  the  victory  was  that  the  Navy's 
objectives,  as  outlined  in  1861 — to  blockade  the  rebellious  ports, 
to  attack  coastal  strongholds,  to  choke  privateer  activity — were 
indeed  fulfilled  in  the  combined  assault  upon  Hatteras  Inlet.  The 
rendezvous  area  quashed,  Confederate  marauders  from  Hatteras 
no  longer  preyed  upon  Union  cargo  ships  plying  the  coast  of 
North  Carolina.  Fortifications  at  another  outlet,  Oracoke,  were 
captured  without  a  struggle  in  late  September,  1861,  by  blue- 
jackets sent  from  Fort  Hatteras.  Two  months  later,  schooners 
loaded  with  stone  were  sunk  at  Ocracoke,  closing  this  outlet  com- 
pletely to  Confederate  commerce  and  raiders.  These  successful 
operations  completed,  the  Union  blockade,  so  important  to  the 
ultimate  Union  victory,  was  considerably  strengthened. 


PAPER  MANUFACTURING  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA 
l      >;' |    ,  ,   .        BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

By  Ernest  M.  Lander,  Jr. 

At  the  time  that  Dr.  Charles  Herty  made  his  discoveries  for 
manufacturing  paper  from  southern  pines  very  few  paper  mills 
were  to  be  found  in  the  Southeast  and  none  in  South  Carolina. 
Yet  long  before  the  Civil  War  a  small  paper  manufacturing  in- 
dustry sprang  up  in  South  Carolina,  and  between  1806  and  1860 
at  least  nine  mills  were  erected  within  the  state,  four  by  one 
company.  However,  during  the  Civil  War  and  the  years  immedi- 
ately following  the  industry  disappeared  entirely. 

George  Waring,  of  Columbia,  constructed  the  first  paper  mill 
in  the  state  and  in  November,  1806,  announced  that  it  would  be 
in  operation  within  a  few  weeks.  He  asserted  that  the  success  of 
"this  expensive  experiment' '  depended  greatly  on  public  aid  in 
preserving  old  rags,  which  he  would  gladly  purchase.1  In  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Benjamin  he  operated  the  factory  until 
sometime  after  the  War  of  1812.  Although  the  brothers  carried 
on  a  rather  extensive  trade  with  Waring  and  Hayne,  Charleston 
factors,  nothing  is  known  of  the  size  of  the  establishment,  the 
labor  force  employed,  or  the  productivity  of  the  mill.2 

The  second  paper  mill  in  South  Carolina  was  likewise  estab- 
lished near  Columbia.  J.  J.  Faust  and  Company,  printers  and 
publishers,  constructed  it  on  the  banks  of  the  Broad  River  within 
two  miles  of  the  town  and  started  operations  in  January,  1827. 
Local  newspapers  immediately  began  to  use  the  factory's  news- 
print, labeled  by  one  editor  as  "excellent."  He  said  that  the 
proprietors  intended  to  expand  the  facilities  of  the  mill  and  pro- 
duce a  finer  grade  of  paper.3  However,  J.  J.  Faust  and  Company 
did  not  retain  ownership  of  the  establishment  for  long.  Within 
a  year  James  J.  B.  White,  William  A.  Bricknell,  and  John  B. 
White  had  secured  control.  They  decided  to  renovate  the  plant 
and  re-equip  it  with  more  up-to-date  machinery.  In  February, 


1  The  South  Carolina  State  Gazette  and  Columbian  Advertiser  (Columbia),  November  15, 
1806. 

2  George  Waring  Papers,  in  possession  of  Dr.  J.  I.  Waring,  Charleston,  S.  C.  A  directory 
of  business  firms  in  Columbia  listed  the  mill  as  late  as  May  14,  1816.  The  Telescope  (Colum- 
bia). Benjamin  Waring,  a  large  planter,  also  operated  a  tanyard  and  had  been  a  partner 
in  the  ill-fated  cotton  mill  venture  at  Stateburg,  1790-1795.  Charleston  Courier,  February  26, 
1845;  Joseph  Johnson,  Traditions  and  Reminiscences  Chiefly  of  the  American  Revolution  in 
the  South  .  .  .    (Charleston,   S.   C,   1851),   196. 

8 South-Carolina  State  Gazette  and  Columbia  Advertiser   (Columbia),  April  28,  1827. 

[220] 


Paper  Manufacturing  in  South  Carolina  221 

1831,  with  apologies  to  the  public  for  delays  and  inconveniences 
caused,  they  announced  it  to  be  in  ' 'complete  order  and  full 
operation."  Their  labor  force  consisted  of  "a  number  of"  white 
journeymen  and  black  slaves.4  Unfortunately,  their  efforts  came 
to  nought,  for  less  than  a  year  later  fire  destroyed  the  mill  with 
all  its  new  equipment  at  a  loss  of  nearly  $10,000.  Having  no 
insurance,  the  partners  made  no  attempt  to  rebuild  the  factory ; 
consequently,  their  remaining  outbuildings  and  workers'  accom- 
modations, costing  another  $10,000,  became  practically  a  dead 
loss.5 

In  1834  Andrew  Patterson,  a  so-called  "wealthy  and  per- 
severing" paper  manufacturer  from  Tennessee,  purchased  the 
site  of  Adam  Carruth's  old  armory  six  miles  below  Greenville 
and  announced  that  he  would  have  a  paper  mill  in  operation 
within  twelve  months.  He  was  overly  optimistic  in  his  forecast, 
for  the  factory  did  not  turn  out  its  first  paper  until  August,  1836. 
In  the  meantime,  James  A.  Patterson  joined  him  in  the  venture. 
By  1840  the  factory  was  employing  thirty  workers  and  annually 
producing  $20,000  worth  of  paper  products.  Although  seemingly 
prosperous  the  Pattersons  soon  lost  control  of  the  property  when 
their  creditors,  including  Benajah  Dunham,  filed  suit  against 
them  for  over  $12,000.  After  considerable  litigation  the  sheriff 
in  February,  1842,  sold  the  paper  mill  under  the  hammer.  Dun- 
ham bought  the  property  for  only  $3,300.6 

Benajah  Dunham,  sometime  mayor  of  Greenville,  decided  to 
embark  upon  paper  manufacturing  on  a  large  scale.  In  1846  he 
secured  a  charter  from  the  state  legislature  incorporating  the 
Greenville  Manufacturing  Company  with  an  authorized  capital 
of  $50,000,  and  a  year  later  a  visitor  reported  that  Dunham  had 
one  twenty-horsepower  mill  in  operation  making  coarse  paper, 
while  at  the  same  time  "rebuilding"  a  larger  one  of  thirty  horse- 
power for  manufacturing  finer  grades.  A  sawmill,  a  woodwork- 
ing shop,  and  a  blacksmith  shop  were  connected  with  the  estab- 
lishment.7 Both  paper  mills  were  wooden  structures,  the  larger 


i  Southern  Times  &  State  Gazette  (Columbia),  February  23,  1831.  In  1829  White,  Brick- 
nell,  and  White  petitioned  the  General  Assembly  to  relieve  their  workmen  of  road,  patrol, 
and  militia  duty,  all  of  which  greatly  hampered  the  efficient  operation  of  the  mill.  They 
maintained  that  their  establishment  was  of  considerable  benefit  in  keeping  money  at  home 
that  formerly  went  north  for  paper.  MSS  File — "Public  Improvements:  Manufacturing," 
South   Carolina  Historical   Commission,   Columbia 

5  Charleston  Courier,  January  10,  1832. 

6  Sixth  Census  of  the  United  States,  1840,  Statistics  (Washington,  1841),  199;  Charleston 
Courier,  January  17,  1834,  September  9,   1836;  Greenville  County,  Deed  Book  V,   255-257. 

7  Statutes  at  Large  of  South  Carolina  (12  volumes,  Columbia,  S.  C,  1836-1874),  XI,  426- 
27;  Charleston  Courier,  October  15,  1847. 


222  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

one  being  a  four-story  building.8  Another  account  stated  that 
most  of  Dunham's  papermakers  and  skilled  mechanics  were  his 
own  slaves.9 

On  February  10,  1849,  Dunham  suffered  a  severe  setback  when 
fire  destroyed  both  paper  mills,  about  20,000  pounds  of  rags,  and 
$2,000  worth  of  paper.  His  total  loss  was  at  least  $20,000.  Al- 
though he  had  no  insurance,  he  immediately  rebuilt  a  paper  mill 
and  the  following  year  sold  it  with  his  tin  manufactory  for 
$20,000  to  the  reorganized  Greenville  Manufacturing  Company. 
Dunham  took  stock  as  payment  and  was  elected  president  of  the 
concern.  His  nephew  James  B.  Sherman  was  named  secretary- 
treasurer  and  Greenville  agent  for  the  factory.  The  corporation 
soon  had  two  paper  mills  in  operation  again.10 

On  the  Reedy  River,  a  mile  below  Dunham's  establishment, 
Vardry  McBee  in  1844  installed  paper  manufacturing  machinery 
under  the  same  roof  with  his  cotton  mill.  By  the  end  of  the  decade 
his  factory,  valued  at  $10,000,  was  as  productive  as  Dunham's. 
Each  turned  out  120,000  pounds  of  paper  annually,  McBee  using 
fifteen  workers  and  Dunham  nineteen.11 

In  1849  a  group  of  entrepreneurs,  including  several  prominent 
Charleston  businessmen,  organized  and  procured  from  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  a  charter  for  the  South  Carolina  Paper  Manu- 
facturing Company.  It  was  to  be  capitalized  at  $20,000  with  the 
privilege  of  extending  its  stock  to  $60,000.  Five  years  later  the 
legislature  amended  the  charter  to  permit  the  company  to  in- 
crease its  capital  stock  to  $150,000.12  The  stockholders  selected 
for  their  president  Ker  Boyce,  a  Charleston  capitalist  who  was 
also  a  large  investor  in  the  Graniteville  Manufacturing  Company 
and  one  of  the  richest  men  in  the  state.  Joseph  Walker  was  named 
secretary-treasurer  and  agent  in  Charleston,  and  Sumner  Brown, 
"a  gentleman  of  large  experience  in  the  business"  from  Connecti- 
cut, was  hired  as  superintendent.13 


8  The  Spartan  (Spartanburg),  February  13,  1849. 
»  The  Southern  Patriot    (Greenville),  May  30,  1851. 

10  The  Spartan  (Spartanburg),  February  13,  1849;  The  Southern  Patriot  (Greenville), 
June  17,  1852;  Greenville  County,  Deed  Book  W,  332.  Dunham's  will  in  1853  showed  that  he 
had  owned  $20,000  worth  of  stock  in  the  company,  $5,000  worth  of  which  was  sold  to 
Sherman.  Greenville  County,  Wills,  Apt.  13,  No.  130. 

11  Charleston  Courier,  September  9,  1844,  October  15,  1847;  MS,  Census  1850,  Products  of 
Industry,    South    Carolina:    Greenville   District,    South    Carolina   Historical   Commission. 

12  Statutes  at  Large  of  South  Carolina,  XI,  559-60;  XII,  321. 

13  Charleston  Courier,  February  12,  1851;  The  Spartan  (Spartanburg),  February  27,  1851. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1854  Boyce  owned  $15,000  worth  of  stock  in  the  company  and 
was  probably  the  largest  shareholder.  His  entire  estate  was  valued  at  well  above  $1,000,000. 
MS,  Account  of  the  Division  of  Ker  Boyce's  Estate,  James  Petigru  Boyce  Papers,  Library  of 
Congress.  Other  associates  included  Benjamin  C.  Pressley,  Ettsell  L.  Adams,  A.  V.  Dawson, 
and  James  Purvis.  Petition  for  incorporation  by  the  South  Carolina  Paper  Manufacturing 
Company,   1849,  MSS  File — "Pub.   Imp.:    Mfg.,"   South   Carolina   Historical   Commission. 


Paper  Manufacturing  in  South  Carolina  223 

The  South  Carolina  Paper  Manufacturing  Company  located  its 
plant  on  Horse  Creek  a  few  miles  below  Graniteville  and  within 
100  feet  of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad.  Superintendent  Brown 
contracted  with  Goddard,  Rice  and  Company,  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, to  furnish  more  than  $10,000  worth  of  the  latest  type  of 
machinery,  and  in  February,  1852,  Walker  notified  the  machin- 
ists that  the  buildings  were  ready  for  the  installation  of  the 
equipment.14 

The  establishment  consisted  of  a  large  two-story  brick  build- 
ing, 250  by  50  feet,  with  a  one-story  wing,  40  by  40,  a  stockhouse, 
90  by  40,  a  depot,  60  by  30,  and  a  number  of  cottages  for  the 
workers.  The  canal,  running  parallel  with  the  railroad,  was  one- 
half  mile  long.  The  water  it  supplied  turned  five  wheels,  but  that 
was  still  insufficient  power  for  the  machinery,  and  a  small  sta- 
tionary steam  engine  was  used  as  an  auxiliary.  The  labor  force 
consisted  of  about  fifty  employees,  of  whom  one-half  were  women 
and  girls  and  a  dozen  were  slaves.15 

The  Bath  Paper  Mills,  as  the  establishment  became  known 
after  1858,  was  the  largest  factory  of  its  type  in  the  South  on  the 
eve  of  the  Civil  War.  Its  capital  investment  was  $100,000  and 
it  annually  manufactured  900,000  pounds  of  paper  valued  at 
$81,000.16 

One  other  paper  mill  was  established  in  the  state  before  1860. 
Philip  C.  Lester,  a  Greenville  cotton  manufacturer,  in  February, 
1853,  entered  into  a  partnership  with  Thomas  L.  and  P.  T. 
Fowler  to  erect  a  plant  on  Rocky  Creek  in  Greenville  District.  It 
was  to  be  situated  near  his  cotton  factory.  Each  partner  was  to 
put  up  $600  cash  to  be  used  for  purchasing  machinery  when 
needed,  but  Lester  was  to  retain  title  to  the  land  until  all  debts 
had  been  extinguished.17 

South  Carolina  paper  mills  turned  out  a  variety  of  products, 
all  of  which  generally  received  praise  from  the  local  press.  The 


14  Goddard,  Rice  and  Company  to  Joseph  Walker,  December  10,  1851;  Joseph  Walker  to 
J.  H.  Hayden,  March  12,  1852,  Hayden  Family  Papers,  Library  of  Congress. 

15  Camden  Weekly  Journal,  March  8,  1853;  Charleston  Daily  Courier,  February  11,   1860. 

16  Eighth  Census  of  the  United  States,  1860,  Manufactures    (Washington,  1865),  554. 

17  Greenville  County,  Deed  Book  X,  59-60.  It  should  be  noted  that  South  Carolina  counties 
were  known  as  "districts"  until  1868.  Several  other  paper  mills  were  projected  from  time  to 
time,  but  none  apparently  began  operations.  In  1824  William  Campbell,  of  Yorkville,  formed 
a  partnership  with  Thomas  Falls,  of  Tennessee,  to  erect  a  paper  mill  in  York  District. 
Pioneer  and  Yorkville  Advertiser,  February  7,  1824.  Ten  years  later  a  company  was  organized 
to  build  one  near  Vaucluse  cotton  factory  in  Edgefield  District.  The  buildings,  so  it  was 
reported,  had  been  constructed  and  an  agent  sent  north  to  buy  the  machinery.  Niles'  Weekly 
Register,  XLVI  (August  2,  1834),  384.  In  1847  a  partnership  was  reported  to  have  been 
formed  in  Columbia  for  the  same  purpose.  The  South  Carolinian  (Columbia),  June  1,  1847. 
Three  years  later  the  Hamburg  Paper  Mills  was  incorporated  by  the  General  Assembly. 
Statutes  at  Large  of  South  Carolina,  XII,  38-39. 


224  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Warings  sent  newsprint  and  wrapping  paper  to  Charleston. 
White,  Bricknell,  and  White  produced  newsprint,  wrapping 
paper,  and  pasteboard.  Dunham's  agent  in  Columbia  listed 
wrapping  paper,  brown  and  blue  yarn  paper,  heavy  bag  paper, 
yellow  envelope  paper,  and  apothecaries  blue  paper.  The  South 
Carolina  Paper  Manufacturing  Company  turned  out  book  paper, 
newsprint,  and  manila  wrapping  paper.  This  company  adver- 
tised: "No  pains  or  expense  has  been  spared  to  render  it  equal 
to  the  best  Northern  mills,  all  the  latest  and  most  approved 
machinery  having  been  introduced  into  the  same."18 

A  correspondent  who  visited  McBee's  and  Dunham's  mills  in 
Greenville  District  reported  that  they  manufactured  all  qualities 
of  paper  from  "the  finest  Letter  Sheet  to  the  common  brown 
Wrappers  and  all  sizes  and  colours."19  The  Greenville  Mountain- 
eer called  McBee's  paper  "a  most  excellent  article  and  would  do 
credit  to  any  manufactory  in  the  United  States."20  At  one  time 
when  McBee's  factory  temporarily  ceased  operations  the  editor 
of  the  Laurensville  Herald  apologized  to  his  readers  for  the  poor 
quality  of  paper  he  had  to  use  as  a  substitute.  He  proclaimed 
McBee's  paper  to  be  "far  superior"  to  any  he  had  procured 
previously.21 

In  the  technique  of  manufacturing,  as  employed  by  McBee  and 
Dunham,  women  and  children  first  sorted  the  best  rags  for  sep- 
arate processing.  The  rags  next  passed  through  a  wire  sieve 
duster  and  into  a  boiling  vat  of  strong  lime  water.  After  this  an 
engine  cut  them  into  small  pieces,  and  the  rags  went  through 
another  boiling,  which  included  bleaching  and  dyeing.  A  machine 
and  a  mangling  tub  reduced  the  mass  to  pulp  of  the  proper  con- 
sistency to  make  paper.  A  stream  of  water  then  washed  it  down 
a  trough  against  a  revolving  cylinder  of  fine  wire  which  picked 
up  the  pulp  and  passed  it  onto  a  piece  of  woolen  cloth  brushing 
against  the  other  side  of  the  cylinder.  The  cloth  with  the  pulp 
passed  over  two  or  three  steam-heated  cylinders  which  dried 
the  pulp,  thus  making  paper.22 

All  the  paper  factories  found  a  market  for  a  considerable  por- 


18  George  Waring  to  Waring  and  Hayne,  November  30,  1809,  January  13,  1810,  George 
Waring  Papers;  South-Carolina  State  Gazette  and  Columbia  Advertiser  (Columbia),  June  28, 
1828;  The  Daily  Telegraph  (Columbia),  February  3,  1848;  Charleston  Daily  Courier,  March 
25,  1853. 

19  Charleston  Courier,   September  9,   1850. 

20  May  2,   1845. 

21  October  6,  1854. 

22  Charleston  Courier,  October  5,  1849,  September  9,  1850. 


Paper  Manufacturing  in  South  Carolina  225 

tion  of  their  products  within  their  home  state.  As  already  seen, 
the  Warings  sent  much  of  their  paper  to  Charleston.  J.  J.  Faust 
and  Company  and  its  successors,  White,  Bricknell,  and  White, 
supplied  newsprint  for  newspapers  in  the  Columbia  area  and 
sent  its  products  as  far  into  the  back  country  as  Yorkville.23 
McBee  boasted  of  numerous  clients  among  the  piedmont  news- 
papers, and  Joseph  Walker  was  his  agent  in  Charleston  before 
the  South  Carolina  Paper  Manufacturing  Company  was  organ- 
ized.24 Dunham  shipped  his  paper  either  to  Columbia  or 
Augusta.25 

When  the  South  Carolina  Paper  Manufacturing  Company 
began  operations  with  its  output  of  3,000  pounds  of  paper  per 
day,  it  spread  its  sales  to  Augusta,  Charleston,  Savannah,  and 
even  as  far  away  as  New  Orleans  and  Nashville.26  The  rapidity 
with  which  it  could  fill  a  large  order  was  reported  by  the  Daily 
Courier,  September  11,  1858.  On  Saturday,  September  4,  the 
Charleston  agent  received  notice  of  a  ship  sailing  for  New 
Orleans.  He  telegraphed  the  mill's  manager  in  Augusta,  and  the 
latter  sent  down  shipments  nightly  on  the  express  freight  train 
to  Charleston.  Up  to  Friday  morning,  September  10,  nearly  600 
reams  of  large  printing  paper  valued  between  $2,500  and  $3,000 
had  been  delivered  aboard  the  vessel. 

For  a  time  during  the  late  forties  and  early  fifties  the  South 
Carolina  mills  appeared  to  be  unable  to  meet  the  demand.  The 
Carolina  Times,  a  Columbia  paper,  on  one  occasion  found  that  it 
would  have  to  wait  for  two  months  before  it  could  obtain  any 
newsprint  from  Joseph  Walker,  the  agent  for  the  South  Carolina 
Paper  Manufacturing  Company.  Its  editor  turned  to  an  agent 
for  one  of  the  Greenville  mills — probably  Dunham's — and  was 
informed  that  a  commission  merchant  from  the  north  had  en- 
gaged all  that  the  mill  could  manufacture  in  the  next  year.  He 
finally  had  to  purchase  paper  from  outside  the  state.27 

One  of  the  major  problems  the  paper  mill  proprietors  faced 


23  Pioneer  &  South-Carolina  Whig  (Yorkville),  December  18,  1830.  J.  J.  Faust  received 
encouragement  from  the  Camden  Journal,  May  12,  1827;  but  the  Pendleton  Messenger,  No- 
vember 7,  1827,  explained  that  infrequent  intercourse  between  Pendleton  and  Columbia  forced 
it  to  buy  its  paper  from  Philadelphia.  It  was  sent  by  water  up  the  Savannah  River. 

24  Charleston  Courier,  September  9,  1850.  Among  the  newspapers  that  patronized  McBee 
were  the  Laurensville  Herald,  October  6,  1854;  The  Spartan  (Spartanburg),  February  13, 
1849;  the  Greenville  Mountaineer,  May  2,  1845;  and  The  Southern  Patriot  (Greenville), 
February  28,  1851. 

25  Charleston  Courier,  September  9,  1850.  Dunham's  Columbia  agent  advertised  500  reams 
of  his  paper  in  The  Daily  Telegraph   (Columbia),  October  20,  1847. 

26  Charleston  Daily  Courier,  February  11,  1860. 

27  Cited  in  Charleston  Daily  Courier,  March  3,  1854. 


226  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

from  first  to  last  was  that  of  procuring  rags.  George  Waring 
experienced  some  such  difficulty.  He  advertised  for  rags,  offering 
from  $1.00  per  hundredweight  for  old  woolen  rags  up  to  $5.00 
for  clean  linen  rags.28  To  his  kinsman  Richard  Waring  in  Charles- 
ton he  wrote:  "Let  me  know  if  it  would  be  convenient  for  you 
to  purchase  or  receive  old  Rags  and  send  up  here  by  Boat,  I 
would  always  endeavor  to  have  money  in  your  hands  for  that 
purpose  and  allow  you  ten  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  the  Rags."  That 
method  apparently  became  standard  procedure  for  obtaining 
raw  materials.  Several  years  later  Waring  wrote  Waring  and 
Hayne :  ". .  .  the  proceeds  of  the  Paper,  I  wish  to  remain  in  your 
hands,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  for  Rags,  which  you  will  do 
when  you  meet  with  any  person  who  will  deliver  them  on  board 
of  the  Boat  well  packed,  none  will  answer  but  clean  Cotton  or 
linen  Rags,  and  I  think  best  to  be  packed  in  Boxes."29 

Benajah  Dunham's  agents  collected  rags  for  him  whenever 
they  could  procure  them.  He  also  sold  paper  in  August  for  tin 
plate,  which  he  manufactured  into  finished  products  in  his  tin 
manufactory.  These  in  turn  he  sold  in  his  store  to  local  citizens 
for  rags.  Another  source  of  raw  materials  for  Dunham,  as  well 
as  the  other  Greenville  paper  manufacturers,  was  through  the 
Tennessee  wagon  trade,  which  brought  in  high  quality  flaxen 
rags  to  exchange  for  cotton  yarn.30  Besides  these  sources  some 
of  the  mills  purchased  cotton  waste  from  nearby  textile  mills. 
Even  so,  it  was  frequently  difficult  to  obtain  enough  raw  material 
to  keep  in  full  operation,  and  on  one  occasion  McBee  closed  his 
factory  for  that  reason.  The  scarcity  of  raw  material  may  have 
been  the  prime  factor  in  causing  him  to  stop  altogether  in  1858 
and  offer  his  machinery  for  sale.31 

All  the  South  Carolina  paper  mills  went  through  a  period  of 
reorganization  just  prior  to  the  Civil  War.  How  many,  if  any, 
could  attribute  their  financial  troubles  to  the  panic  of  1857 
cannot  be  determined.  William  Gregg,  the  well-known  cotton 
manufacturer,  said  in  1860  that  they  suffered  from  the  lack  of 


28  The  South  Carolina  State  Gazette  and  Columbian  Advertiser  (Columbia),  November 
15,  1806. 

^November  12,  1806,  January  13,  1810,  George  Waring  Papers.  J.  J.  Faust  and  Company 
offered  to  pay  $3.50  per  hundredweight  for  all  linen,  cotton,  and  hemp  rags  or  old  sail 
cloth,  South-Carolina  State  Gazette  and  Columbia  Advertiser   (Columbia),  April  7,   1827. 

a>  The  Southern  Patriot    (Greenville),  May  30,   1851;  Charleston   Courier,   October   15   1847. 

31  Laurensville  Herald,  October  6,  1854,  January  29,  1858.  The  South  Carolina  Paper 
Manufacturing  Company  advertised  widely  for  rags.  Part  of  its  raw  material  was  waste 
from  the  nearby  Vaucluse  cotton  factory.  Camden  Weekly  Journal,  July  11,  1854;  MSS, 
Letterbooks,  J.  J.  Gregg  and  Company,  I,  326,  South  Caroliniana  Library,  Columbia. 


Paper  Manufacturing  in  South  Carolina  227 

home  patronage.  For  that  reason  the  South  Carolina  Paper 
Manufacturing  Company  "lost  its  first  capital,"  as  he  put  it.32  Be 
that  as  it  may,  in  1858  the  company  leased  its  plant  for  several 
years  to  John  G.  Winter,  George  W.  Winter,  and  John  McKinney, 
who  operated  it  under  a  charter  of  their  own :  Bath  Paper  Mills 
Company.33 

When  Philip  Lester's  partnership  with  the  Fowlers  expired  in 
1858,  their  mill  had  earned  insufficient  profits  to  reduce  the  in- 
debtedness of  the  enterprise.  Thereupon,  all  three  owners  agreed 
that  the  property  should  remain  in  Lester's  hands.  With  the  aid 
of  his  three  sons  Lester  continued  to  run  the  factory,  listed  in 
1860  as  having  a  capital  investment  of  $8,000  and  employing 
nine  workers.34 

Benajah  Dunham's  establishment  continued  operations  after 
his  death  in  1853,  but  under  the  name  of  J.  B.  Sherman  and 
Company.  However,  its  financial  structure  was  insecure  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  was  indebted  to  a  considerable  amount  to  Dun- 
ham's estate.  In  1857  his  executors  brought  suit  against  the 
company  and  forced  it  into  bankruptcy.  For  a  mere  $3,655  it  was 
sold  to  two  buyers  who  declared  their  intention  of  discontinuing 
paper  making,  but  a  few  months  later  Robert  Greenfield  pur- 
chased the  factory  and  resumed  the  business  of  manufacturing 
paper.35 

In  sum,  South  Carolina  had  three  paper  mills  in  operation  on 
the  eve  of  the  sectional  conflict:  the  Bath  Paper  Mills,  Green- 
field's, and  Lester's.  They  were  capitalized  at  $111,000,  employed 
fifty-seven  workers,  and  annually  produced  paper  worth  almost 
$100,000.  For  the  states  destined  to  secede  Virginia  led  in  the 
number  of  mills  and  in  the  value  of  annual  production  with  nine 
and  $270,000,  respectively.  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  South 
Carolina  followed  in  the  order  given.  In  view  of  the  production 
of  the  northern  mills  the  South' s  output  was  negligible,  for  New 
York  alone  had  126  mills,  and  the  total  for  the  United  States  was 
555,  whose  yearly  production  amounted  to  over  $21,000,000 
worth  of  paper.36 


32  William    Gregg,    "Southern    Patronage    to    Southern    Imports    and    Southern    Industry," 
DeBow's  Review,  XXIX   (August,  1860),  230. 

33  Charleston  Daily  Courier,   March    3,    1858;   December,    1858;   Statutes  at   Large   of   South 
Carolina,  XII,  599-600. 

34  Greenville  County,   Deed   Book  Y,   661-66,   669;   MS,    Census    1860,    Products   of   Industry, 
South  Carolina:   Greenville  District. 

35  Charleston  Daily  Courier,   September  28,   November   9,   1857;  Keowee  Courier    (Pickens), 
July  3,  1858. 

88  Eighth  Census,  1860,  Manufactures,  cxxxi. 


PAPERS  FROM  THE  FIFTY-FIRST  ANNUAL  SESSION 

OF  THE  STATE  LITERARY  AND  HISTORICAL 

ASSOCIATION,  RALEIGH,  DECEMBER,  1951 

INTRODUCTION 

By  Christopher  Crittenden 

The  fifty-first  annual  session  of  the  State  Literary  and  His- 
torical Association  was  held  at  the  Hotel  Sir  Walter  in  Raleigh, 
Friday,  December  7,  1951.  Meeting  concurrently  with  the  Asso- 
ciation were  the  North  Carolina  Folklore  Society,  the  North 
Carolina  State  Art  Society,  the  North  Carolina  Society  for  the 
Preservation  of  Antiquities,  the  North  Carolina  Society  of 
County  and  Local  Historians,  and  the  Roanoke  Island  Historical 
Association.  At  the  morning  meeting  of  the  Association,  with 
President  Robert  Lee  Humber  of  Greenville  presiding,  the  fol- 
lowing papers  were  read :  "Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colo- 
nial Town,"  by  E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr.,  of  Chapel  Hill;  "How  it 
Feels  to  be  a  Writer/'  by  Mrs.  Frances  Gray  Patton  of  Durham ; 
and  "North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works  for  1951,"  by  Frontis 
W.  Johnston  of  Davidson.  At  the  business  session  which  followed, 
the  Association  voted,  among  other  things,  to  raise  the  dues  from 
$2  to  $3  per  year  so  that  all  members  might  receive  copies  of 
The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review. 

At  the  evening  meeting  President  Humber  presided  and  de- 
livered an  address  and  Associate  Justice  S.  J.  Ervin,  Jr.,  gov- 
ernor of  the  Society  of  Mayflower  Descendants  in  North  Carolina, 
announced  that  the  annual  Mayflower  Cup  award  had  been 
made  to  Jonathan  Daniels  of  Raleigh  for  his  book,  The  Man  of 
Independence.  The  meeting  was  brought  to  a  close  by  an  address, 
"Unsolved  Mysteries  in  the  Life  of  George  Washington,"  by 
Douglas  Southall  Freeman  of  Richmond,  Virginia. 

Two  of  these  papers  are  included  in  the  pages  that  follow,  and 
it  is  believed  that  they  will  be  read  with  interest  both  by  those 
who  did  not  have  the  opportunity  to  hear  them  in  the  first 
instance  and  also  by  those  who,  though  they  were  present  when 
the  papers  were  delivered,  will  nevertheless  enjoy  the  opportu- 
nity to  refresh  their  memories  as  to  what  was  said.  In  some  cases 

[228] 


Papers  from  Fifty-first  Annual  Session  229 

the  editors  have  made  certain  revisions  and  the  usual  editing 
has  been  done,  but  in  no  instance  has  the  original  meaning  been 
materially  altered. 


OLD  BRUNSWICK,  THE  STORY  OF  A  COLONIAL  TOWN 

By  E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr. 

A  visitor  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  River  in  early  1725 
would  have  found  an  uninhabited  wilderness.  No  white  man  lived 
within  100  miles,1  and  even  the  Indians  who  had  once  lived  there 
were  gone.2  Other  than  the  sea,  only  a  trader's  footpath  con- 
nected the  region  with  the  outside  world.3  The  visitor  might  have 
chanced  upon  the  ruins  of  former  habitations,  which  would  have 
been  the  remains  of  earlier  efforts  of  the  English  to  settle  there. 

In  the  1660's  several  groups  attempted  to  establish  a  settle- 
ment along  the  river.  Apparently  these  ventures  were  ill-planned 
and  resulted  in  much  suffering  and  hardship.  In  1667  the  Cape 
Fear  was  abandoned,  and  the  Lords  Proprietors,  to  whom  Charles 
II  of  England  had  granted  the  Carolinas  in  1663,  shifted  their 
interest  to  other  parts  of  their  vast  holdings.  The  infant  settle- 
ment of  Albemarle  in  northeastern  North  Carolina  was  encour- 
aged by  them,  and  to  the  south,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ashley 
and  Cooper  rivers,  Charles  Town  was  founded.  In  order  to  con- 
centrate population  in  these  two  areas,  the  Proprietors  prohibited 
settlement  within  twenty  miles  of  the  Cape  Fear  River.4 

From  the  opening  of  the  18th  century,  however,  circumstances 
were  developing  which  were  to  turn  the  eyes  of  Englishmen 
again  to  the  Cape  Fear.  England,  as  a  maritime  nation,  was 
dependent  upon  a  constant  supply  of  naval  stores,  which  for 
years  she  had  obtained  from  the  Scandinavian  nations.  During 
Queen  Anne's  War,  difficulties  were  encountered  in  obtaining 
these  supplies,  and  she  turned  to  her  American  colonies  as  a 
more  dependable  source.  The  colonial  producers  were  granted 
bounties  to  offset  the  advantages  of  experience  and  shorter 
hauling  distances  enjoyed  by  the  Scandinavian  states.  At  first 
it  was  expected  that  American  production  would  center  in  New 
England,  but  the  milder  climate  and  longer  growing  season  of 
the  South  caused  attention  to  shift  to  that  section.5 


1 W.   L.  Saunders    (ed.).   The  Colonial   Records  of  North   Carolina    (Raleigh:    P.   M.   Hale, 
1886;  Josephus  Daniels,  1887-1890),  III,  436.  Hereinafter  cited  as  C.  R. 

2  Chapman   J.  Milling,   Red  Carolinians    (Chapel   Hill:    The   University   of   North    Carolina 
Press,   1940),   226. 

3  Joseph  W.  Barnwell,  "The  Second  Tuscarora  Expedition,"  The  South  Carolina  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Magazine,  X   (January,  1909),  no.  1,  map  facing  32. 

*C.  R.,  II,  118. 

5  Justin    Williams,    "English    Mercantilism    and    Carolina    Naval    Stores,     1705-1776,"     The 
Journal  of  Southern  History,  I   (May,  1935),  no.  2,   169-185. 

[230] 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       231 

The  Cape  Fear  region  was  ideally  suited  to  the  production  of 
naval  stores  in  the  form  of  pitch,  tar  and  turpentine.  Vast  acres 
of  pine  trees  provided  the  raw  material,  and  a  network  of 
navigable  streams,  with  the  Cape  Fear  as  the  main  artery,  made 
the  exploitation  of  these  resources  possible. 

Among  the  far-sighted  men  who  saw  the  potentialities  of  the 
region  were  George  Burrington  and  Maurice  Moore.  Burrington 
came  to  North  Carolina  as  governor  in  January,  1724,  and  before 
the  end  of  three  months  he  had  arbitrarily  lifted  the  Proprietors' 
ban  against  settlement  on  the  Cape  Fear.6  The  following  winter 
he  went  there  at  the  head  of  several  exploratory  parties  which 
sounded  the  river  inlet  and  channel  and  otherwise  prepared  the 
way  for  occupancy.7 

With  the  physical  and  legal  impediments  to  colonization  re- 
moved, the  settlers  entered  with  Maurice  Moore  in  the  lead. 
Moore  was  a  member  of  a  wealthy  and  influential  South  Carolina 
family  who  came  to  North  Carolina  in  1713  to  assist  in  putting 
down  the  Indian  insurrection.  He  remained  and  married  the 
daughter  of  Alexander  Lillington,  and  through  this  union  became 
connected  with  many  of  the  most  prominent  families  in  North 
Carolina.8  Because  of  his  connections  in  both  provinces  he  was 
able  to  influence  a  number  of  people  to  settle  on  the  Cape  Fear. 
Among  those  who  came  from  South  Carolina  were  his  brothers, 
Roger  and  Nathaniel  Moore,  and  Eleazar  Allen  and  William  Dry. 
From  the  Albemarle  section  came  Edward  Moseley,  John  Porter, 
John  Baptista  Ashe,  Cornelius  Harnett,  the  Elder,  and  others.9 
Unlike  the  usual  frontier  immigrant,  these  men  were  not  the  poor 
and  downtrodden,  seeking  relief  from  oppression.  On  the  con- 
trary many  of  them  were  men  who  had  attained  wealth  and  in- 
fluence in  their  former  homes  and  were  seeking  new  opportunities 
to  increase  their  economic  and  political  well-being.  They  came 
with  slaves  and  other  property,  and,  beginning  with  the  first 
recorded  grants  on  June  3,  1725,10  acquired  vast  landholdings. 
Not  only  did  they  secure  large  quantities  of  land,  but  they  chose 


«C.  R.,  II,  529. 

7  C.  R.,  Ill,  138,  259,  434-435,  436. 

8  Samuel  A.  Ashe  (ed.).  Biographical  History  of  North  Carolina,  From  Colonial  Times 
to  the  Present  (Greensboro,  N.  C:  Charles  L.  Van  Noppen,  1905),  II,  294;  North  Carolina 
Land  Grants    (office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Raleigh),  I,  273. 

8  Mabel  L.  Webber,  "The  First  Governor  Moore  and  His  Children,"  The  South  Carolina 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Magazine,  XXXVII  (January,  1936),  no.  1,  17-19;  "Documentary 
History  of  Wilmington — No.  1,"  The  North  Carolina  University  Magazine,  V  (August,  1856), 
no.  6,  244;  C.  R.,  Ill,  338. 

10  New  Hanover  County  Registry  Records,  E,  242;  Land  Grants,  II,  263,  272-273. 


232  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  best  locations  along  the  navigable  streams.11  The  small  land- 
owner was  not  excluded,  but  he  was  discouraged  from  entering, 
and  so  the  lower  Cape  Fear  from  the  beginning  became  a  region 
of  large  plantations,  with  an  economy  based  not  on  agriculture, 
but  on  the  pine  forests  with  naval  stores  as  the  principal 
products. 

In  this  growing  settlement  it  was  natural  that  the  need  of  a 
commercial  center  would  arise.  Maurice  Moore  anticipated  this 
need  and  the  result  of  his  foresight  was  the  town  of  Brunswick. 
For  this  village  Moore  chose  a  location  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  about  fifteen  miles  above  its  mouth  and  approximately  the 
same  distance  below  the  point  where  the  stream  divided  into  two 
branches.  While  the  forks  offered  certain  advantages  as  a  loca- 
tion, Moore's  decision  was  influenced  by  the  fact  that  a  shoal  in 
the  river,  called  the  "Flats,"  several  miles  above  his  chosen  site, 
blocked  the  passage  of  all  but  small  craft.12  Naval  stores  were 
bulky  and  could  be  shipped  economically  only  in  large  vessels. 
Brunswick  was  located  in  order  that  such  ships  might  be  accom- 
modated. 

The  village  was  situated  on  an  elevated  platform  which  offered 
a  sweeping  view  of  the  river.  The  soil  was  sandy,  but  a  good  clay 
sub-soil  provided  a  firm  foundation.  The  location  was  generally 
level,  though  here  and  there  were  depressed  beds  of  the  small 
streams  which  drained  the  area.  A  slight  indentation  in  the 
shore  line  offered  some  protection  for  shipping,  and  the  depth  of 
the  channel  at  that  point  permitted  vessels  to  anchor  within 
a  short  distance  of  shore. 

Lots  were  laid  off  and  on  June  30,  1726,  the  first  property 
transaction  in  the  village  occurred  when  Moore  contracted  to  sell 
two  of  these  lots  to  Cornelius  Harnett,  the  father  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary hero  of  the  same  name.13  In  the  following  year,  Harnett, 
a  tavern  keeper,  obtained  a  license  to  operate  a  ferry  from 
Brunswick  to  the  east  side  of  the  river.14  This  ferry  was  a  link 
on  the  only  road  connecting  the  northern  colonies  with  South 
Carolina. 


n  C.  R.,  Ill,  254. 

12  Hugh  Meredith,  An  Account  of  the  Cape  Fear  Country,  1731,  edited  by  Earl  Gregg  Swam 
(Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.:  Charles  F.  Heartman,  1922),  15-16;  Evangeline  W.  and  Charles  M. 
Andrews  (eds.),  Journal  of  A  Lady  of  Quality  (New  Haven:  Yale  University  Press,  1921), 
282. 

is  New  Hanover  County  Registry  Records,  AB,  71. 

"  C.  R..  II,  698. 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       233 

The  village  grew  slowly,  but  by  1729  was  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance to  be  designated  as  the  seat  of  government  of  New  Hanover 
Precinct  which  was  established  in  that  year.  Though  the  town 
was  not  provided  with  a  system  of  municipal  government,  it 
was  stipulated  that  a  courthouse  be  built  there,  and  that  the  pre- 
cinct courts  be  held  there,  as  well  as  all  public  and  church 
elections.15 

With  this  the  village  became  the  commercial  and  political 
center  of  the  new  settlement,  but  it  was  not  long  before  a  rival 
community  began  to  develop  a  few  miles  upstream.  The  village 
of  Newton  had  its  beginning  about  173316  when  a  few  traders 
settled  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river  near  the  confluence  of  the 
northeast  and  northwest  branches.  This  was  a  natural  develop- 
ment. In  early  America  there  were  few  roads,  and  those  that 
did  exist  were  inferior  and  often  impassable.  Water  transporta- 
tion went  far  to  offset  this  deficiency,  and  all  who  could  settled 
on  or  near  navigable  streams.  The  Cape  Fear,  with  its  many 
tributaries,  served  as  a  network  of  water  highways  and  the  point 
where  the  two  branches  of  the  river  met  was  the  logical  trading 
place  for  the  people  who  settled  along  these  streams.  Though 
large  vessels  could  not  proceed  that  far  upriver,  ships  from  the 
other  North  American  colonies  and  from  the  West  Indies  could, 
and  so  it  was  as  the  center  of  local  trade  that  Newton  began  and 
grew. 

As  time  passed  a  bitter  rivalry  developed  between  the  pro- 
moters of  the  two  communities,  but  the  die  was  cast  in  favor 
of  the  Newton  faction  when  Gabriel  Johnston  arrived  in  the  fall 
of  1734  to  succeed  Burrington  as  governor.  Johnston  acquired  a 
lot  in  Newton  as  well  as  a  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  village  and 
openly  favored  its  development  as  opposed  to  that  of  Brunswick.17 
The  climax  of  this  rivalry  came  in  February,  1740,  when  Newton 
was  incorporated  as  Wilmington.  As  a  result  of  this  action  the 
seat  of  government  of  New  Hanover  County  was  transferred  to 
Wilmington,  as  were  all  port  officials.  From  this  time  on  Wil- 
mington was  the  center  of  the  lower  Cape  Fear.18 


15  Walter  Clark  (ed.),  The  State  Records  of  North  Carolina  (Winston,  N.  C:  M.  I.  and 
J.  C.  Stewart,  1895-1896;  Goldsboro,  N.  C:  Nash  Brothers,  1898-1906),  XXIII,  146-147,  (here- 
inafter cited  as  S.  R.);  C.  R.,  IV,  486. 

16  Kemp  P.  Battle  (ed.),  "Letters  and  Documents,  Relating  to  the  Early  History  of  the 
Lower  Cape  Fear,"  James  Sprunt  Historical  Monograph  No.  U  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University 
of   North   Carolina   Press,    1903),    60-61. 

17  Nina  Moore  Tiffany  (ed.),  Letters  of  James  Murray,  Loyalist  (Boston,  1901),  36:  S.  R., 
XXIII,  133. 

i8  S.  R.,  XXIII,  146-149. 


234  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

It  was  apparent  to  many  persons  whose  scope  of  mind  trans- 
cended mere  political  rivalry  that  this  concentration  of  interest 
on  Wilmington  was  a  narrow  policy.  To  them  it  was  obvious  that 
the  continued  existence  of  Brunswick  as  a  deepwater  harbor  was 
of  vital  concern  to  the  whole  region.  A  well-populated  port  cap- 
able of  furnishing  adequate  supplies  and  protection  from  enemy 
raids  was  the  best  means  by  which  the  entry  of  large  vessels 
could  be  assured.  The  realization  of  this  fact  resulted  in  several 
steps  being  taken  to  encourage  the  growth  of  Brunswick. 

The  port  officials  who  moved  to  Wilmington  in  1740  were 
transferred  back  to  Brunswick.  This  meant  that  all  Cape  Fear 
shipping  was  required  to  enter  and  clear  at  the  lower  town.  In 
1745  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act  which  contained  pro- 
visions to  strengthen  property  titles  in  the  village,  to  govern  its 
physical  appearance,  and  to  control  moral  conduct  within  its 
limits.  A  commission  was  appointed  to  administer  the  terms  of 
the  act,  but  this  was  not  a  municipal  governing  body  in  the  com- 
monly accepted  sense  of  the  term.  Instead  it  was  a  self -perpetu- 
ating body  with  restricted  authority.19  In  1766  the  law  was 
modified  to  allow  the  election  of  the  members  of  this  group  by 
the  inhabitants,  but  their  powers  remained  the  same.  This  was 
the  closest  the  village  ever  came  to  attaining  local  government.20 

Other  important  factors  in  the  political  development  of  the 
town  were  the  receipt  of  the  right  to  representation  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1757,21  and  its  designation  as 
the  seat  of  government  of  Brunswick  County  upon  its  establish- 
ment in  1764.22  The  right  of  representation  was  shared  with 
only  seven  other  North  Carolina  towns,  and  as  a  county  seat 
Brunswick  again  became  a  political  center  of  some  importance. 

In  view  of  these  conscious  efforts  to  promote  the  importance 
of  Brunswick,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  most  significant 
political  phase  of  the  town's  history  came  about  simply  because 
the  royal  governors  of  North  Carolina  chose  to  make  their  home 
there  from  1758  to  1770.  North  Carolina  had  no  established 
capital  at  that  time.  The  General  Assembly  meetings  were  held 
alternately  at  Wilmington  and  New  Bern,  but  Brunswick,  more 


is  S.  R.,  XXIII,  239-243. 
20  S.  R.,  XXIII,  749-750. 
2i  C.  R.,  V,  890;  VI,  228-229. 
22  S.  R.,  XXIII,  622-627. 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       235 

than  any  other  place,  might  be  termed  the  executive  capital  of 
the  province  during  that  period. 

Regardless  of  Brunswick's  political  status,  its  accessibility  was 
its  greatest  asset  and  upon  this  its  being  rested.  The  Port  of 
Brunswick,  which  also  included  Wilmington,  was  the  largest 
port  in  North  Carolina.  In  terms  of  tonnage  about  two-thirds  of 
the  shipping  of  the  port  used  the  harbor  facilities  of  the  town  of 
Brunswick,  with  the  balance  going  to  Wilmington.  Though  the 
two  towns  were  separated  by  only  a  few  miles,  there  was  a  wide 
divergence  in  the  nature  of  their  commerce.  Generally  speaking, 
almost  all  of  the  shipping  from  Brunswick  went  to  England, 
while  that  of  Wilmington  was  about  equally  divided  between 
other  North  American  colonies  and  the  British  West  Indies.23 

As  already  stated  the  economic  foundation  of  the  Cape  Fear 
was  based  on  the  products  of  the  forest  which  consisted  of  naval 
stores,  lumber  and  livestock.  This  last  category  is  so  classified 
because  the  pine  mast,  acorns,  and  wire  grass  of  the  wooded 
areas  furnished  the  chief  source  of  feed  for  the  animals.24  Con- 
trary to  popular  opinion,  little  rice  was  exported.25  In  fact,  the 
region  produced  little  other  than  the  staples  noted  above,  and 
there  seems  to  have  been  relatively  little  land  cultivated. 

Pitch,  tar  and  turpentine  were  by  far  the  chief  exports.  In  the 
years  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution,  almost  half  of 
the  American  exportations  of  these  products  were  shipped  from 
the  Cape  Fear.  Almost  this  entire  amount  went  from  Brunswick 
to  England.  In  the  light  of  this  fact  and  the  English  dependence 
on  naval  stores,  it  can  be  seen  that  the  town  was  one  of  the 
strategic  harbors  of  the  British  American  colonies.26 

In  general,  the  lesser  products  were  shipped  in  vessels  that 
could  proceed  to  Wilmington,  and,  undoubtedly,  most  of  them 
did  so.  This  assumption  is  based  on  the  more  central  location 
of  Wilmington  and  the  fact  that  it  was  a  bigger  town  with 
larger  merchants  residing  there. 

The  staple  products  of  the  Cape  Fear  furnished  cash  with 
which  to  buy  goods  produced  elsewhere  and  as  a  result  the 


23  British  Public  Records  Office:  Customs  16:  I.  Photostatic  copy  in  the  files  of  the  Di- 
vision of  Manuscripts,  Library  of  Congress.   (Hereafter  cited  as  B.  P.  R.  O.:  Customs  16:  I.) 

24  William  Logan,  "Journal  of  A  Journey  to  Georgia,  1745."  The  Pennsylvania  Magazine 
of  History  and  Biography,  XXXVI    (1912),  No.  1,  15;  C.  R.,  VIII,  71. 

25  [Lord  Adam  Gordon],  "Journal  of  an  Officer's  Travels  in  America  and  the  West  Indies, 
1764-1765,"  Travels  in  the  American  Colonies,  edited  by  Newton  D.  Mereness  (New  York: 
The  Macmillan  Company,  1916),  401;  B.  P.  R.  O.:  Customs  16:  I. 

26  B.  P.  R.  O.:  Customs  16:  I. 


236  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Cape  Fear  always  depended  on  the  outside  world  for  such  goods 
as  cloth,  clothing,  furniture,  household  utensils,  hardware,  gun- 
powder and  shot,  stationery,  medical  supplies,  glass,  spices,  salt, 
tobacco,  beer,  rum,  various  foods,  and  numerous  other  things 
which  served  to  make  the  lives  of  the  people  more  complete  and 
enjoyable.  Even  hay  for  livestock  was  brought  in  in  sizable 
quantities.27  The  lack  of  domestic  manufacturing  with  its  at- 
tendant labor  population,  retarded  the  growth  of  Brunswick  and 
of  Wilmington  as  well.  This,  together  with  the  sparse  country 
population,  due  to  the  presence  of  large  plantations,  prevented 
the  development  of  a  commercial  center  on  the  lower  Cape  Fear 
capable  of  attracting  the  trade  of  interior  North  Carolina. 
Charleston,  with  its  more  favorable  prices  and  better  selections 
of  merchandise,28  assumed  the  role  that  Brunswick  and  Wilming- 
ton should  have  had  in  the  colonial  period,  and  that  Wilmington 
might  have  had  in  later  years. 

A  significant  factor  in  the  lives  of  the  people  of  Brunswick, 
and  particularly  of  the  mariners  who  shipped  out  of  that  port, 
was  an  ever-present  fear  of  the  Spaniards.  A  trade  rivalry  had 
long  existed  between  Spain  and  England,  and  each  nation  made 
frequent  attacks  on  the  trade  lines  of  the  other.  This  activity 
was  concentrated  in  West  Indian  waters,  but  the  possibility  of 
attack  by  a  strong  Spanish  garrison  stationed  at  St.  Augustine 
was  a  constant  source  of  concern  to  all  the  southern  colonies.29 

This  rivalry  culminated  in  1739  with  the  outbreak  of  the 
War  of  Jenkins*  Ear,  and  until  the  end  of  the  conflict  in  1748, 
the  activities  of  both  belligerents  were  greatly  increased.  Naval 
stores  were  among  the  English  colonial  products  most  highly 
prized  by  the  Spaniards,  and  because  of  this  the  shipping  of 
Brunswick  suffered  to  a  considerable  extent.30 

The  war  was  brought  home  to  the  people  of  the  town  on 
September  4,  1748,  when  two  Spanish  privateers  with  blazing 
guns  appeared  before  the  town.  Four  days  later  the  enemy  was 
finally  driven  away,  but  only  after  great  property  damage  had 


27  Brunswick  Port  Records,  1767-1775,  kept  by  William  Dry,  collector,  typewritten  manu- 
script in  the  Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  from  the  original  in  the  archives 
of  the  North  Carolina  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History. 

28  Adelaide  L.  Fries  (ed.),  Records  of  the  Moravians  in  North  Carolina,  1752-1822  (Raleigh: 
North  Carolina  Historical  Commission,  1922-1930,  1941-1943;  North  Carolina  State  Depart- 
ment of  Archives  and  History,  1947),  I,  366,  377. 

20  Virginia  Gazette  (Williamsburg),  September  24,  1736;  December  31,  1736;  March  4,  11,  18, 
1737;  April  22,  1737;  August  19,  1737;  March  18,  1738;  June  6,  1738.  C.  R.,  Ill,  362-363. 
30  South  Carolina  Gazette    ( Charlestown ) ,  October  3,  1741;  March  20,  1742. 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       237 

been  done.  During  this  raid  a  mysterious  explosion  destroyed  one 
of  the  privateers  and  this  fortunate  incident  must  be  listed  with 
the  courage  of  the  defenders  as  the  reasons  for  the  successful 
expulsion  of  the  Spaniards.31  This  raid  emphasized  the  exposed 
position  of  the  town,  and  doubtless  retarded  its  later  growth. 

Fort  Johnston  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  under  construction 
at  the  time,  offered  some  future  security,  but  the  fear  of  the 
Spaniards  continued  as  long  as  Brunswick  existed.32 

According  to  local  tradition  the  painting,  Ecce  Homo,  hanging 
in  the  Vestry  Room  of  St.  James's  Church  in  Wilmington,  was 
among  the  objects  of  value  obtained  from  the  Spaniards  as  a 
result  of  their  attack.  Of  greater  significance  is  the  fact  that  a 
portion  of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  slaves  and  other  goods 
obtained  at  the  same  time  was  used  to  complete  the  construction 
of  St.  Philip's  Church  in  Brunswick,  as  well  as  St.  James's 
Church.33 

Religion  came  to  Brunswick  with  the  earliest  settlers.  John 
Lapierre,  who  arrived  in  the  new  settlement  during  the  winter  of 
1727-1728,  was  the  first  of  an  almost  continuous  line  of  Anglican 
ministers  who  served  the  people  of  the  town.34  This  was  the  only 
communion  that  was  ever  active  there.  Though  encouraged  by 
sympathetic  governors,  these  men  of  God  were  often  faced  with 
physical  and  economic  hardships,  and,  worst  of  all,  the  religious 
apathy  of  a  large  segment  of  the  people  among  whom  they 
worked.35  The  walls  of  old  St.  Philip's  Church  stand  today  as  a 
monument  to  the  labor  of  these  zealous  men. 

Though  James  Murray,  a  resident,  mentioned  a  chapel  as 
being  in  Brunswick  in  1736,36  apparently  the  first  permanent 
place  of  worship  did  not  exist  until  the  winter  of  1744-1745. 
This  was  a  small  frame  chapel,  sixteen  by  twenty-four  feet, 
which  was  used  for  divine  services  on  Sundays  and  as  a  school 
during  the  week.  The  garret  provided  living  quarters  for  the 
minister.  This  structure  continued  in  use  until  the  completion  of 
St.  Philip's  Church  in  1768.37 

On  Whit  Tuesday,  1768,  St.  Philip's  was  dedicated  in  a  solemn 


31  South  Carolina  Gazette    ( Charlestown ) ,   October  31,   1748. 
82  Fries,  Records  of  the  Moravians  in  North  Carolina,  I,  259. 
33  S.  R.,  XXIII,  537. 
«*  C.  R.,  Ill,  391,  530,  623-624. 

35  C.  R.,  Ill,  530,  623-624;  IV,  227,  621,  755,  791;  VI,  730. 

36  Tiffany,  Letters  of  James  Murray,  Loyalist,  26. 
87  C.  R.  IV,  605,  755;  VI,  557,  730. 


238  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ceremony  conducted  by  its  rector,  John  Barnett,  assisted  by  the 
Reverend  John  Wills  of  St.  James's  Church  in  Wilmington.38  The 
completion  of  this  church  was  the  culmination  of  an  effort  ex- 
tending back  more  than  a  decade.  It  was  an  ambitious  project 
and  was  built  at  a  great  cost.  In  addition  to  funds  derived  from 
the  Spanish  spoils  it  was  financed  by  private  subscription  and  by 
lottery.  More  than  once  work  on  the  structure  was  stopped  until 
additional  money  could  be  raised.39 

Both  governors  Dobbs  and  Tryon  encouraged  the  construction 
of  St.  Philip's,  often  when  the  outlook  seemed  darkest.  Dobbs 
expressed  his  intention  of  making  it  the  King's  Chapel  in  North 
Carolina  upon  its  completion  and  to  donate  to  it  the  pulpit,  Bible, 
Books  of  Common  Prayer,  and  a  special  pew  to  be  used  by  the 
governor  and  his  council.  In  addition  he  was  to  furnish  the 
Communion  plate  which  he  had  been  granted  upon  his  appoint- 
ment to  office.40  Unfortunately  Dobbs  died  before  the  construc- 
tion work  was  finished,  and  on  March  29,  1765,  his  remains  were 
interred  in  the  incompleted  structure.41  Tryon  not  only  con- 
tributed cash,  but  also  furnished  the  windows  complete  with 
glass.42  This  latter  donation  stimulated  the  final  work  on  the 
church. 

St.  Philip's  as  completed  was  approximately  fifty-five  feet 
wide  and  seventy-seven  feet  deep  with  walls  almost  three  feet 
thick.  The  roof  was  crowned  with  a  small  belfry,  but  other  than 
this  the  exterior  lines  were  very  severe.  The  interior,  with  its 
arched  ceiling,  was  provided  with  the  customary  furnishings  of 
an  Anglican  Church.  The  building  was  described  by  Governor 
Dobbs  as  the  largest  church  in  the  province,  and  undoubtedly  it 
was  one  of  the  fine  churches  of  colonial  America.48 

As  might  be  expected  the  town  of  Brunswick  developed  in 
close  proximity  to  its  church.  As  early  as  June,  1726,  Maurice 
Moore  had  completed  the  drawing  of  the  plan  of  the  town,  and 
in  1745  the  General  Assembly  directed  that  another  be  pre- 
pared.44 Unfortunately  neither  of  these  plans  has  been  located. 
However,  county  records  and  other  sources  provide  information 


38  C.  R.f  VII,  789. 

ss  C.  R.,  VI,  32-33,  103;  S.  R.,  XXIII,  535-537;  XXV,  391-392. 

»  C.  R.,  VI,  235,  237. 

41  South  Carolina  Gazette    (Charlestown) ,  April  27,   1765. 

42  C.  R.,  VII,  164,  515. 
™C.  R.,  VI,  235;  VII,  515. 

44  S.  R.,  XXIII,  239,  240.  New  Hanover  County  Registry  Records,  AB,  71. 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       239 

which,  to  some  extent,  fills  this  deficiency.  A  plan  based  on  these 
fragmentary  sources  correlates  very  closely  with  the  map  of  the 
town  drawn  in  1769  by  C.  J.  Sauthier.45 

As  the  site  of  the  town  Maurice  Moore  set  aside  360  acres.  A 
portion  of  this  area  was  laid  out  in  half-acre  lots  and  specific 
areas  were  reserved  for  a  church,  cemetery,  market  place,  court- 
house and  other  public  buildings.46  The  original  plan  apparently 
contained  336  lots  which,  with  the  streets,  would  have  occupied 
only  about  half  the  allocated  acreage.  These  lots  were  82%  feet 
wide  and  264  feet  in  depth.  The  city  squares  were  seven  lots 
across  and  two  lots  deep.  There  were  twenty-four  blocks  in  all; 
six  along  the  river  and  four  deep.  In  later  years  an  additional 
square  was  laid  off  along  the  river  to  the  north  and  possibly 
another  to  the  west  of  this.  The  squares  were  separated  by 
streets.  Some  of  these  ran  north  and  south  and  were  connected 
by  others  running  east  and  west.  About  150  to  200  feet  from  the 
river  the  first  street  of  the  town,  known  as  the  Street  on  the  Bay 
or  Front  Street,  ran  parallel  with  the  stream.  The  property  be- 
tween this  street  and  the  water  generally  was  transferred  with 
the  lot  that  it  fronted.  All  other  streets  of  the  town  ran  parallel 
or  at  right  angles  to  the  Street  on  the  Bay.  The  next  street  to  the 
west  was  known  as  Second  Street,  but  otherwise  the  names  of 
the  streets  are  not  known. 

The  scope  of  the  town  development  was  never  in  keeping  with 
these  optimistic  plans.  In  the  early  years  lots  were  sold  along  the 
entire  waterfront  as  well  as  some  interior  lots  chiefly  within  the 
first  two  tiers  of  blocks.  As  the  years  passed,  however,  the  town 
became  concentrated  in  the  upper  four  squares  along  the  river. 
The  church  was  on  the  west  side  of  Second  Street  just  outside 
this  area,  and  about  midway  between  its  northern  and  southern 
limits.  The  courthouse  and  jail  occupied  corner  lots  diagonally 
across  from  the  church.  With  a  few  scattered  exceptions  the  other 
buildings  of  the  town  were  located  between  the  church  and  the 
river. 

The  streets  of  Brunswick  were  unpaved  and  did  not  always 
conform  to  the  neat  pattern  planned  for  them.  This  gave  the 
village  a  more  irregular  appearance  than  it  would  have  had 


45  C.  J.   Sauthier,  Plan  of  the  Town  and  Port  of  Brunswick,   in   Brunswick   County,   North 
Carolina,  surveyed  and  drawn  in  April,  1769    (printed,  not  published). 
«S.  R.,  XXIII,  239. 


240  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

otherwise.47  Shade  trees  on  the  streets  and  in  the  yards  and 
attractive  fences  around  many  of  the  homes  provided  a  pic- 
turesque atmosphere. 

Unfortunately  little  is  known  of  the  buildings  of  Brunswick. 
There  always  existed  a  requirement  that  the  houses  be  a  mini- 
mum of  sixteen  feet  wide  by  twenty  feet  deep.48  This  regulation 
seems  to  have  been  enforced,  though  many  of  the  houses  appear 
not  to  have  exceeded  this  minimum  to  any  great  extent.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  were  several  large  homes  with  elaborate  gar- 
dens. While  most  of  the  buildings  of  the  town  were  residences, 
there  were  also  at  least  one  tavern,  a  number  of  stores,  and  ware- 
houses, as  well  as  the  church,  courthouse,  and  jail.49  It  is  not  clear 
how  many  houses  were  frame  and  how  many  were  brick,  but 
there  were  some  of  both.  We  know  the  church  was  brick,  but  the 
earlier  chapel  was  frame.  The  fact  that  the  courthouse  was  blown 
down  by  a  storm  in  1769  indicates  that  it  was  of  frame  construc- 
tion.50 When  the  home  of  William  Dry  was  burned,  the  shell  re- 
mained standing  and  this  indicates  that  it  probably  was  built  of 
brick.51  These  fragmentary  bits  of  evidence,  however,  tell  us  too 
little  of  the  physical  aspects  of  the  town. 

Population  figures  for  the  town  are  almost  non-existent.  In 
1731  Hugh  Meredith,  a  visitor,  reported  that  Brunswick  con- 
tained "not  above  10  or  12  scattering  mean  Houses,"52  and  in 
1754  Governor  Dobbs  wrote  that  twenty  families  lived  there.53 
At  the  same  time  he  said  Wilmington  had  seventy  families.54 
If  his  figures  are  not  exact,  they  at  least  reflect  the  relative  size 
of  the  two  towns.  In  1773  J.  F.  D.  Smyth,  another  traveller,  re- 
ported fifty  to  sixty  houses,  but  his  figure  undoubtedly  included 
non-residential  buildings.55  Sauthier's  map  of  1769  indicates 
there  were  about  thirty-five  residential  buildings.  These  scat- 
tered figures  indicate  that  Brunswick,  in  the  years  just  prior  to 
the  Revolution,  contained  about  200  white  persons  and  possibly 
fifty  colored  persons,  or  a  total  population  of  about  250  people. 

As  the  residents  of  a  shipping  and  trading  center,  the  people 
of  Brunswick  were  predominantly  engaged,  directly  or  indirectly, 


47  Andrews,  Journal  of  A  Lady  of  Quality,  145. 

«S.  R.,  XXIII,  241;  New  Hanover  County  Registry  Records,  AB,  71. 

49  Logan,   "Journal  of  A  Journey  to  Georgia,"  14;   C.  R.,  IV,   755;  IX,   1239. 

50  C.  R.,  VIII,  71. 

51  Virginia  Gazette    (Williamsburg),  April  5,  1776. 

52  Meredith,  An  Account  of  the  Cape  Fear  Country,  14-15. 
™C.  R.,  V,  158. 

5*  C.  R.,  V,  158. 

65  J.  F.  D.  Smyth,  A  Tour  in  the  United  States  of  America   (Dublin,  1784),  55. 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       241 

in  those  trades.  But  other  people  lived  there.  Most  of  these  ran 
business  establishments  or  gained  a  livelihood  through  the  sale 
of  their  services.  A  few  others,  like  Edward  Moseley,  the  eminent 
provincial  leader  who  spent  his  last  years  there,  probably  were 
motivated  by  nothing  more  than  a  desire  to  reside  in  the  village. 

Among  the  early  settlers  were  Dr.  James  Fergus,  surgeon; 
Cornelius  Harnett,  James  Espey,  Hugh  Blenning,  and  William 
Lord,  tavern-keepers ;  John  Wright,  John  Porter,  Richard  Quince, 
and  William  Dry,  Sr.,  merchants ;  John  McDowell  and  Edward 
Scott,  sea  captains;  Thomas  Brown  and  Edward  Jones,  carpen- 
ters; Richard  Price,  brickmaker;  William  Norton,  blockmaker; 
Donald  McKichan,  tailor;  and  Hugh  Campbell,  clerk  of  court. 
A  cross  section  of  the  population  in  later  years  reveals  the  same 
general  make  up.  Among  the  residents  at  that  time  were  William 
Gibson,  Jonathan  Caulkin,  and  Thomas  Dick,  house  carpenters; 
David  Smeeth,  ship's  carpenter;  Christopher  Cains,  blacksmith; 
John  Cains,  shoemaker;  Alexander  McKitchan,  tailor;  Chris- 
topher Wotten,  sail  maker;  James  Mcllhenny,  tavern  keeper; 
Stephen  Parker  Newman,  Revell  Munro,  and  Thomas  Mulford, 
sea  captains;  William  Dry,  Jr.,  and  William  Hill,  port  officials 
as  well  as  merchants ;  and  John  Fergus,  physician.56 

By  far  the  most  distinguished  residents  were  governors  Dobbs 
and  Tryon,  though  strictly  speaking  their  residence,  Russellboro, 
was  not  within  the  limits  of  the  town  but  adjoined  it  to  the  north. 
Dobbs,  who  followed  Johnston  as  governor,  acquired  the  property 
in  1758  and  lived  there  until  his  death  seven  years  later.  Tryon 
purchased  the  property  from  Dobbs's  son  and  resided  there  until 
he  moved  into  the  Palace  at  New  Bern  in  1770.  It  then  became  the 
home  of  William  Dry,  who  changed  its  name  to  Bellfont.57 

While  the  permanent  residents  of  Brunswick  appear  to  have 
formed  a  population  essentially  quiet  and  respectable,  there  was 
a  lustier  element  in  the  life  of  the  town.  Much  of  the  goods  ship- 
ped out  of  Brunswick  was  brought  down  the  river  on  rafts.  The 
raftsmen  were  a  vigorous  group  who  worked  hard  and  played 
hard.  When  these  men  joined  the  sailors  from  the  vessels  in  the 
harbor  the  village  no  doubt  resounded  to  the  noise  of  their  merry- 
making. We  can  be  sure  that  they  consumed  their  share  of 


56  New   Hanover   County   Registry    Records,    passim;    Brunswick    County   Registry    Records, 
passim. 

57  New   Hanover    County    Registry    Records,    D,    327;    E,    309;    Brunswick    County    Registry 
Records,  D,  85. 


242  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  large  quantities  of  rum  imported  and  were  at  least  part  of  the 
reason  why  James  Moir,  the  Anglican  minister,  described  the 
taverns  of  the  town  as  the  worst  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  in  more 
ways  than  one.  In  time  specific  laws  were  passed  designed  to 
moderate  this  particular  phase  of  the  life  of  the  community.58 

Probably  the  most  widely  publicized  event  in  the  history  of 
Brunswick  took  place  during  Tryon's  residence  there.  This  was 
in  connection  with  the  Stamp  Act  imposed  by  the  English  Parlia- 
ment upon  the  American  colonies.  The  passing  of  this  act  resulted 
in  protestations  throughout  the  provinces.  The  resistance  of  the 
Cape  Fear  people  began  with  several  riots  in  Wilmington  in  the 
fall  of  1765  and  was  climaxed  the  following  February  in  Bruns- 
wick with  armed  resistance  to  the  royal  governor.  The  immediate 
cause  of  this  action  was  the  seizure  of  several  vessels  for  viola- 
tion of  the  act  and  their  detention  at  Brunswick.  Armed  men 
from  throughout  the  section  gathered  there,  specifically  to  effect 
the  release  of  the  vessels,  and  more  generally  to  bring  the  opera- 
tion of  the  hated  law  to  an  end.  They  stationed  a  guard  around 
the  governor's  home,  against  his  wishes,  which,  in  effect,  placed 
him  under  house  arrest.  Some  time  later  they  threatened  force- 
ful entry  into  the  home  if  Pennington,  the  comptroller  of  the 
Customs,  who  was  there,  continued  to  refuse  to  appear  before 
their  group.  Under  these  circumstances  the  comptroller  agreed 
to  do  their  bidding,  but  only  after  Tryon  had  insisted  upon  and 
received  his  resignation.  He  then  proceeded  with  the  group  to 
Brunswick  to  join  the  main  body  which  numbered  about  1,000 
men.  There  the  demonstrators  formed  a  large  circle  and  in  the 
center  placed  Pennington  along  with  the  collector  of  customs  and 
the  naval  officer.  These  three  men  were  then  required  to  take  an 
oath  that  they  would  never  enforce  the  Stamp  Act.  Immediately 
thereafter  the  commander  of  the  English  naval  forces  in  the 
river  released  the  seized  vessels.  Having  accomplished  their 
mission,  the  men  dispersed  to  their  homes.  With  this  the  tension 
was  released,  but  revolution  had  already  cast  its  shadow  over 
Brunswick.59 

In  the  series  of  events  that  led  to  independence  from  England 
the  activities  in  Brunswick  followed  the  general  pattern  of  the 
rest  of  America.  The  supplies  sent  from  the  Cape  Fear  in  1774 


58  C.  R.    IV    755;  S.  R.    XXIII    239-243 

™  Virginia  Gazette  '(Williamsburg) ,  March  21,   1766;   C.  R.,  VII,   123-125,   127,   169-186. 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       243 

to  the  aid  of  the  beleaguered  people  of  Boston  following  their 
"Tea  Party"  was  but  a  single  indication  of  sympathy  with  the 
trend  of  events.  These  supplies  were  shipped  in  a  vessel  furnished 
free  of  charge  by  a  merchant  of  Brunswick.60  The  application  of 
the  various  restrictions  on  British  trade  was  a  further  reflection 
of  this  feeling.  The  people  of  Brunswick  cooperated  closely  with 
those  of  Wilmington  and  of  the  nearby  counties  in  determining 
the  course  of  action  followed.61 

When  Governor  Martin,  who  had  succeeded  Tryon,  fled  from 
New  Bern  and  arrived  at  Fort  Johnston  on  June  2,  1775,  Bruns- 
wick was  thrown  into  the  maelstrom  of  war.  Martin  began  an 
active  campaign  to  frustrate  the  efforts  of  the  rebellious  element 
in  the  colony,  and  to  rally  the  loyal  element  around  him.  The 
following  spring  he  was  joined  by  the  British  generals,  Clinton 
and  Cornwallis,  who  came  expecting  to  join  the  Loyalists  in  a 
move  to  subjugate  North  Carolina  as  well  as  the  other  southern 
colonies.  The  contemporary  press  reported  that,  in  part,  at  least, 
this  plan  was  designed  to  secure  the  lower  Cape  Fear  as  a  source 
of  naval  stores  for  the  fleet  at  Halifax,  and  the  upper  Cape 
Fear  as  a  source  of  provisions  for  the  British  troops  to  the 
northward.62  But  upon  their  arrival  in  the  Cape  Fear  the  two 
generals  learned  that  their  dreams  of  easy  conquest  had  been 
ended  on  February  27,  1776,  by  the  American  victory  over  the 
Loyalists  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge.  In  late  May,  1776,  the 
British  sailed  southward  to  Charleston  with  hopes  of  more  suc- 
cessful activity. 

The  period  in  which  the  British  were  in  the  river  was  a  fateful 
year  for  the  town  of  Brunswick.  At  various  times  during  this 
period  local  troops  were  placed  in  or  near  the  village  for  its 
defense.  At  other  times  it  was  neglected.  It  had  been  the  target 
of  threats  of  destruction  and  of  actual  raids. 

An  example  of  these  raids,  though  it  did  not  occur  within  the 
actual  limits  of  the  town,  was  staged  in  the  early  morning  hours 
of  May  10,  1776.  About  900  of  the  men  of  Cornwallis  and  Clinton 
slipped  up  the  river  under  cover  of  darkness,  passed  Brunswick, 
and  landed  at  the  plantation  of  General  Robert  Howe,  a  short 
distance  upstream.  They  beat  back  the  American  guards  from 


60  Virginia  Gazette    (Williamsburg),    September   1,    1774. 

61  South  Carolina  Gazette    (Charleston),   August   13,   1770;   April   3,   1775. 

62  Virginia  Gazette    (Williamsburg),   October   11,   1776. 


244  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  bank  of  the  river  and  proceeded  to  an  American  post  on  the 
Charles  Town  Road  a  little  north  of  the  town.  Finding  that  the 
American  forces  of  about  100  men  had  fled  before  them,  they 
burned  the  post,  a  mill,  and  returned  to  their  ships  down  river. 
This  attack  in  itself  had  slight  significance,  and  probably  was 
little  more  than  a  military  exercise  for  the  British.63 

Finally,  under  these  conditions  Brunswick  was  abandoned  by 
its  people,  and  English  pillaging  parties  roamed  its  empty 
streets.  At  least  part  of  the  town  was  burned  by  the  enemy,  and 
among  the  residences  destroyed  was  that  of  William  Dry,  the 
old  home  of  Dobbs  and  Tryon.64  Even  after  the  English  left  it 
was  still  exposed  to  enemy  attack,  and  because  of  this  it  held 
little  attraction  for  other  than  a  very  few  of  its  former  in- 
habitants.65 

Many  of  the  people  of  Brunswick  sought  the  comparative 
safety  of  Wilmington.  These  included  William  Hill,  Dr.  John 
Fergus,  Capt.  Stephen  Parker  Newman,  and  others.  William  Dry 
moved  to  his  up-river  plantation,  Blue  Banks.  Some,  like  Richard 
Quince,  lay  buried  in  their  graves. 

With  the  loss  of  its  population  the  complete  disintegration  of 
the  town  followed.  The  state  constitution  of  1776  took  away  the 
right  of  representation,66  and  in  the  same  year  the  office  of  cus- 
toms collector  was  transferred  to  Wilmington.67  In  1779  the 
political  dissolution  was  completed  with  the  removal  of  the 
county  seat  to  a  more  secure  location  at  Lockwood's  Folly.68  In 
later  years  we  get  an  occasional  glimpse  of  the  old  town  through 
the  eyes  of  passing  travellers.  Johann  Schoepf  in  the  early  1780,s 
reported  it  as  almost  totally  demolished  and  abandoned.69  A  few 
years  later  Robert  Hunter  wrote  that  the  town  had  been  partly 
destroyed  by  the  British  during  the  war,  but  many  believed  that 
they  had  been  assisted  by  the  slaves  from  the  nearby  plantation 
of  General  Robert  Howe.  He  added  that  "only  the  ruins,  with 
two  or  three  houses  that  have  been  since  built,  are  now  to  be 


63  Virginia  Gazette  (Williamsburg),  June  29,  1776;  Connecticut  Courant  (Hartford),  June 
17,   1776. 

64  Virginia  Gazette    (Williamsburg),   April   5,    1776. 

65  Virginia  Gazette  (Williamsburg),  March  22,  1776;  April  5,  1776;  Winslow  C.  Watson  (ed.), 
Men  and  Times  of  the  Revolution;  or  Memoirs  of  Elkanah  Watson  (New  York:  Dana  and 
Company,  1856),  41. 

68  S.  R.,  XXIII,  980. 
67  S.  R.,  XXIII,  987-988. 
os  S.  R.,  XXIV,  248-249,   631-632. 

09  Johann  D.  Schoepf,  Travels  in  the  Confederation  [1783-17841,  edited  and  translated  by 
Alfred  J.  Morrison    (Philadelphia:   William  J.  Campbell,  1911),  II,  145. 


Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a  Colonial  Town       245 

seen."70  Bishop  Francis  Asbury,  writing  in  1804,  gives  us  a  later 
view  by  describing  the  once  thriving  village  as  "an  old  town; 
demolished  houses,  and  the  noble  walls  of  a  brick  church :  there 
remain  but  four  houses  entire."71  Even  so,  county  records  reflect 
occasional  transfers  of  lots  in  the  village  as  late  as  1819.72  But 
the  incorporation  of  the  site  of  the  town  into  Orton  Plantation  by 
a  state  land  grant  dated  1845  marks  the  final  and  complete  pass- 
ing of  the  town.  The  price  paid  to  the  state  was  $4.25.73 

Brunswick  ceased  to  exist  because  the  principal  reason  for  its 
being  ceased  to  exist.  The  war  brought  the  end  of  the  British 
market  for  naval  stores,  and  after  the  conflict  the  shipping  out 
of  the  Cape  Fear  was  chiefly  coastal,  and  this  trade  could  be, 
and  was,  handled  through  the  harbor  facilities  of  Wilmington. 
By  the  time  the  region  regained  a  dominant  role  in  the  naval 
stores  industry,  Brunswick  was  but  a  memory. 

It  is  obvious  from  this  paper  that  there  are  many  things  not 
known  about  the  town  of  Brunswick.  This  is  especially  true  of 
its  physical  aspects.  Some  of  these  gaps  might  be  filled  by  later 
documentation ;  others  only  by  archaeological  investigation. 
Brunswick  is  an  ideal  location  for  a  project  of  this  nature.  It 
has  not  been  occupied  to  any  significant  extent  since  the  time  it 
was  a  thriving  colonial  seaport.  Today  it  is  covered  with  wild 
growth  and  surface  deposits  accumulated  over  a  period  of  almost 
two  centuries.  Excavation  under  this  surface  would  yield  several 
interesting  results.  It  would  reveal  the  form  and  layout  of  a 
colonial  village  unadulterated  by  later  occupancy;  foundations 
would  reveal  much  about  the  architecture  of  the  buildings,  and 
of  the  nature  of  their  construction ;  artifacts  would  tell  us  much 
of  the  everyday  lives  of  the  people.  These  findings,  viewed  as  the 
remains  of  a  type  rather  than  of  a  single,  isolated  community, 
would  have  more  than  local  significance.  Brunswick  could  well 
be  the  North  Carolina  counterpart  of  the  Jamestown  excava- 
tions. 


70  Robert  Hunter,  Jr.,  Quebec  to  Carolina  In  1785-1786;  Being  the  Travel  Diary  and  Ob- 
servations of  Robert  Hunter,  Jr.,  A  Young  Merchant  of  London,  edited  by  Louis  B.  Wright 
and  Marion  Tinling   (San  Marino,  Cal.:  The  Huntington  Library,  1943),  287. 

71  Francis  Asbury,  The  Journal  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Asbury,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  From  August  7,  1771,  to  December  7,  1815  (New  York:  N.  Bangs  and  T. 
Mason,  1821),  III,  130. 

72  Brunswick  County  Registry  Records,  H,  428. 

73  North  Carolina  Land  Grants,  CL,  150. 


NORTH  CAROLINA  NON-FICTION  WORKS  FOR  1951 
By  Frontis  W.  Johnston 

Once  upon  a  time,  long,  long  ago,  I  learned  how  to  reduce  frac- 
tions to  the  lowest  common  denominator.  My  mathematical  edu- 
cation must  have  been  tragically  incomplete,  for  I  never  was 
taught  how  to  reduce  eighteen  varied  volumes  to  even  a  sem- 
blance of  similitude.  I  am,  even  now,  aware  of  no  formula  which 
will  enable  me  to  simplify  prunes  and  plums — and  we  have  some 
of  each — into  a  reasonably  orderly  equation.  The  failure  of 
mathematics  to  provide  a  neat  and  unified  solution  to  our  query 
means  that  we  are  still  left  with  eighteen  problems  to  solve,  in- 
stead of  one.  So  be  it,  for  we  cannot  quarrel  with  statistics. 

A  bit  of  casual  research  has  shown  me  that  each  of  my  recent 
predecessors  in  this  spot  on  your  annual  program  has  testified 
to  the  difficulty  of  the  assignment  before  him.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  a  measure  of  mathematical  efficiency  has  operated  to 
subtract  the  fiction  from  the  competition  this  year,  I  would  like 
to  join  their  ranks  and  make  the  testimony  unanimous.  The  only 
unity  these  volumes  before  us  can  possibly  have  is  the  only  one 
they  need  in  order  to  be  before  us :  each  was  written  by  a  North 
Carolinian  and  now  contends  for  the  Mayflower  Cup  Award.  The 
fact  that  five  come  from  residents  of  Raleigh,  five  from  Durham, 
two  from  Chapel  Hill  and  two  from  Greensboro,  whereas  the 
remaining  four  are  from  the  hinterlands,  reveals  only  a  geo- 
graphic, not  a  literary,  kinship.  Some  are  published  by  national 
presses,  some  by  university  presses,  and  others  by  private  print- 
ers. The  fact  that  the  fields  of  religion,  history,  literary  criticism, 
economics,  and  autobiography  dominate  is  both  accidental  and 
incidental.  We  may  make  what  we  will  of  such  features,  but  the 
only  meaning  we  may  safely  assume  is — to  return  to  mathe- 
matics— that  the  whole  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  its  parts.  Since  we 
have  not  solved  the  sum  it  is  time  we  turned  to  the  parts. 

Religion,  I  suppose,  should  come  first,  even  with  a  historian. 
Since  it  makes  little  difference  where  we  begin,  we  shall  reach 
in  a  thumb  and  pull  out  a  plum  called  God  Makes  A  Difference  by 
Dr.  Edwin  McNeill  Poteat.  Here  is  an  effort  to  draw  up  a  treaty 
of  peace  between  science  and  theology  now  that  their  long  and 
fruitless  warfare  is  over — a  war  which  should  never  have  been 

[246] 


North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works  for  1951       247 

declared.  It  suggests  that  the  quest  for  truth  should  become  a 
partnership,  not  a  conflict ;  that  "if  to  the  scientist  the  fact  has 
been  his  faith,  to  the  religionist  the  faith  has  been  his  fact."  The 
purpose  of  this  book  is  to  bring  faith  and  fact  together,  at  least 
in  inquiry,  if  not  in  agreement.  The  book  is  an  eloquent  and 
learned  plea  for  unity  of  search,  believing  that  science,  however 
correct  its  findings  may  have  been,  cannot  encompass  the  totality 
of  experience.  The  method  of  reconciliation  proposed  is  not  so 
much  of  eradicating  the  differences  as  of  identifying  the  similari- 
ties. It  contends  that  if  "nature  never  did  betray  the  heart  that 
loved  her/'  neither  did  God. 

Dr.  Poteat  argues  that  both  science  and  religion  are  based  on 
hypotheses,  or  inventions,  and  that  the  invention  of  the  idea  of 
God  is  most  inclusive  for  meaning  in  our  world.  God  is  the  grand 
hypothesis  of  theistic  faith,  for  "faith  is  the  posture  of  the  soul 
poised  on  hypothesis."  Add  this  idea  of  God  to  the  hypotheses  of 
naturalism,  and  it  makes  a  difference  in  our  understanding  of 
nature,  of  God  himself,  of  history,  and  of  man.  The  author  shows 
how  this  difference  will  color  our  thinking  and  extend  the  areas 
in  which  good  will  and  intelligence  can  meet.  It  will  allow  us  to 
break  out  of  closed  systems  of  thought  which,  though  they  give 
satisfactions  because  of  their  neatness,  may  become  cells  of  a 
prison  which  incarcerates  the  human  spirit.  Against  this  back- 
ground Dr.  Poteat  discusses  the  idea  of  God  in  relationships 
which  conventional  theology  does  not  employ:  in  home,  school, 
society,  court,  market  place;  in  love,  law,  pain,  and  death,  as 
well  as  in  redemption  and  immortality.  Through  the  use  of  scien- 
tific discovery,  Biblical  interpretation,  and  classical  philosophy 
there  is  constructed  a  bridge  across  which  naturalism  and  theism 
may  walk  freely  together.  Nowhere  in  this  learned  discourse  is 
this  mutuality  more  ably  argued  than  in  that  chapter  on  that 
knotty  subject — to  a  rationalist  at  least — of  immortality.  If 
nuclear  physics,  in  its  concept  of  energy,  gives  us  a  sort  of  im- 
mortality that  can  be  empirically  established,  it  suggests  also  a 
convergence  of  scientific  explanation  and  traditional  thought 
forms  that  have  so  long  contained  the  essence  of  religious  faith. 

This  volume  is  not  for  bedtime  reading.  One  cannot  relax  and 
read  it  too.  The  result  of  wide  reading  and  deep  thinking,  it  is 
written  by  a  master  of  language  who  always  finds  the  right  word. 


248  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

He  gets  at  the  essence  of  his  idea  with  clarity,  but  also  with 
charm  and  whimsy,  as  witness  his  discussion  of  the  word  com- 
munity, or  his  probing  into  the  real  meaning  of  Judas.  I  do  not 
know  the  personal  habits  of  Dr.  Poteat,  but  I  do  know  that  in  his 
study  of  the  "faith  of  nature  and  the  nature  of  faith,"  his  brain 
has  not  been  his  least-used  muscle. 

Speculative  thought,  such  as  Dr.  Poteat  offers,  has  no  place 
in  Clarence  H.  Brannon's  An  Introduction  to  the  Bible.  This 
archeological  and  historical  analysis  of  the  King  James  version 
comes  to  us  from  Raleigh,  but  from  the  devoted  disciple  and 
biographer  of  the  late  Dr.  Allen  H.  Godbey  of  Duke.  Accepting 
the  theory  of  progressive  revelation,  it  is  a  book-by-book  exami- 
nation based  upon  the  latest  scholarship.  But  scholars  still  quar- 
rel over  much  of  the  Bible,  and  Mr.  Brannon  must  pick  his  way 
with  care.  He  has  ideas  and  conclusions:  David  is  definitely 
debunked;  Elijah  is  a  climatic  failure;  Moses  is  the  great  Old 
Testament  hero;  Jeremiah  was  great,  though  un-Semitic,  and 
cannot  properly  be  called  the  prophet  of  lamentations,  for  surely 
if  he  wept  a  little  he  whined  and  cursed  a  great  deal  more.  Paul 
is,  after  Jesus,  Christendom's  greatest  figure,  though  Jews  will 
disagree  about  both.  On  Judas  the  author  reminds  us  of  Mr. 
Legette  Blythe's  A  Tear  For  Judas,  but  neither  writer  pictures 
the  historical  figure  and  neither  probes  his  ultimate  meaning  like 
Dr.  Poteat.  Jude  is  accepted  as  the  author  of  Hebrews,  following 
Dubarle.  With  Dr.  Torrey  of  Yale,  Mr.  Brannon  seems  to  accept 
the  theory  that  much  of  the  New  Testament  was  written  origin- 
ally in  Aramaic  rather  than  in  Greek.  The  Virgin  Birth  is  dis- 
missed as  unimportant  and  there  is  no  sympathy  for  anyone  who 
would  argue  over  Revelation.  With  many  of  these  conclusions 
other  scholars  will  quarrel.  The  treatment  is  non-theological  and 
non-sectarian,  though  modern  moralizing  about  atomic  bombs 
inevitably  creeps  in.  Though  he  is  a  Presbyterian  elder,  Mr. 
Brannon's  views  on  election  will  not  square  with  those  of  John 
Calvin.  There  is  little  comfort  anywhere  for  the  fundamentalist : 
there  are  doubtless  some  things  for  which  Mr.  Brannon  would  go 
to  the  stake,  but  Adam's  rib  is  not  one  of  them. 

Numerous  books  by  John  Raymond  Shute,  long-time  mayor  of 
Monroe,  North  Carolina,  and  sometime  president  of  the  North 
Carolina  League  of  Municipalities,  have  testified  to  his  varied 


North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works  for  1951       249 

intellectual  interests.  The  Seer,  like  most  of  the  others,  defies 
neat  classification.  In  part,  it  consists  of  hoary  jokes  dressed  in 
the  dignified  language  of  parable,  but,  like  the  rose,  by  any 
other  name  they  still  smell,  though  not  like  the  rose.  In  the  main, 
however,  we  have  the  reflections  of  a  vigorous  mind  which  has 
broken  with  dogmatic  creeds  and  departed  the  temples  of  child- 
hood to  seek  solace  among  other  gods,  striving  to  live  in  tune  with 
humanity  around  it.  The  book  has  about  it  the  strangeness  of 
familiarity.  Khalil  Gibran's  The  Prophet  comes  to  mind  again 
and  again ;  it  is  perhaps  as  good  a  guess  as  any  as  to  the  inspira- 
tion of  this  strange  medley.  Its  irony  is  poked  at  the  practices  and 
institutions  of  formal  creeds,  but  it  is  often  too  subtle  for  its 
purpose  and  certainly  too  confused  for  clarity.  Amid  the  verbi- 
age of  the  parabolic  method  it  seems  to  say,  though  I  would  not 
be  too  sure  of  it,  that  God  is  a  human  concept  made  to  function 
in  the  mental  pattern  of  man;  that  we  are  all  divine;  that  the 
Kingdom  of  God  is  within  us ;  that  "man  does  not  require  author- 
ity for  his  religion  if  he  makes  religion  his  authority."  This  is  as 
close  as  I  can  come  to  what  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  call 
the  "Monroe  Doctrine." 

As  we  move  from  religion  to  history  each  of  you  may  decide 
for  himself  whether  we  follow  ascending  or  descending  order. 
But,  either  way,  it  seems  appropriate  to  begin  with  a  work 
whose  scope  is  an  entire  hemisphere.  The  pre-Columbian  history 
of  the  Americas  is  being  pieced  together  into  an  impressive 
panorama  by  the  patient  toil  of  learned  anthropologists  and  dili- 
gent archeologists.  In  Americans  Before  Columbus  Elizabeth 
Chesley  Baity  takes  the  learning  and  makes  it  intelligible  to 
the  layman.  Informal  and  conversational  in  tone,  the  writing  is 
dominated  by  the  spirit  of  an  informed  imagination,  restrained 
by  a  respect  for  the  facts  of  the  epic  story.  But  by  means  of  fact 
and  imagination,  and  fifty  pages  of  pictures,  we  are  taken  on  the 
journey  of  those  first  Americans  who,  pushed  south  by  the  cold 
breath  of  the  ice  age,  passed  in  restless  generations  for  twenty 
thousand  years  across  the  face  of  America.  Parts  of  our  jour- 
ney reveal  the  fascinating  ways  in  which  the  remote  past  may 
even  yet  speak  to  him  who  has  eyes  to  hear ;  other  parts  give  us 
glimpses  and  insights  of  fabulous  figures  of  yore,  from  "Minne- 
sota Minnie"  to  the  Incas  of  the  Andean  mountains.  Here  we 


250  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

have  both  a  detective  story  and  a  peep  show,  and  we  become 
grateful  that  earth  kept  a  record  until  man  became  intelligent 
enough  to  read  it. 

It  is  not  only  the  earth  which  has  kept  historical  records — 
men  and  nations  make  them  too.  One  of  these  men  is  Harry  S. 
Truman,  and  one  of  the  nations  is  the  United  States.  Regardless 
of  one's  political  opinions  it  would  be  hard  to  read  Jonathan 
Daniels's  The  Man  of  Independence  without  wondering  whether 
this  is  possibly  what  posterity  will  say  about  Harry  S.  Truman. 
The  study  reveals  a  "typical  American"  who  has  exhibited  no 
evidences  of  imaginative  leadership,  instinctive  wisdom,  or  lofty 
principles,  but  who  nevertheless  mirrors  the  average  American 
in  his  personality,  outlook,  and  experience.  It  is  the  Daniels 
thesis  that  the  color  and  flavor  of  America  is  personified  by 
Truman,  and  his  book  is  therefore  as  much  the  biography  of 
contemporary  America  as  of  its  president,  who  becomes  an  ex- 
ample of  how  the  American  democratic  faith  sustains  itself 
through  the  capacity  of  ordinary  men  to  govern  themselves.  The 
country  may  have  needed  more  than  Truman,  but  it  might  have 
got — or  get — worse. 

This  thesis  makes  for  an  interesting  but  highly  controversial 
book.  We  have  long  known  that  Mr.  Daniels  not  only  has  a  mind 
of  his  own  but,  like  his  father  before  him,  can  speak  it  as  well. 
He  speaks  it  here  in  a  style  which  is  always  distinguished,  fre- 
quently beautiful,  and  sometimes  brilliant.  Written  from  intimate 
knowledge,  and  with  perception  and  sympathy,  the  tone  is  one  of 
admiration  bordering  on  adulation,  and  some  have  thought  it  "so 
cloying  in  its  sweetness  as  to  curdle  honey."  The  pun  in  the  title 
is  evident  throughout.  We  cannot  here  summarize  the  author's 
position  on  the  many  controversial  aspects  of  Truman's  career. 
May  we  say,  however,  that  on  the  subjects  of  Pendergast,  Byrnes, 
Civil  Rights,  the  1944  convention,  and  a  dozen  other  such  ques- 
tions, Jonathan  Daniels  tries  hard  to  be  fair.  Perhaps,  even,  he 
is  fair,  but — try  as  he  may — all  his  adjectives  seem  to  fight  on 
Truman's  side. 

From  the  hemisphere  and  the  nation  a  certain  logical  order 
brings  us  to  the  state,  and  to  our  own  state  of  North  Carolina.  In 
The  Negro  and  Fusion  Politics  in  North  Carolina,  1894-1901, 
Dr.  Helen  G.  Edmonds  has  written  a  competent  monograph  on  a 


North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works  for  1951       251 

subject  which  has  needed  investigation  for  fifty  years.  Examin- 
ing a  turbulent  and  controversial  period  of  North  Carolina's 
political  history  characterized  by  the  resurgence  of  the  Negro  in 
political  life,  she  has  marshalled  the  irrefutable  evidence  of  facts 
and  figures  to  modify  the  verdict  of  the  more  emotional  and  prej- 
udiced treatments  of  former  years.  She  shows  that  the  number 
of  Negro  office-holders  was  never  large,  and  that  Negro  office- 
holding,  on  any  political  level,  as  an  act  in  itself,  provided  fuel 
for  the  ousted  Democrats  to  raise  the  cry  of  Negro  domination. 
Dr.  Edmonds  is  also  aware  of  the  economic  motives  behind  the 
glare  of  race,  and  she  admits  the  complexities  of  the  period,  but 
her  emphasis  remains  upon  the  racial  issue  in  politics.  Her  con- 
clusions seem  likely  to  meet  the  test  of  historical  examination, 
for  she  has  made  a  thorough  use  of  both  private  and  public 
documentary  material,  and  these  deserve  a  respectful  hearing. 
Essentially  a  sound  work,  the  book  is  undistinguished  in  style, 
and  is  occasionally  marred  by  a  contentious  spirit  which  delights 
in  quoting  from  the  dead,  remarks  which  they  would  now  likely 
be  too  intelligent  to  repeat. 

Logic  would  seem  to  say  that  from  state  history  we  should 
move  to  county  history;  so  we  shall  follow  logic  and  examine 
Essays  on  North  Carolina  History,  by  Clarence  W.  Griffin.  The 
writings  of  Mr.  Griffin  of  Forest  City  are  familiar  to  almost 
every  literate  person  in  North  Carolina  who  has  any  interest  in 
the  history  of  his  state.  These  essays,  gleaned  from  various 
sources,  most  of  them  official,  recall  the  already  familiar  back- 
drop of  the  author's  historical  interest:  old  houses,  old  land- 
marks, and  old  characters  of  Rutherford.  Not  so  solid  or 
scholarly  a  volume  as  his  earlier  The  History  of  Old  Tryon  and 
Rutheniord  Counties,  it  still  affords  us  some  good  descriptions  of 
appurtenances  of  bygone  days,  such  as  water-powered  grist- 
mills and  covered  bridges;  and  we  even  learn  why  Republicans 
live  in  the  mountains. 

While  Rutherford  County  is  again,  as  usual,  Mr.  Griffin's 
special  grazing  ground,  he  allows  himself  occasionally  to  roam 
into  the  outer  pastures  of  the  surrounding  area  for  the  sake  of  a 
few  wild  oats.  The  title  of  the  volume  is  a  bit  pretentious,  for 
most  of  the  essays  are  reprints  from  a  newspaper  column  writ- 
ten in  the  water  of  the  fourth  estate  more  than  two  years  ago. 


252  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Since  these  articles  are  not  necessarily  related  to  one  another  and 
follow  no  chronological — or  any  other  kind  of — order,  one 
wonders  if  their  original  title  might  not  be  the  more  fitting  one : 
"Dropped  Stitches  in  Rutherford  History." 

From  county  to  town  is  an  easy  step,  and  we  move  to  Fayette- 
ville  with  John  A.  Oates.  In  The  Story  of  Fayetteville  and  the 
Upper  Cape  Fear  Mr.  Oates  presents  two  hundred  years  of  local 
history  of  the  most  inclusive  sort  in  a  massive  volume.  It  is  safe 
to  assert  that  virtually  anything  you  wish  to  know  about  Fayette- 
ville, and  a  good  deal  that  you  don't,  is  in  this  tome  of  almost 
nine  hundred  pages.  But  you  probably  cannot  locate  it,  for  the 
organization  is  bad  and  there  is  no  index,  and  it  has  one  chapter 
which  is  four  hundred  pages  in  length.  Yet  the  men  and  women 
of  a  glorious  past  are  made  to  live  again,  and  their  activities  and 
ambitions  in  the  political,  educational,  and  religious  life  of  the 
region  are  developed  in  proper  perspective.  The  result  of  dili- 
gent research,  it  will  prove  a  useful  fountain  of  fact  and  folklore 
about  the  upper  Cape  Fear  region. 

History  can  become  more  local  than  the  town,  for  communi- 
ties develop  institutions  and  these  often  deserve  portrayal.  We 
have  three  samples :  one  of  a  church,  one  of  a  school,  and  one  of  a 
secret  order. 

Biography  of  a  Country  Church  is  by  Garland  A.  Hendricks 
and  is  a  centennial  history  of  Olive  Chapel  Baptist  Church  in 
Wake  County.  Written  by  the  pastor,  it  traces  the  adventures  of 
the  church  from  the  eleven-member  beginning  of  1850  to  its  mem- 
bership of  560  a  century  later.  But  though  we  travel  with  this 
church  for  a  full  hundred  years  we  wonder  if  we  are  ever  taken 
inside.  We  learn,  to  be  sure,  of  its  physical  growth,  its  building 
programs,  and  its  fiscal  progress,  but  there  is  little  or  nothing  of 
its  spiritual  biography  as  a  factor  in  the  life  of  the  community. 
There  are,  it  is  true,  occasional  glimpses  of  the  rural  heritage  at 
work,  and  there  are  interesting  accounts  of  key  personalities, 
such  as  the  "Prophet  of  the  Ridge,"  but  there  is,  by  contrast, 
little  evidence  of  the  passion  for  righteousness  by  which  the 
cultural  level  of  the  community  is  said  to  have  been  raised. 
Though  the  crucial  achievement  of  this  church  is  claimed  to  be  its 
success  in  "making  the  Christian  religion  a  qualifying  factor 


North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works  for  1951       253 

in  every  aspect  of  community  life,"  we  must  take  this  on  faith 
which,  according  to  St.  Paul,  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen. 

The  School  of  Textiles,  N.  C.  State  College,  Its  Past  and 
Present,  by  T.  R.  Hart,  is  a  labor  of  love  written  from  the  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  a  third  of  a  century  at  N.  C.  State  College. 
Like  most  schools,  this  one  is  more  than  the  lengthened  shadow 
of  any  one  man.  Stimulated  by  the  labors  of  such  men  as  Heriot 
Clarkson  and  Daniel  A.  Tompkins  at  the  turn  of  the  century,  and 
ably  led  by  Dean  Thomas  Nelson  in  a  later  era,  a  separate  textile 
school  was  established  in  1925.  Aided  by  the  contributions  of 
private  industry  and  by  the  gratifying  results  of  textile  research, 
the  school  has  today  taken  its  place — which  is  one  of  signifi- 
cance— in  the  growing  industrialization  of  North  Carolina  and 
the  South.  If  one  wishes  to  read  a  streamlined  account  of  the 
establishment  of  this  school,  its  administrative  leaders,  its 
faculty,  facilities,  curriculum,  the  location  of  its  alumni,  or  its 
services  to  the  textile  industry,  one  can  find  it  all  in  this  compe- 
tent volume  by  the  present  director  of  instruction. 

Equally  authentic  is  Greensboro  Lodge  No.  76,A.F.&A.  M.,  in 
which  Early  W.  Bridges,  author  of  Masonic  Governors  of  North 
Carolina,  past  master  of  Greensboro  Lodge  No.  76,  and  curator 
of  the  Masonic  Museum,  offers  a  history  of  the  lodge,  done  in  the 
filiopietistic  spirit  of  an  official  historian.  The  heart  of  the  book 
is  the  series  of  sketches  of  masters  of  the  lodge  over  its  life  of 
130  years.  Written  largely  from  the  minutes  of  the  lodge,  and 
from  a  number  of  secondary  sources,  it  gives  us  the  straight- 
forward and  largely  unadorned  account  of  the  life  and  expan- 
sion of  an  important  component  part  of  the  sweet  land  of 
secrecy.  "Masonry  is  a  profession,"  wrote  Dr.  Hubert  Poteat. 
In  this  vein  we  have  portrayed  the  "spirit  of  '76." 

There  remain  two  studies  which  we  may  include  in  the  his- 
torical category,  and  their  wide  variance  illustrates  the  inclu- 
siveness  of  that  discipline.  The  Navy  and  Industrial  Mobilization 
in  World  War  II  illustrates  how  the  recent  global  conflict  taught 
us  lessons  on  the  industrial  front  as  well  as  on  the  military. 
Robert  H.  Connery,  professor  of  public  administration  at  Duke 
University,  gives  us  an  impressive  example  of  administrative 
history  done  in  the  soundest  manner  of  thorough  scholarship. 
His  work  is  a  history  of  the  Navy  ashore,  and  the  story  is  domi- 
nated by  the  statesmanship  of  one  man,  James  Forrestal.  It  was 


254  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

he  who  led  the  material  organization  and  greatly  improved  the 
administrative  structure  of  the  Department  of  the  Navy.  It  was 
he  who  balanced  civilian  control  and  operational  freedom  to  the 
satisfaction  of  both.  The  tremendous  problems  of  industrial  mo- 
bilization, and  the  organization  to  effect  it,  are  described  in 
faithful  detail.  How  can  a  nation  centralize  policy-making  and 
decentralize  operations  ?  How  can  that  "magic  blend  of  profit  and 
patriotism"  be  attained?  What  is  the  relation  between  strategy 
and  logistics?  One  may  read  the  answers  in  the  decisions  con- 
cerning contracts,  allocations,  priorities,  and  procurements  in 
an  enterprise  in  which  dollars  were  of  no  consideration  after 
1941.  Above  all  else  we  learn  two  things  from  this  story:  there  is 
a  science  as  well  as  an  art  of  mobilizing  for  war ;  and  there  is  no 
easy  or  cheap  way  to  win  a  global  conflict.  This  is  a  hundred  bil- 
lion dollar  story.  On  the  morning  of  the  tenth  anniversary  of 
Pearl  Harbor  it  is  pleasant  to  have  such  abundant  evidence  that 
the  Navy  recovered  from  that  treacherous  blow. 

Equally  impressive  is  American  Sociology  by  Howard  W. 
Odum.  From  the  vantage  point  of  the  mid-century  position  a 
distinguished  sociologist  has  told  the  story  of  the  rise  of  his 
own  subject  from  the  groping  frontier  stage  into  a  mature 
academic  position.  Some  of  the  professional  language  is  present, 
but  the  book  is  not  written  for  the  specialist  so  much  as  for  the 
layman.  Here  is  the  tale  of  a  dynamic  discipline  which  has 
spawned  a  thousand  Ph.D.'s  and  a  jargon  of  its  own.  It  is  pri- 
marily the  story  of  teaching,  research,  and  writing,  of  societies 
and  journals,  with  emphasis  upon  men  more  than  upon  move- 
ments. Here  we  may  find  the  heritage  and  trends,  the  promise 
and  prospect  of  a  promiscuous  mistress,  for  sociology  has  never 
achieved  the  integrity  of  one  science.  From  Ward  and  Sumner 
and  Giddings  to  Odum  himself  the  procession  marches  on  before 
us  in  full  display,  prolific  and  prolix.  They  have  pioneered  in 
social  theory  and  industrial  relations,  in  race  and  family  and 
population  studies,  in  regionalism,  and  in  a  dozen  other  cate- 
gories. Religion  as  a  social  institution  they  appear  to  have 
neglected ;  or,  to  put  it  another  way,  they  have  avoided  analysis 
of  any  value  systems.  And  sociology  has  been  very  critical  of 
the  magnificent  generalizations  of  a  Spengler  or  a  Toynbee. 
Sumner's  Science  of  Society  now  disclaims  being  a  science  of 


North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works  for  1951       255 

progress.  It  has  sought  no  pot  of  gold  at  the  rainbow's  end.  Yet, 
as  Gerald  Johnson  has  said,  the  average  American  regards  soci- 
ology somewhat  as  he  does  penicillin :  "It  is  obviously  a  necessity 
in  the  modern  world.  It  has  worked  some  marvelous  cures  and 
promises  to  work  more,  but  it  is  tricky.  Unintelligently  handled, 
its  toxicity  can  be  terrific  and  the  greatest  experts  don't  know 
any  too  much  about  the  after  effects."  But  if  anybody  knows,  it 
will  likely  be  Dr.  Howard  Washington  Odum.  Certainly  he  knows 
everything  else  about  American  sociology. 

From  Duke  University  there  are  two  studies  of  literary  fig- 
ures. In  The  Literary  Career  of  Nathaniel  Tucker,  1750-1807, 
Professor  Lewis  Leary,  already  the  author  of  a  most  successful 
life  of  Philip  Freneau,  offers  the  story  of  the  career  of  another 
failure.  Nathaniel  Tucker  was  an  admittedly  minor  poet  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  distinguished  only  by  a  literary  ambition  and 
an  itch  for  fame  which  he  never  realized.  Coming  from  his  native 
Bermuda  to  Charleston  in  1771,  "where  gallantry  was  a  pleasant 
avocation,"  he  soon  went  to  England  where  he  spent  the  remain- 
ing thirty  years  of  life  in  the  literary  exercise  of  "wrenching  a 
rhyme  into  place"  as  an  avocation,  and  engaging  in  the  desultory 
practice  of  medicine  as  a  vocation.  His  poems  were  emotional 
and  furious  but  essentially  without  meaning  and  certainly  with- 
out distinction.  They  were  usually  imitative  and  always  didactic, 
attempting  to  discover  amid  the  murky  tangle  of  cruelty  dis- 
played by  man  to  man  some  intelligent  pattern  which  the  vir- 
tuous might  follow.  Listen: 

Great  God  of  Nature,  is  it  so, 
Was  man  created  but  for  wo? 
Must  all  the  pleasure  he  can  share 
Confirm  and  heighten  his  despair? 


Some  future  period  in  thy  plan, 
Must  justify  thy  ways  to  man. 

Convinc'd,  even  while  with  grief  deprest, 
That  all  thy  kind  decrees  are  best. 

This  is  retreat,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  in  later  life  Tucker 
found  in  Swedenborg  refreshment  and  solace,  for  the  rational 
precision  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  incapable  of  explaining 


256  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  irrational  conduct  of  man.  This  was  the  transcendentalism 
of  escape,  and  Tucker  might  fittingly  take  a  place  in  Edwin 
Arlington  Robinson's  gallery  of  conspicuous  failures.  But  one 
man's  poison  is  another  man's  meat;  Professor  Leary  has  made 
a  critical  success  for  himself  out  of  the  literary  failure  of  another. 
What  there  is  at  Duke  which  makes  escapism  attractive  I  do 
not  know.  But  I  do  know  that  another  Duke  professor,  Loring 
Baker  Walton,  in  Anatole  France  and  the  Greek  World,  has  ex- 
amined the  literary  career  of  that  expert  amateur  in  antiquity 
who  hypnotized  himself  with  the  beautiful  past,  not  of  Sweden- 
borg,  but  of  Homer  and  Spohocles  and  Phidias.  Anatole  France 
once  said  that  when  he  died  he  knew  the  worms  of  scholarship 
would  swarm  over  his  literary  corpse.  Yet  this  worm  has  bored 
with  a  sympathy  and  an  appreciation  and  a  vast  learning  which 
must  have  eased  the  ordeal  of  the  victim.  The  worm  has  turned 
up  a  carcass  which  had  a  voraciously  curious  mind,  enthusiastic 
rather  than  systematic,  and  whose  pen  wrote  as  one  who  lived 
as  well  as  loved  the  myths  which  saturated  his  being.  The  great 
charm  of  Anatole  France  was,  as  was  the  charm  of  the  Greeks, 
that  he  was  ever  a  grown-up  child,  brought  up  on  myths  and 
never  tiring  of  them  even  when  he  ceased  to  believe  them ;  they 
were  beautiful  veils  thrown  over  the  mystery  of  life.  "The  man 
who  made  a  museum  of  his  own  home  always  felt  at  home  in 
museums."  In  his  nine  journeys  to  the  regions  of  antiquity,  and 
in  scores  of  vicarious  ones,  he  learned  to  worship  Greece  as  a 
substitute  for  the  Christian  faith  he  had  lost.  Militantly  anti- 
clerical, he  was  ever  hostile  to  the  jealous  Hebrew  God  of  Christi- 
anity; he  idolized  polytheism  and  worshipped  Greek  humanity 
and  beauty  as  the  supreme  achievement  of  the  human  race.  In 
the  panorama  of  life  spread  out  behind  us  Greece  was  its  most 
beautiful  moment.  But  the  Greek  minds  abhorred  a  miracle,  be- 
lieving they  had  the  courage  to  face  reality :  France  had  no  such 
courage.  Aristotle  admitted  that  the  Greeks  were  not  a  happy 
people :  neither  was  Anatole  France.  Professor  Walton  has  writ- 
ten a  beautiful  book  to  clarify  France's  position  as  an  exponent  of 
the  antique  and  to  show  the  impact  of  Greek  culture  on  modern 
French  literature.  Though  the  book  is  directed  principally  to 
France  specialists  and  to  literary  historians  we,  who  are  neither, 


North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works  for  1951       257 

can  still  be  happy  that  we  did  not  follow  his  frank  admonition 
and  skip  a  couple  of  chapters.  We  had  to  watch  the  worm  turn. 

Economics  is  represented  by  only  one  book,  but  it  is  well  repre- 
sented. Calvin  B.  Hoover  and  B.  U.  Ratchford,  two  more  Duke 
scholars,  have  given  us  a  great  deal  to  chew  on  in  their  volume  on 
Economic  Resources  and  Policies  of  the  South.  Do  not  let  the 
appearance  of  this  book  discourage  you.  It  looks  formidable 
because  of  its  nearly  one  hundred  statistical  tables  and  its  dozen 
charts,  together  with  the  staggering  array  of  footnotes  which 
testify  to  the  scholarship  of  the  authors.  But  there  is  reward  for 
the  serious  reader  as  he  journeys  down  the  assembly  line  of 
facts  about  the  productive  resources  of  the  South.  For  this 
volume  is  not  simply  a  collection  of  facts,  but  an  interpretation 
as  well,  particularly  as  the  data  bear  on  the  problem  of  lifting 
income  in  the  South,  which  is  the  central  theme  of  the  study. 

The  result  is  a  sound  and  sensible  analysis  of  the  structure  of 
southern  economy  which  never  claims  overwhelming  riches  for 
the  region,  as  some  more  careless  enthusiasts  have  formerly  as- 
serted. On  the  contrary,  it  presents  a  picture  of  a  region  whose 
soil  is  relatively  poor,  whose  income  is  low,  whose  educational 
system  is  inadequate,  and  which  is  short  on  its  proportionate 
share  of  industry,  machinery,  and  banking,  and  whose  produc- 
tion and  marketing  system  is  faulty.  Analysis  is  followed  by  con- 
clusion :  whereas  the  South  does  not  have  unlimited  resources  or 
great  wealth,  proper  policies  could  raise  the  present  level  of 
income  to  a  substantially  higher  figure.  Education  and  carefully 
selected  industry  are  suggested  as  the  most  feasible  means, 
offering  substantial  rewards.  This  is  the  best  of  several  analyses 
of  southern  resources,  and  it  is  the  best  because  the  findings  have 
been  digested  as  well  as  discovered.  It  is  a  reference  to  which 
scholars  will  continually  turn  for  both  knowledge  and  wisdom. 

Wisdom  of  quite  another  kind  is  furnished  us  by  the  remaining 
two  volumes  of  our  original  eighteen.  It  comes  through  the 
medium  of  autobiography. 

In  the  September,  1951,  issue  of  The  Woman's  Home  Com- 
panion Turnley  Walker,  still  not  really  recovered  from  polio, 
wrote  as  follows :  "On  the  advice  of  two  well-known  editors  and 
a  family  friend,  I  wrote  a  little  book  about  what  I  was  seeing 
and  feeling  and,  though  I  still  could  not  walk,  I  made  myself 
walk  at  the  close  of  the  little  book.  When  the  words  were  down 


258  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

on  paper  I  knew  that  some  day,  in  some  manner,  my  nearly  help- 
less legs  would  actually  accomplish  this." 

The  "little  book,"  called  Rise  Up  And  Walk,  became  a  Book-of- 
the-Month  Club  selection,  its  pages  revealing  even  more  con- 
vincingly than  does  the  quotation,  the  valor  of  the  victim.  For  it 
is  the  mental  autobiography  of  a  polio  patient ;  it  is  a  powerful 
personal  testimony  that  polio  is  a  lonely  place,  a  quiet  life  where 
nothing  moves  but  the  wheels  in  the  brain.  It  is  not  a  medical 
answer  but  the  reply  of  the  human  spirit  to  a  shattering  experi- 
ence. This  slender  volume  is  beautifully  written  with  an  economy 
of  words,  and  its  simplicity  carries  conviction. 

A  Southern  Lawyer  by  Aubrey  Lee  Brooks  is  the  autobiog- 
raphy of  an  outstanding  southern  liberal  who  grew  up  with  the 
"Hartford  of  the  South,"  and  who  has  made  a  reputation  for 
himself  not  only  as  a  lawyer  but  as  an  author  and  an  editor  as 
well.  Mr.  Brooks  tells  his  story  with  simplicity  and  directness, 
and  it  is  characterized  by  a  certain  mellow  philosophy  which 
contributes  to  its  unfailing  interest.  It  has  about  it  an  authentic 
southern  flavor,  more  easily  recognized  than  defined,  and  exudes 
the  atmosphere  of  both  Cavalier  and  Puritan  attitudes  which 
were  the  author's  heritage.  His  life  has  about  it,  as  he  tells  it, 
a  certain  quality  of  infallibility:  if  he  ever  made  a  mistake  or 
committed  an  error  of  judgment  it  is  not  recorded  here — at  least 
not  as  an  error.  His  book  is  filled  with  anecdotes  and  employs 
his  intimate  knowledge  of  many  of  the  great  and  would-be-great 
in  North  Carolina  and  beyond.  Fair-mindedness  characterizes 
his  accounts  of  numerous  celebrated  cases  in  North  Carolina, 
such  as  the  Lassiter  case,  the  Cole  case,  the  Cannon-Reynolds- 
Holman  case,  in  each  of  which  he  played  a  conspicuous  part.  His 
account  of  the  Richardson  case  is  not  exactly  the  way  in  which 
other  Presbyterians  might  tell  it.  Still  we  may  conclude  that 
Mr.  Brooks  has  achieved  that  quality  of  perspective  which  com- 
bined with  age  and  wisdom  and  sincerity  gives  dignity  to  litera- 
ture as  well  as  to  life. 

It  seems  evident  that  we  have  found,  in  this  analysis,  no  com- 
mon denominator.  But  I,  for  one,  am  glad  of  it.  North  Carolina 
is  celebrated  as  a  state  of  varied  resources,  and  if  we  could  have 
boiled  down  her  literary  production  into  one  pattern  we  would 
be  out  of  tune  with  her  principal  characteristic — the  infinite 
riches  of  variety. 


LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO 
ANDREW  JOHNSON 

Edited  By  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

[Continued'} 

From  William  Scott  Worth104 
By  Telegraph 

Greensboro  N.  C. 

Oct.  2nd  1867. 
Maj  Jas  P.  Roy 
Act'g  Pro  Mar  Gen'l. 
2nd  Mil  Dist 
Charleston  S.  C. 

Jesse  C.  Griffith  has  been  sheriff  and  Zacharrias  Hoper  Jailor  of 
Caswell  County  N.  C.  Since  I  have  been  in  command  of  this  Post, 
and  I  understand  have  held  that  position  for  the  last  two  years. 

Capt  and  Bvt  Maj  U.  S.  A. 

Com'd'g  Post. 
A  true  copy 
L.  V.  Caziarc 
A.  D.  C.  A  A  A  A  G. 
Hdqs  2d  mily  Dist 
Nov.  11,  1867 

From  Edgar  W.  Dennis105 
Copy 

Headquarters  Second  Military  District, 
Judge  Advocates  Office, 
Charleston  S.  C.  October  4, 1867 
Lieutenant  Louis  V.  Caziarc, 
Act.  Asst.  Adjt  General 
Sir: 

The  papers  in  the  case  of  Wm.  M.  Johnson,  are  respectfully 
returned  with  the  following  remarks:106 

William  M.  Johnson  is  a  citizen  of  Rockingham  County,  North 
Carolina,  was  a  union  man,  belonging  to  the  army  of  the  so-called 
Confederate  States.  In  the  spring  of  1863,  he  deserted  from  that 
army  and  endeavored  to  raise  a  company  of  men  to  cross  with 
him  to  the  Federal  lines.  He  was  closely  pressed  by  rebel  con- 
script hunters,  and  being  without  money,  or  food,  he  with  two 


104  William  Scott  Worth  of  New  York  entered  the  army  as  a  second  lieutenant  on  April  26, 

1861,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general  before  his  retirement  on  November  9,  1898.  He 
was  brevetted  for  meritorious  service  at  Petersburg  and  in  the  campaign  which  terminated 
with  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  at  Appomattox.  Heitman,  Historical  Register  and  Dic- 
tionary of  the  United  States  Army,  I,  1061. 

los  Edgar  Whetten  Dennis  joined  the  New  York  artillery  on  December  27,  1861,  and  served 
as  a  private  until  February  20,  1862,  when  he  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant.  On  July  11, 

1862,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain  and  on  January  19,  1865,  he  became  a  major. 
He  was  brevetted  a  lieutenant  colonel  on  December  2,  1865,  and  remained  in  the  army  until 
his  resignation  on  May  22,  1869.  He  died  on  April  2,  1878.  Heitman,  Historical  Register  and 
Dictionary  of  the  United  States  Army,  I,  367. 

106  See  General  Canby's  letter  of  November  14,  1867. 

[259] 


260  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

others,  entered  the  house  of  one  Moore,  and  without  offering 
violence  to  any  of  the  family,  took  therefrom  for  their  immediate 
necessities  about  twenty  dollars  worth  of  bread  and  meat,  and 
five  dollars  in  Confederate  money.  His  companions  were  captured, 
confined  in  the  Rockingham  County  jail  and  indicted  at  the  next 
session  of  the  Superior  Court,  together  with  Johnson,  for  Bur- 
glary. The  other  two  were  tried ;  acquitted  of  the  burglary,  con- 
victed of  larceny  and  pardoned,  on  condition  that  they  would  join 
the  rebel  army,  which  they  did. 

Johnson  himself,  with  the  indictment  for  burglary  hanging 
over  him,  escaped  through  the  Union  lines ;  entered  the  Federal 
service;  was  appointed  1st  Lieutenant  in  the  10th.  Tennessee 
Volunteers,  and  served  faithfully  with  the  Union  forces,  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  then  returned  to  Rockingham  county, 
was  arrested  on  the  old  indictment  of  1863,  for  Burglary,  was 
refused  bail,  although  those  indicted  for  murder  were  allowed  it, 
and  confined  to  await  his  trial,  subjected  to  every  sort  of  indig- 
nity. He  suceeded  in  having  the  place  of  trial  changed  to  Caswell 
county,  and  at  the  Fall  term  of  the  court  in  1866,  was  found 
guilty  of  Burglary,  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged. 

From  the  Superior  Court,  his  case  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
court,  in  the  spring  of  1867,  and  his  sentence  was  there  confirmed. 

So  soon  as  he  was  convicted,  in  the  Superior  court,  he  was 
thrust  into  jail,  chained  down  in  an  iron  cage,  nine  feet  square 
by  six  feet  high,  without  fire  or  sufficient  clothing,  or  any  means 
of  warmth,  during  the  winter  season,  in  which  condition  he  was 
forced  to  remain  until  about  the  6th  day  of  May,  1867,  when  he 
was  released  upon  an  absolute  pardon,  granted  by  Gov  Worth, 
under  date  of  the  27th,  day  of  April,  1867. 

This  inhuman  treatment  was  under  the  direction  of  Jesse  C. 
Griffith,  Sheriff  of  Caswell  county,  assisted  by  Zacharius  Hooper, 
Jailor,  and  was  imposed  solely  because  Johnson  was  a  Union  man 
and  had  served  in  the  Union  Army. 

Upon  the  trial  in  the  Superior  Court,  the  Judge,  on  a  charge  of 
Burglary,  admitted  the  following  evidence  to  wit :-  that  Johnson 
had  acted  as  guide  for  Stoneman  in  his  raid  in  North  Carolina; 
that  he  had  said  he  wished  every  damned  secessionist  was  killed ; 
that  he  (Johnson)  had  done  them  all  the  harm  he  could  &  c. 

The  Solicitor,  Thomas  Settle,  who  conducted  the  prosecution, 
was  Johnson's  former  Confederate  Captain  and  kept  it  prominent- 
ly before  the  court  and  jury  that  the  prisoner  had  been  a  deserter, 
and  traitor  to  the  Confederate  cause.  One  of  the  prosecuting 
attorney's,  in  his  remarks  to  the  jury,  is  reported  to  have  said 
Johnson  "was  a  deserter  from  the  Confederate  army,  and  ought 
to  be  hung  anyhow." 

It  is  recommended  that  the  said  Griffith  be  tried  by  Military 
commission.  It  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  join  the  Jailor  of  Cas- 
well county,  in  the  charge,  for  the  reason  that,  by  the  laws  of 
North  Carolina,  the  Sheriff  is  principally  responsible  for  the 
treatment  of  prisoners  as  may  be  confined  in  a  county  jail,  the 


Letters  from  North  Carolina  to  Andrew  Johnson    261 

jailor  acting  under  the  Sheriff's  direction,  and  by  his  orders.  Be- 
sides, it  is  not  thought  advisable  to  join  such  trials  together. 
A  true  copy 
Louis  V  Caziarc 
ADC  Actctly 
Hdqrs  2nd  Mily  Dist 
Nov.  11.  1867 

Very  Respectfully 
Your  Obt.  Servant 

Bvt.  Col.  Judge  Advocate  U.  S.  A. 

Judge  Advocate  2nd  Mil.  Dist. 

copy  From  Jonathan  Worth 

State  of  North  Carolina 
Executive  Department 
Raleigh  Oct  10th  1867. 
Major  Gen  Avery. 
Raleigh  N.  C. 
General 

I  enclose  letter  just  received  from  Mr  Phillpott  and  request  that 
you  avail  yourself  of  the  facts  stated  to  aid  in  the  examination 
of  the  witness  Susan  Lewis. 

I  regret  the  decision  of  your  Court,  declining  to  allow  the  State 
to  be  represented  on  this  trial  on  the  ground  that  "it  is  contrary 
to  all  precedent  and  against  the  usage  of  the  service/' 

I  know  nothing  of  precedent  or  the  usage  of  the  service  in 
Military  trials.  I  had  supposed  that  so  few  instances  had  occurred 
of  the  nullification  of  the  action  of  a  Civil  Court  by  order  of  a 
Military  Commandant,  on  the  ground  of  mal-conduct  on  the  part 
of  the  Civil  Court,  that  precedent  or  usage  had  scarcely  been 
established,  denying  to  the  State  the  right  to  be  heard  in  vindica- 
tion of  her  judicial  tribunals.  It  seems  I  was  mistaken  but  with 
all  due  respect  I  must  be  allowed  to  say  that  I  can  conceive  of  no 
just  ground  on  which  such  precedent  or  usage  rests. 

As  the  State  is  not  allowed  to  be  represented  on  a  trial  calling 
in  question  the  action  of  one  of  her  Courts,  I  desire  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  fact  which  I  stated  to  you  in  conversation  a  few 
days  ago,  that  Samuel  A.  Williams,107  a  pious  man  residing  at 
Oxford,  informed  me  in  writing  (which  written  statement  I  sent 
to  Genl  Sickles)  that  after  the  conviction  of  the  prisoner,  at 
Spring  Term  1865,  of  Granville  Superior  Court,  he  visited  the 
prison  to  pray  with  prisoner  and  prepare  him  for  death-  and 
that  prisoner  then,  without  any  question  by  said  Williams,  of  his 
own  free  will  confessed,  that  he  was  guilty  and  ought  to  die,  and 
desired  said  Williams  to  pray  for  him  and  prepare  him  for  death- 
and  that  he  (Williams)  communicated  to  you  the  facts  while  you 
were  investigating  the  facts  of  this  case,  to  accertain  whether 
justice  required  the  withdrawal  of  this  case  from  the  Civil 
authorities  of  the  State. 


107  See  Governor  Worth's  letter  to  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Williams,  May  21,  1867.  Hamilton,  Cor- 
respondence of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  961. 


262  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

If  there  be  color  of  doubt  as  to  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner,  or  the 
evidence  now  before  your  Court,  I  respectfully  ask  that  this  wit- 
ness be  summoned  and  examined  before  your  Court. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Yours  Very  Respectfully 
Governor  of  N.  C. 

From  G.  N.  Folk108 
Extract 

Lenoir  N.  C. 

Oct  12th  1867 
Colonel  Jno  R.  Edie  USA 
Comdg  Post 
Salisbury  No  Ca 

My  duty  as  Counsel  constrains  me  to  call  your  attention  to 
certain  criminal  prosecutions  now  pending  in  the  Superior  Court 
of  Law  for  Caldwell  County  against  William  Mck.  Blalock.  Blalock 
was  a  soldier  of  the  United  States,  and  during  the  war,  from  his 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  country,  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
union  men  of  this  section,  was  detailed  to  secure  recruits  for  that 
portion  of  the  Federal  Army  operating  in  East  Tenn.  He  was 
provided  with  recruiting  papers,  and  made  several  trips  between 
the  lines  of  the  two  armies.  While  engaged  in  collecting  recruits, 
and  guiding  them  into  the  union  Lines,  he  was  frequently  com- 
pelled to  avail  himself  of  the  premission  given  him  by  his  com- 
manding officer  to  provide  himself  and  party  with  food,  horses 
and  forage  from  the  country.  For  so  doing,  not  less  than  twenty 
indictments,  ranging  from  an  indictment  for  forcible  trespass  to 
one  for  murder,  have  been  found  against  him.  I  have  defended 
him  in  many  cases,  and  in  no  one  of  these  has  it  ever  been  proved 
that  he  took  a  single  thing  maliciously,  or  for  any  other  than  the 
purposes  indicated  in  his  orders. 

I  have  no  sympathy  with  Blalock  other  than  arises  from  my 
professional  connection  with  him,  having  served  throughout  the 
entire  war  in  the  armies  of  the  Confederate  States.  I  can  be  ac- 
tuated by  no  other  desire  than  to  do  my  duty  to  him  as  counsel, 
and  to  see  that  he  has  Justice. 

I  am,  Colonel, 

Very  Respectfully 

Your  Obt  Servt 
Counsel  for  Blalock 
Headquarters  2nd  Mil  District 
Charleston  S.  C.  No  13,  1867. 
A  true  copy 
Louis  V.  Caziarc 
A.  D.  C.  and  A.  A.  A.  G. 

From  Edward  R.  S.  Canby 
Copy 


108  G.  N.  Folk  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1874  and  was  among  those  who  favored 
the  calling  of  a  convention  in  North  Carolina.  Hamilton,  Reconstruction,  605. 


Letters  from  North  Carolina  to  Andrew  Johnson    263 

Head  Quarters  2nd  Mility  Dist 

Charleston  S.  C.  Oct  19th  1867. 
His  Excellency 

Jonathan  Worth, 
Governor  of  N.  C. 
Raleigh  N.  C. 
Sir. 

I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  extracts  from  the  report 
of  the  Judge  Advocate  of  this  District  upon  the  case  of  Carney 
Spears,  which  formed  the  subject  of  your  Communication  of  Aug 
14th  1867. 

The  real  merits  of  this  case  are  very  much  confused  but  it 
appears  to  have  been  the  intention  of  Captain  Denny  to  terminate 
a  service  on  the  part  of  Spears  that  was  indeffinite  in  period  and 
in  consideration.  With  this  understanding  and  to  this  extent  his 
action  has  been  approved  and  is  limited. 

Very  Respectfully  Sir. 
Your  Obt  Servant 
Bvt.  Maj.  Genl  Commanding 

"Extract  from  report  of  Judge  Advocate  2nd  Military  District 
dated  Charleston,  S.  C.  Oct.  10th  1867,  in  the  case  of  Carney 
Spears. 

"Continuing  his  statement  Capt  Denny  says,  that  he  found 
Spears  by  some  arrangement,  had  been  released  from  jail  upon 
one  Natt  Atkinson  becoming  responsible  to  the  Clerk  of  the 
Court  for  the  cost  of  the  suit,  Spears  to  work  with  him  until  he 
had  paid  by  labor  the  costs;  but  that  no  party  know  what  the 
costs  were  at  that  time  -  not  even  the  clerk  of  the  Court  and  that 
no  sum  per  month  had  been  fixed  as  the  compensation  to  be  al- 
lowed to  the  blackman  and  that  in  fact  there  was  no  further 
understanding  from  that  Atkinson  became  responsible  for  the 
costs,  not  knowing  how  much  they  amounted  to,  and  the  blackman 
was  to  work  until  he  had  re-imbursed  Atkinson.  Capt  Denny  then 
refers  to  General  Orders  No.  34.  C.  S.  which  provides  that  "Im- 
prisonment for  default  in  payment  of  costs,  fees  or  charges  of 
Court  shall  not  exceed  "thirty  days"  and  "insists  that  the  ar- 
rangement between  Spears  and  Atkinson  was  a  trick  to  evade  the 
requirements  of  that  order;  and  consequently  he  suspended  the 
further  operation  of  this  agreement  until  he  could  communicate 
all  the  facts  in  the  case" 

Captain  Denny  continuing  his  report  says,  It  will  be  borne  in 
mind  that  I  did  not  revoke  the  findings  of  the  jury  in  this  case.  I 
suspended  the  operation  of  the  virtual  selling  of  Spears,  because 
judgement  had  not  been  pressed  against  him  and  because  nobody 
appeared  to  know  what  the  costs  were,  or  what  compensation 
Atkinson  was  to  allow  him  a  month  for  services. 

Inasmuch  as  it  appears  from  a  thorough  examination  of  the 
case,  that  the  binding  out  of  Spears  to  Atkinson  was  totally  with- 
out legal  authorization  because  of  its  indefiniteness  as  to  the 
amount  Spears  was  to  pay  by  his  labor  and  the  time  he  was  to 
work  for  Atkinson,  it  is  thought  that  the  action  of  Capt  Denny 
should  not  only  be  interfered  with  but  confirmed ;  and  that  Spears 


264  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

be  released  from  his  supposed  obligation.  This  would  seem  the 
more  proper  course  for  the  reason  that  Coleman  in  his  statement 
asserts  that  the  Court  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  arrangement 
between  Spears  and  Atkinson.  In  this  view  upon  the  facts  before 
this  Office  there  seems  no  need  of  any  action  touching  the  Civil 
and  Judicial  Officers  whose  names  are  connected  with  the  case 
and  none  is  desired." 
Head  Quarters  2nd  Mil.  Dist. 
Oct.  19th  1867. 

Affidavit  of  Elisha  J.  Tweed 
State  of  North  Carolina  Madison  County 

I  E.  J.  Tweed  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  in  and  for  said  County 
do  certify  that  D.  E.  Freeman  Esq  before  whom  the  foregoing 
afidavits  were  made  was  at  that  time  and  still  is  an  acting  Justice 
of  the  Peace  duly  commissioned  and  sworn  as  the  law  directs  and 
that  the  signature  purporting  to  be  his  is  his  genuine  Signature. 
In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  the 
seal  of  said  Court  at  office  in  Marshall  This  the  19th  day  of  Oc- 
tober 1867 

E.  J.  Tweed  Clerk 
of  the  County  Court. 

Affidavit  of  A.  E.  Deaver 

[October  19,  1867] 
State  of  North  Carolina  County  of  Madison 

On  this  the  19th  day  of  October  1867.  Personally  appeared  be- 
fore me,  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  aforesaid  County  One  A.  E. 
Dever  [sic]  resident  of  the  County  of  Madison,  who  being  duly 
sworn,  deposeth  as  follows :-  I  heard  him  remark  at  Ash  [e]  ville 
Buncombe  County  North  Carolina  in  the  Buck  Hotel,  to  one  Man 
Hensley-a  resident  of  Marshall  Madison  County  who  was  so- 
journing at  Ash  [e]  ville  at  the  time  -  in  words  as  follows  as  near 
as  I  can  recollect-I  wish  you  to  return  to  Marshall  -  I  want  four 
(4)  Bushels  of  Liquor  at  the  Election  that  is  coming  on,  and  I 
shall  be  present  myself  at  this  election,  I  shall  not  go  off  as  I  did 
before  (This  election  illuded  to  the  one  for  Union  or  Secession 
that  was  held  on  the  28th  of  Feby  1861.  the  election  that  he 
wanted  to  have  the  5  Bushels  of  Liquor  at  was  to  come  off  on,  the 
13th  May  1861.)  This  man  Ransom  P  Merrell  has  always  bourn 
a  bad  character  as  an  overbearing  Desparado  and  has  always 
been  a  violent  Secessionist 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me  D.  E.  Freeman  J  P 

Affidavit  of  Elihu  H.  Rector 

[October  19,  1867] 
State  of  North  Carolina  County  of  Madison 
On  this  19th  day  of  October  1867.  Personally  appeared  before  me 
a  Justice  of  the  peace,  one  Elghu  [sic]  H.  Rector  a  resident  of 
Madison  County  State  of  North  Carolina  who  being  duly  sworn 
deposeth  as  follows. 

I  was  at  Marshall,  on  the  morning  of  the  election  of  the  13th 


Letters  from  North  Carolina  to  Andrew  Johnson    265 

of  May  1861.  I  heard  the  said  Merrell  hurra  for  Jeff  Davis  and 
the  Southern  Confederacy,  this  was  done  on  the  main  street 

Immediately  after  Hockley  Morton  a  citizen  in  the  aforesaid 
County  of  Madison  came  along  for  the  purpose  of  voting,  and 
whereupon  interrogated  by  Ransom  P  Merrell  as  follows-What 
are  you  doing  with  your  Gun?  I  do  not  remember  what  Norton 
replied;  but  Merrell  presented  his  pistol  and  advanced  upon 
Norton;-  Norton  gave  way  still  followed  by  Merrell,  pistol  in 
hand-  A  crowd  gathered  around  Merrell  and  Norton  went  off. 

Immediately,  and  as  soon  as  Norton  retired  out  of  his  reach ,- 
he  turned  around  and  presented  his  pistol  at  and  in  the  direction 
of  Nealy  Tweed  and  Elisha  J.  Tweed  his  son,  when  Nealy  Tweed 
saw  the  pistol  presented  towards  him  and  his  son,  he  dodged  be- 
hind some  other  men,-Merrell  took  deleberate  [sic]  aim,  and  fired 
wounding  (seriously)  Elisha  J.  Tweed  in  the  right  arm  &  right 
side  (Said  Elisha  J  Tweed  having  just  come  from  his  farm  for 
the  purpose  of  voting)  as  soon  as  he  shot  Elisha  J.  Tweed  he  was 
taken  to  a  House  and  locked  up  by  some  citizens  in  order  to  quell 
the  mob  and  row. 

After  being  locked  in  the  house  he  went  to  one  of  the  windows, 
up  stairs,  fronting  the  street  and  raised  it-He  then  presented 
himself  at  the  window  up  stairs  fronting  the  street  and  raised 
it-He  then  presented  himself  pistol  in  Hand,  and  he  said  "Come 
up  here  all  you  damn  Black  Republicans  and  take  a  shot  about 
with  me. 

I  have  known  Ransom  P  Merrell  for  ten  or  twelve  years,  and 
although  he  was  a  Civil  officer  he  was  always  apt  or  he  did  break 
the  peace  on  several  occasions. 
Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me  D.  E.  Freeman  J  P 

Affidavit  of  William  R.  Roberts 

[October  19,  1867] 
State  of  North  Carolina  County  of  Madison- 

On  thie  19th  day  of  October  1867.  Personally  appeared  before 
me  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  for  the  aforesaid  Madison  County,  one, 
William  R.  Roberts,  a  resident  of  Madison  County,  being  duly 
sworn  deposeth  as  follows-I  heard  Merrell  say  on  the  Morning 
of  the  Election  before  the  poles  were  open  that  he  (Merrell) 
entended  to  Rule  the  day  and  that  if  McDowell  was  not  elected 
he  (Merrell)  entended  to  shed  some  man's  blood.  (McDowell  was 
a  Secession  Candidate  against  Gudger  Union  Candidate)  I  furth- 
er saw  Tweed  shoot  Merrell,  and  I  also  heard  Merrell  say  after  he 
was  shot-Hurra  for  Jeff  Davis  &  the  Southern  Confederacy- 

his 
William  R    X    Roberts 
mark 
Attest  G  [e]  orge  W  Freeman 
Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me 

D.  E.  Freeman  J  P 

MAX     Bradly  [sicl 
[October  19,  1867] 
State  of  North  Carolina  County  of  Madison 


266  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

On  this  19th  day  of  October  1867.  Personally  appeared  before 
me  a  Justice  of  the  peace,  for  the  county  of  Madison  One  Mrs. 
M.  A  Bradley  a  resident  of  Madison  County,  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina, who  being  duly  sworn  deposeth  as  follows : 

Ransom  P.  Merrell  Sheriff  of  Madison  County  came  to  my  house 
on  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  May  1861.  the  day  of  the  Election  at 
Marshall-  and  said  as  follows.  I  entend  to  Rule  Madison  County, 
at  the  election,  and  no  Lincolnite  or  Black  Republican  or  Tory 
shall  vote  Jack  Gudger.  (Said  Gudger  was  the  Union  Candidate 
on  that  occasion  and  firmly  opposed  to  Secession)  I  dont  ask  the 
Gudgers,  Barnett's  or  Nochols,  any  odds  for  they  are  tories  Said 
Merrell  also  told  me,  that  he  had  a  dream,  which  he  said  was  as 
f  ollows.-He  dreamed  that  he  had  a  large  Rattle  Sneak  [sic]  under 
his  foot  crushing  it,  and  that  he  intended  to  use  all  Union  men,  in 
the  manner,  whenever  he  had  an  oppertunity  [sic] 

her 
MAX     Bradly  [sic] 
mark 
Attest 
T  L  Saup 

Sworn  to  &  subscribed  to  before  thie  the  19th  day  of  October  1867 

D  E  Freeman  J  P 

Affidavit  of  William  Randall 

[October  19,  1867] 
State  of  North  Carolina  County  of  Madison 

On  this  19th  day  of  October  1867  Personally  appeared  before  me 
one  William  Randell,  [sic']  a  resident  of  Madison  County  State 
of  North  Carolina  who  being  duly  Sworn  deposeth  as  f  ollows- 

I  was  at  Marshall  on  the  morning  of  the  Election  the  13th  of 
May  1861.  I  heard  the  said  Merrell  hurra  for  Jeff  Davis  and  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  this  was  done  on  the  main  street,  where- 
upon Elsey  Frisby,  a  citizen  of  Marshall  hurra-ed  for  Washington 
&  the  Union-for  which  Merrell  drew  his  Postol  [sic]  on  said 
Frisby,-Frisby  Retired  from  the  said  Merrell, -Merrell  still  follow- 
ing him  up  pistol  in  hand.  I  got  between  Merrell  &  Frisby,  and 
drew  Merrells  attention  from  Frisby  (Frisby  then  went  off) 

Immediately  after  Hackley  Northon  [sic]  a  citizen  of  Madison 
County  came  along  for  the  purpose  of  voting,  and  whereupon 
interrogated  by  Merrell  as  follows-  What  are  you  doing  here 
with  your  Gun?-I  do  not  remember,  what  Norton  replied;  but 
Merrell  presented  his  pistol  and  advanced  upon  Norton-  Norton 
Gave  way  still  followed  by  Merrell  pistol  in  hand  -  A  crowd 
gathered  around  Merrell  &  Norton  went  off.  Immediately  as  soon 
as  Norton  retired  out  of  his  reach,-he  turned  around  and  pre- 
sented his  pistol  at  and  in  the  direction  of  Nealy  Tweed  and 
Elisha  J.  Tweed  his  son,  when  Nealy  Tweed  saw  the  pistol  pre- 
sented towards  him  and  his  son,  he  dodged  behind  some  other 
men.  Merrell  took  deliverate  [sic]  aim  and  fired  wounding  (seri- 
ously Elisha  J.  Tweed  in  the  right  arm  and  right  side  (said  Elisha 
J.  Tweed  having  just  came  from  his  farm  for  the  purpose  of 


Letters  from  North  Carolina  to  Andrew  Johnson    267 

voting)  as  soon  as  he  shot  Tweed  he  was  taken  to  a  house  and 
locked  up  by  some  Citizens  in  order  to  quell  the  row. 

After  being  locked  in  the  House  he  went  to  one  of  the  windows 
up  stairs  fronting  the  street  and  raised  it-He  then  presented 
himself  at  the  window  pistol  in  hand,  and  he  siad  [sic]  "Come  up 
here  all  you  Damn  Black  Republicans  and  take  a  shot  about  with 
me. 

I  have  known  Ransom  P.  Merrell  ten  or  twelve  years,  and  al- 
though he  was  a  Civil  officer,  he  was  always  apt  or  did  break  the 
peace  on  several  occasions 

his 
William     X    Randall 
mark 
Witness  G  [e]  orge  W  Freeman 
Sworn  &  subscribed  before  me, 

D  E  Freeman  J  P 

[October  19,  1867] 
Affidavit  of  Elisha  J.  Tweed 

State  of  North  Carolina 
County  of  Madison 

I  Elisha  J.  Tweed  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  of  Madison  County 
certify  to  the  following  statements 

That  on  the  13th  day  of  May  1861  while  an  Ellection  was  being 
held  in  Marshall  Madison  County  North  Carolina  that  there  was 
a  greate  deal  of  excitement  about  the  Ellection  as  it  was  an  El- 
lection for  the  secession  of  the  State  and  that  one  Ransom  P. 
Merrill  the  Sheriff  of  Madison  County  N  C  as  I  was  passing  to  the 
polls-  and  had  not  spoke  a  word  to  Merrill  that  day  and  as  I  pass 
near  him  Merrill  he  presented  his  pistol  and  fired  on  me  without 
any  cause  or  provication  the  ball  strikeing  my  right  arm  above 
the  Elbow  passing  through  and  Entering  the  right  side  inflicting 
a  severe  wound  sup[p]osed  at  that  time  to  be  a  mortal  wound 
whereupon  my  Father  Neeley  Tweed  shot  Merrill  from  which 
Merrill  Died  At  the  time  Merrill  shot  me  there  was  nothing  be- 
tween me  and  Merrill  but  political  mat  [t]  ers 

Merrill  being  a  violent  Rebel  and  was  cursing  and  abuseing  one 
E  Frisby  because  he  hollowed  for  George  Washington  and  his 
Constitution  he  Merrill  had  his  pistol  drawn  and  after  Frisby  in 
the  act  of  shooting  Frisby  but  was  prevented  from  so  doing  by 
some  one  near  by  Merrill  was  curseing  and  abusing  the  crowd  in 
general  as  tories  and  Black  republicans  &C 

My  father  soon  afterwards  went  and  joined  the  Fed[e]ral  army 
in  Kentucky  I  soon  afterwards  went  to  the  fed[e]ral  army  and 
joined  the  army  me  and  my  Father  bellonged  to  the  same  com- 
pany to  wit  Co.  D.  4  Tenn  Inft  afterwards  changed  to  the  1st 
Tenn  Cavalry 

I  heard  my  Father  frequently  speak  of  the  mat  [t]  er  of  killing 
Merrill  and  he  always  said  no  one  influenced  him  in  any  way  in 
the  matter  but  killed  Merrill  of  his  own  accord  and  was  willing 
and  anxious  for  a  fair  trial  by  the  civil  laws  of  his  country  my 


268  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Father  said  to  me  that  he  had  not  saw  one  of  the  accused  or  spoke 
to  him  that  day  before  the  killing  of  Merrill  viz  M.  W.  Roberts 
my  Father  died  while  in  the  Federal  army  at  Flat  Lick  Kentucky 

I  was  afterwards  2nd  Lieutenant  Co.  D.  1st  Tenn  Cavalry  and 
remained  in  the  army  until  after  the  surrender  having  served 
three  years  and  5  months  in  the  army 

I  further  state  that  I  believe  the  prosecution  against  your 
Petitioners  J.  J.  Gudger  W.  A.  Henderson  H.  A.  Barnard  Thos.  J. 
Rector  W.  R.  McNew  &  M.  W.  Roberts  to  be  malicious  and  I 
further  state  that  owing  to  the  union  proclivities  of  your  pe- 
titioners that  they  could  not  get  justice  in  the  state  courts  as  they 
are  now  organized  and  that  the  purpose  of  the  procecutors  to  be 
that  of  gain  and  that  a  fair  and  impartial  investigation  would 
relieve  your  petitioners  from  any  further  trouble  &  cost 

Clk  of  the  County  Court 
[To  be  continued] 


NORTH  CAROLINA   BIBLIOGRAPHY,   1950-19511 
By  Mary  Lindsay  Thornton 

Bibliography  and  Libraries 

EASTERBY,  JAMES  HAROLD.  Guide  to  the  study  and  reading 

of  South  Carolina  history;  a  general  classified  bibliography. 

Columbia,  The  Historical  Commission  of  South  Carolina,  1950. 

(South  Carolina  bibliographies  no.  2)  289  p.  $2.00  pa.  Includes 

some  regional  material. 
FRIEDERICH,  WERNER  PAUL.  Bibliography  of  comparative 

literature,  by  Fernand  Baldensperger  and  Werner  P.  Friederich. 

Chapel  Hill,  1950.   (University  of  North  Carolina  studies  in 

comparative  literature  no.  1)  xxiv,  701  p.  $12.50.  Order  Richard 

Jente,  Box  537. 

Philosophy  and  Religion 

BRANNON,  CLARENCE  HAM.  An  introduction  to  the  Bible. 

[Raleigh  (?),  1951]  xi,  292  p.  $4.75. 
HENDRICKS,  GARLAND  A.  Biography  of  a  country  church. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  Broadman  Press,    [1950]   xiv,  137  p.  illus. 

$2.00. 
NASH,  ARNOLD  SAMUEL,  editor.  Protestant  thought  in  the 

twentieth  century :  whence  and  whither  ?  New  York,  The  Mac- 

millan  Company,  1951.  xii,  296  p.  $3.75. 
POTE AT,  EDWIN  McNEILL.  God  makes  the  difference ;  studies 

in  the  faith  of  nature  and  the  nature  of  faith.  New  York, 

Harper  [1951]  ix,  242  p.  $3.00. 

Economics  and  Sociology 

AMERICAN  PSYCHIATRIC  ASSOCIATION.  CENTRAL  IN- 
SPECTION BOARD.  Report  of  the  state  mental  hospitals  of 
North  Carolina.  [Raleigh?]  1950.  136  p.  tabs.  Apply  State 
Hospital,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

CHEEK,  ROMA  SAWYER.  A  preliminary  study  of  government 
management  in  North  Carolina.  Raleigh,  Office  of  the  Governor 
of  North  Carolina,  1950.  127  p.  Apply. 

CHERRY,  ROBERT  GREGG.  Public  addresses  and  papers  .  .  . 
1945-1949,  edited  by  David  Leroy  Corbitt.  Raleigh,  Council  of 
State,  1951.  lxii,  1058  p.  Apply  State  Department  of  Archives 
and  History. 

CONNERY,  ROBERT  HOUGH.  The  navy  and  the  industrial 
mobilization  in  World  War  II.  Princeton,  N.  J.,  Princeton  Uni- 
versity Press,  1951.  xi,  527  p.  $6.00. 


1  Books   dealing   with  North   Carolina  or  by   North   Carolinians   published   during  the  year 
ending  August  31st,  1951. 

[269] 


270  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

EDMONDS,  HELEN  G.  The  Negro  and  fusion  politics  in  North 
Carolina,  1894-1901.  Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina 
Press,  [1951]  viii,  260  p.  illus.  $5.00. 

EHRINGHAUS,  JOHN  CHRISTOPH  BLUCHER.  Addresses,  let- 
ters, and  papers  .  .  .  1933-1937,  edited  by  David  Leroy  Corbitt. 
Raleigh,  Council  of  State,  1950.  xxxi,  509  p.  ports.  Apply  State 
Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

GRAY,  GORDON.  Report  to  the  President  on  foreign  economic 
policies.  Washington,  U.  S.  Government  Printing  Office,  1950. 
vii,  131  p. 

HART,  THOMAS  ROY.  The  School  of  Textiles,  N.  C.  State  Col- 
lege ;  its  past  and  present.  [Raleigh,  North  Carolina  State  Col- 
lege Print  Shop,  1951]  230  p.  illus.  $5.00. 

HEARD,  ALEXANDER.  Southern  primaries  and  elections,  1920- 
1949  [by]  Alexander  Heard  and  Donald  S.  Strong.  University, 
Ala.,  University  of  Alabama  Press,  1950,  206  p.  $2.45. 

HOOVER,  CALVIN  BRYCE.  Economic  resources  and  policies  of 
the  South  [by]  Calvin  B.  Hoover  [and]  B.  U.  Ratchford.  New 
York,  Macmillan  Company,  [1951]  xxvii,  464  p.  $5.50. 

KNIGHT,  EDGAR  WALLACE,  editor.  Readings  in  American 
educational  history,  by  Edgar  W.  Knight  and  Clifton  L.  Hall. 
New  York,  Appleton-Century-Crofts,  [1951]  xxi,  799  p.  $4.50. 

LEWIS,  HENRY  W.  The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina 
guidebook  of  organization  and  procedure.  Chapel  Hill,  Institute 
of  Government,  University  of  North  Carolina,  1951.  125  p. 
Apply. 

McALLISTER,  QUENTIN  OLIVER.  Business  executives  and  the 
Humanities.  Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina  Press, 
1951.  (Southern  humanities  conference  Bulletin  no.  3)  114  p. 
$1.50  pa. 

MURRAY,  PAULI,  editor.  States'  laws  on  race  and  color,  and  ap- 
pendices containing  international  documents,  federal  laws  and 
regulations,  local  ordinances  and  charts.  [Cincinnati,  Woman's 
Division  of  Christian  Service,  Board  of  Missions  and  Church 
Extension,  Methodist  Church]  1950  [i.e.  1951]  x,  746  p.  $4.00. 

NORTH  CAROLINA  UNIVERSITY.  ATHLETIC  ASSOCIA- 
TION. University  of  North  Carolina  all-time  results  in  all 
sports,  celebrating  100  Southern  Conference  championships, 
1888-1950.  [Chapel  Hill,  1951]  [48]  p.  illus.  Apply. 

ODUM,  HOWARD  WASHINGTON.  American  sociology;  the 
story  of  sociology  in  the  United  States  through  1950.  New  York, 
Longmans,  1951.  vi,  501  p.  $5.00. 

STEPHENSON,  GILBERT  THOMAS.  Your  family  and  your  es- 
tate. [New  York,  Prentice-Hall,  Inc.,  1951]  64  p.  $.88. 

U.  S.  BOARD  OF  ENGINEERS  FOR  RIVERS  AND  HARBORS. 
The  ports  of  Wilmington  and  Morehead  City,  North  Carolina 
.  .  .  Washington,  U.  S.  Government  Printing  Office,  1951.  ix, 
164  p.  illus.  Apply  U.  S.  Engineers,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WAGER,  PAUL  WOODFORD,  editor.  County  government  across 
the  nation.  Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina  Press, 
[1950]  xiii,  817  p.  illus.  $7.50. 

WAGSTAFF,  HENRY  McGILBERT.  Impressions  of  men  and 


North  Carolina  Bibliography,  1950-1951  271 

movements  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Chapel  Hill, 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press  [1950]  ix,  110  p.  $2.00. 

Philology 

LEAVITT,  STURGES  ELLENO.  Sound  Spanish  [by]  Sturgis  E. 

Leavitt  [and]  Sterling  A.  Stoudemire.  New  York,  Holt,  [1950] 

vi,  119,  xxviii  p.  $2.50. 
SHEWMAKE,  EDWIN  F.  Working  with  words:  Form  A.  New 

York,  Harper,  1951.  vi,  122  p.  $1.00  pa. 

Science 

COKER,  WILLIAMS  CHAMBERS.  The  stipitate  hydnums  of  the 
eastern  United  States,  by  William  Chambers  Coker  and  Alma 
Holland  Beers.  Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina  Press, 
1951.  viii,  211  p.  60  plates.  $5.00. 

CORRELL,  DONOVAN  STEWART.  Native  orchids  of  North 
America,  north  of  Mexico  .  .  .  Waltham,  Mass.,  Chronica 
Botanica  [1951]  (New  series  of  plant  science  books,  v.  26) 
400  p.  illus.  $7.50. 

LEE,  WALLACE.  Math  miracles.  [Durham,  Seeman  Printery, 
Inc.,  c.  1950]  [8]  83  p.  illus.  $3.00. 

PEARSE,  ARTHUR  SPERRY.  Emigration  of  animals  from  the 
sea.  Washington,  Sherwood  Press,  1951.  xii,  210  p.  illus.  $5.00. 

TAYLOR,  HARDEN  FRANKLIN  and  others.  Survey  of  marine 
fisheries  of  North  Carolina  by  Harden  F.  Taylor  and  a  staff  of 
associates.  Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina  Press, 
1951.  xii,  555  p.  illus.  $10. 

TIPPETT,  JAMES  STERLING  and  others,  editors.  Understand- 
ing science,  grades  1-4.  Philadelphia,  John  C.  Winston  Com- 
pany, 1951-  .  Published  with  various  titles,  authors,  and 
prices. 

Applied  Science  and  Useful  Arts 

GREEN,  PHILIP  PALMER,  JR.  Stream  pollution  in  North  Caro- 
lina, by  Philip  P.  Green,  Jr.,  Donald  B.  Hayman,  Ernest  W. 

Machen,  Jr.  Chapel  Hill,  Institute  of  Government,  University 

of  North  Carolina,  1951.  216  p.  Apply. 
HOFFMANN,  MARGARET  JONES.  Miss  B's  first  cookbook;  20 

family-sized  recipes  for  the  youngest  cook.  Indianapolis,  Bobbs- 

Merrill,  [1950]   [48]  p.  illus.  $1.75. 
KIRKPATRICK,  CHARLES  ATKINSON.  Salesmanship:  helping 

prospects  buy.  Cincinnati,  Southwestern  Publishing  Company, 

1951.  483  p.  illus.  $4.25. 
KRAYBILL,  EDWARD  KREADY.  Electric  circuits  for  engineers. 

New  York,  Macmillan  Company,  1951.  x,  212  p.  illus.  $3.85. 
LANDON,    CHARLES    EDWARD.    Transportation,    principles, 

practices,  problems.  New  York,  William  Sloane,  1951.  xxii,  618 

p.  maps.  $4.75. 


272  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

SEYMOUR,  FRANCES  ISABEL.  Rice,  dietary  controls  and 
blood  pressure;  with  menus  and  recipes.  New  York,  Froben 
Press,  1951.  206  p.  $2.95. 

Fine  Arts 

ORR,  LEWIS.  [Etchings :  Album  X]    [Greenville,  N.  C,  R.  L. 

Humber,  1951]  Continuation  of  a  series  of  etchings  of  historic 

North  Carolina  buildings.  Each  album  contains  5  etchings  and 

sells  for  $50. 
SANDBURG,  CARL.  Carl  Sandburg's  new  American  songbag. 

New  York,  Associated  Music  Publishers,  Inc.,  1951.  vii,  107  p. 

$2.50. 
STRINGFIELD,  LAMAR.  Georgia  Buck.  Charlotte,  N.  C,  Brodt 

Music  Company,  c.  1950.  9  p.  37  single  sheets.  $3.50. 
STRINGFIELD,  LAMAR.  Peace,  a  sacred  cantata  for  mixed 

voices.  Charlotte,  N.  C,  Brodt  Music  Company,  1950.  36  p. 

$1.25. 
STRINGFIELD,  MARGARET.  "Occoneechee"  fair  maid  of  the 

forest;  a  Cherokee  operetta  in  three  acts.  Waynesville,  N.  C, 

Author,  [1950?]   [11]  60  p.  $2.50. 

Poetry 

BARKER,  ADDISON.  The  magpie's  nest.  Mill  Valley,  Calif., 

Wings  Press,  1950.  56  p.  $2.00. 
BROCKMAN,  ZOE  KINCAID.  Heart  on  my  sleeve.  Atlanta,  Ga., 

Banner  Press,  Emory  University,  [c.  1951]  73  p.  $2.00. 
BURT,  NATHANIEL.  Question  on  a  kite.  New  York,  Charles 

Scribner's  Sons,  1950.  43  p.  $2.00. 
DAVIS,  HANNAH  (BARHAM).  Heartleaves.  Warrenton,  N.  C. 

The  Author,  [1951?]    [10]  116  p.  Order  Author,  Warrenton, 

N.  C. 
EATON,  CHARLES  EDWARD.  The  shadow  of  the  swimmer. 

New  York,  Fine  Editions  Press,  1951.  88  p.  $3.00. 
HANES,   FRANK  BORDEN.   Abel  Anders,  a  narrative.   New 

York,  Farrar,  Straus  and  Young,  [1951]  209  p.  $2.75. 
HARDEN,   EARL  LOUIS.  Rhythmical  treasure.   Macon,   Ga., 

J.  W.  Burke  Company,  [1950]  xiii,  99  p.  $1.75. 
JONES,  GILMER  ANDREW.  Songs  from  the  hills.  [Franklin? 

N.  C,  Author,  1950]  57  p. 
KETCHUM,  EVERETT  PHOENIX.  George  Washington's  vision 

and  other  poems  ...  by  Everett  Phoenix  Ketchum  and  Lillian 

Floyd  Ketchum.  Asheville,  N.  C,  Inland  Press,  [1950]  64  p. 

illus.  $5.00. 
KING,  MARIE  HALBERT.  Call  to  remembrance.  [San  Antonio, 

Texas,  Carleton  Printing  Company  for  the  Author]  c.  1951. 

74  p. 
LOVELAND,  CHARLES  WELLING.  The  mountain  men  and 

other  poems.  [Shelby,  N.  C,  Author,  1950]  68  p.  $2.50. 


North  Carolina  Bibliography,  1950-1951  273 

NORDEN,  LAURA  (HOWELL).  On  upward  flight.  New  York, 
Exposition  Press,  [1951]  47  p.  $1.50. 

PINGEL,  MARTHA  M.  Catalyst;  an  interpretation  of  life.  New 
York,  Exposition  Press,  1951.  64  p.  $2.00. 

PRICE,  MERLE.  The  heart  has  its  daybreak.  Emory  University, 
Ga.,  Banner  Press,  [1950]  60  p.  $2.00. 

SMEDES,  HENRIETTA  RHEA.  In  many  moods,  verses  by  Henri- 
»etta  R.  Smedes  and  John  Esten  Cooke  Smedes.  New  York,  Ex- 
position Press,  [c.  1951]  96  p.  port.  $2.50. 

WALTON,  MARY  ETHEL.  Words  have  breath,  poems.  Philadel- 
phia, Dorrance  and  Company,  Inc.,  [1951]  127  p.  $2.50. 

Drama 

GREEN,  PAUL  ELIOT.  The  common  glory  song  book,  songs, 
hymns,  dances  and  other  music  from  Paul  Green's  symphonic 
drama  .  .  .  edited  by  Adeline  McCall.  New  York,  Carl  Fischer, 
c.  1951.  47  p. 

GREEN,  PAUL  ELIOT.  Peer  Gynt,  by  Henrik  Ibsen.  American 
version  by  Paul  Green.  New  York,  Samuel  French,  Inc.,  [1951] 
167  p.  $2.50. 

HUNTER,  KERMIT.  Unto  these  hills;  a  drama  of  the  Cherokee. 
[Chapel  Hill]  University  of  North  Carolina  Press  [1951]  100 
p.  illus.  $2.00. 

SPECK,  FRANK  GOULDSMITH.  Cherokee  dance  and  drama  by 
Frank  G.  Speck  and  Leonard  Bloom.  Berkeley,  Calif.,  Univer- 
sity of  California  Press,  1951.  xv,  106  p.  illus.  $2.50  pa. 

Fiction2 

BLYTHE,  LE  GETTE.  A  tear  for  Judas.  Indianapolis,  Bobbs- 

Merrill  Company,  Inc.,  [1951]  338  p.  $3.50. 
DARBY,  ADA  CLAIRE.  Island  girl.  Philadelphia,  J.  B.  Lippin- 

cott  Company,  1951.  vii,  215  p.  $2.75. 
DAVIS,  BURKE.  The  ragged  ones.  New  York,  Rinehart  and  Com- 
pany, [1951]  336  p.  illus.  $3.50. 
HENRI,   FLORETTE.   Kings  Mountain.   Garden   City,   N.   Y., 

Doubleday  and  Company,  Inc.,  1950.  viii,  340  p.  $3.00. 
IRWIN,  LAETITIA.  The  golden  hammock.  Boston,  Little,  Brown 

and  Company,  1951.  373  p.  $3.00. 
MILLER,  HELEN   (TOPPING).  The  horns  of  Capricorn.  New 

York,  Appleton-Century-Crofts,  Inc.,  [1950]  282  p.  $3.00. 
OUTTERSON,  LESLIE  A.  Unto  the  hills,  a  novel.  New  York, 

Vantage  Press,  [1950]  216  p.  $3.00. 
ROGERS,  LETTIE  (HAMLETT).  The  storm  cloud.  New  York, 

Random  House,  [1951]  309  p.  $3.00. 
ROSS,  FRED  E.  Jackson  Mahaffey,  a  novel.  Boston,  Houghton 

Mifflin  Company,  [c.  1951]  308  p. 
SLAUGHTER,  FRANK  GILL.  Fort  Everglades.  Garden  City, 

N.  Y.,  Doubleday  and  Company,  1951.  340  p.  $3.00. 

2  By  a  North  Carolinian  or  with  the  scene  laid  in  North  Carolina. 


274  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

SLAUGHTER,  FRANK  GILL.  The  road  to  Bithynia,  a  novel  of 

Luke,  the  beloved  physician.  Garden  City,  N.  Y.,  Doubleday  and 

Company,  1951.  330  p.  $3.50. 
STREET,  JAMES  HOWELL.  The  high  calling.   Garden  City, 

N.  Y.,  Doubleday  and  Company,  1951.  308  p.  $3.00. 
TIPPETT,  JAMES  STERLING.  Tools  for  Andy;  pictures  by  Kay 

Draper.  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Abingdon-Cokesbury  Press,  1951.  47 

p.  $1.50.  Juvenile. 

Literature  Other  Than  Poetry,  Drama,  or  Fiction 

BIERCK,  HAROLD  A.,  JR.,  editor.  Selected  writings  of  Simon 
Bolivar;  compiled  by  Vicente  Lecuna,  edited  by  Harold  A. 
Bierck,  Jr.,  translation  by  Lewis  Bertrand.  New  York,  Colonial 
Press  1951.  2  v. 

BRINKLEY,  ROBERTA  FLORENCE,  editor.  English  prose  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  New  York,  W.  W.  Norton  and  Com- 
pany, 1951.  xii,  919  p.  $4.00. 

CLARK,  JOSEPH  DEADRICK.  Handbook  of  English,  speaking 
reading,  writing,  by  Joseph  D.  Clark,  Philip  H.  Davis,  and  A. 
Bernard  Shelley.  Boston,  Ginn  and  Company,  1951.  viii,  487  p. 
$3.00. 

COENEN,  FREDERIC  EDWARD.  Franz  Grillparzer's  portraiture 
of  men.  Chapel  Hill,  [University  of  North  Carolina]  1951.  (Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  Studies  in  the  Germanic  languages 
and  literatures,  no.  4)  xii,  135  p.  $2.50. 

LEARY,  LEWIS  GASTON.  The  literary  career  of  Nathaniel 
Tucker,  1750-1807.  Durham,  N.  C,  Duke  University  Press, 
1951.  (Historical  papers  of  the  Trinity  College  Historical  So- 
ciety, ser.  29)  ix,  108  p.  $2.75. 

LOUTHAN,  DONIPHAN.  The  poetry  of  John  Donne;  an  expli- 
cation. New  York,  Bookman  Associates,  [c.  1951]  193  p.  $3.50. 

NORTH  CAROLINA  UNIVERSITY.  Studies  in  Mediaeval  cul- 
ture dedicated  to  George  Raleigh  Coffman.  [Chapel  Hill,  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  Press,  1951]  (Studies  in  philology. 
July,  1951,  v.  48,  no.  3)  696  p. 

SHUTE,  JOHN  RAYMOND.  The  Seer,  his  parables  and  tales. 
Monroe,  N.  C,  Nocalore  Press,  1950.  94  p.  illus.  $1.00. 

ULLMAN,  BERTHOLD  L.,  editor.  Colucci  Salutati  De  Laboribus 
Herculis.  Zurich,  Switzerland,  "Thesaurus  Mundi"  (publish- 
er) ,  1951.  Two  volumes,  paged  continuously,  XIV,  660  p.  Vol.  I, 
xiv,  1-352  p.;  Vol.  II,  353-660  p.  American  agent,  Philip  C. 
Duschnes,  66  East  56  St.,  New  York. 

WALTON,  LORING  BAKER.  Anatole  France  and  the  Greek 
world.  Durham,  N.  C,  Duke  University  Press,  1950.  ix,  334  p. 
$6.00. 


North  Carolina  Bibliography,  1950-1951  275 

Genealogy 

BROCKMANN,  CHARLES  RAVEN.  Adams,  Caruthers,  Clancy, 
Neely,  and  Townsend  descendants  composing  the  Adams,  Leg- 
erton,  Wakefield,  Brockmann,  and  other  twentieth  century 
families  of  the  Carolinas.  Charlotte,  N.  C,  The  Author,  1950. 
118  p.  illus.  $8.50. 

BROUGHTON,  CARRIE  L.,  compiler.  Marriage  and  death  notices 
in  Raleigh  register  and  North  Carolina  state  gazette,  1856- 
1867.  [Raleigh,  The  State  Library,  1950]  537-613  p.  A  con- 
tinuation of  earlier  indices  covering  the  years,  1799-1855. 
Apply. 

[BUIE,  ROBERT  BERNARD.]  The  Scotch  family  Buie.  No  place, 
privately  printed,  [1950]  [80]  p.  illus.  Apply  Author,  Box  1146, 
Stamford,  Conn. 

HOLT,  EUGENE.  Edwin  Michael  Holt  and  his  descendants,  1807- 
1948.  [Richmond,  Va.,  privately  printed,  1949]  xv,  221  p.  illus. 
Apply  Mrs.  Ivor  Massey,  2  Oak  Lane,  Richmond,  Va. 

KELLAM,  IDA  (BROOKS).  Brooks  and  kindred  families.  [Wil- 
mington? N.  C]  1950.  384  p.  illus.  Order  from  Author,  219  S. 
3rd  St.,  Wilmington,  N.  C.  $7.50. 

LORE,  ADELAIDE  McKINNON.  The  Morrison  family  of  the 
Rocky  River  settlement  of  North  Carolina;  history  and  gene- 
alogy, by  Adelaide  and  Eugenia  Lore  and  Robert  Hall  Morrison. 
[Charlotte?  N.  C,  1950]  543  p.  illus.  $10. 

McBEE,  MAY  WILSON,  compiler.  Anson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, abstracts  of  early  records.  [Greenwood,  Miss.,  The  Com- 
piler, c.  1950]  vii,  180  p.  $11. 

McLEAN,  HARRY  HERNDON.  The  Wilson  family,  Somerset 
and  Barter  Hill  branch.  Washington,  N.  C,  The  Author,  [c. 
1950]  102  p.  illus.  Order  from  the  Author,  Box  716,  Washing- 
ton, N.  C.  $5.00. 

RAY,  WORTH  STICKLEY.  Tennessee  cousins;  a  history  of  Ten- 
nessee people.  Austin,  Tex.  [1950]  viii,  811  p.  illus.  $20. 

SONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  NORTH  CARO- 
LINA SOCIETY.  Lineage  book  of  past  and  present  members. 
[Raleigh]  The  Society,  1951.  vi,  322  p.  $5.00.  Order  W.  A. 
Parker,  1522  Jarvis  St.,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

WYATT,  WILBUR  CARL.  Families  of  Joseph  and  Isaac  Wyatt, 
brothers,  who  were  sons  of  Zachariah  ("Sacker")  and  Elizabeth 
(Ripley)  Wyatt,  of  Durant's  Neck,  Perquimans  County,  North 
Carolina  .  .  .  Washington,  c.  1950.  206  p.  illus.  Apply  Compiler, 
5716  16th  St.,  N.  W.,  Washington  11,  D.  C. 

History  and  Travel 

BAILEY,  BERNADINE  (FREEMAN).  Picture  book  of  North 
Carolina.  Pictures  by  Kurt  Wiese.  Chicago,  Albert  Whitman 
and  Company,  c.  1950.  [28]  p.  illus.  $1.00.  Juvenile. 

BAITY,  ELIZABETH  (CHESLEY).  Americans  before  Colum- 
bus; illustrated  with  drawings  and  maps  by  C.  B.  Falls  and 
32  p.  of  photos.  New  York,  Viking  Press,  1951.  256  p.  illus. 
$4.00.  Juvenile. 


276  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

DULA,  WILLIAM  C,  editor.  Durham  and  her  people,  combining 
history  and  who's  who  in  Durham  of  1949  and  1950  .  .  .  Dur- 
ham, N.  C,  Citizens  Press,  1951.  295  [7]  p.  illus.  $5.00. 

GRIFFIN,  CLARENCE.  Essays  on  North  Carolina  history. 
Forest  City,  N.  C,  Forest  City  Courier,  1951.  xv,  284  p.  illus. 
$4.25. 

HAMLIN,  TALBOT  FAULKNER.  We  took  to  cruising;  from 
Maine  to  Florida  afloat  [by]  Talbot  and  Jessica  Hamlin.  New 
York,  Sheridan  House,  [1951]  320  p.  illus.  $3.50. 

LAZENBY,  MARY  ELINOR.  Catawba  frontier,  1775-1781 ;  mem- 
ories of  pensioners.  Washington,  1950.  ix,  109  p.  $2.00. 

OATES,  JOHN  A.  The  story  of  Fayetteville  and  the  upper  Cape 
Fear.  [Fayetteville,  The  Author,  c.  1950]  xxxi,  868  p.  illus. 
$10.00. 

PATTON,  SADIE  SMATHERS.  Sketches  of  Polk  County  history. 
[Hendersonville,  N.  C.  The  Author,  c.  1950]  xiv,  161  p.  illus. 
$5.00. 

WOLFE,  THOMAS.  A  western  journal ;  a  daily  log  of  the  great 
parks  trip,  June  20-July  2,  1938.  [Pittsburgh]  University  of 
Pittsburgh  Press,  1951.  x,  72  p.  illus.  $2.00. 

Autobiography  and  Biography 

ADAMS,  AGATHA  BOYD.  Paul  Green  of  Chapel 'Hill.  Chapel 
Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina  Library,  1951.  vii,  116  p. 
port.  $1.00  pa.,  $2.50  bound. 

BAKER,  NINA  (BROWN).  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  New  York,  Har- 
court,  Brace  and  Company,  [1950]  191  p.  $2.50.  Juvenile. 

BECKER,  KATE  HARBES.  Paul  Hamilton  Hayne:  Life  and  let- 
ters. Belmont,  N.  C,  Outline  Company,  1951.  xi,  145  p.  $3.50. 

BRINK,  WELLINGTON.  Big  Hugh,  the  father  of  soil  conserva- 
tion ;  with  a  preface  by  Louis  Bromfield.  New  York,  Macmillan 
Company,  1951.  xii,  167  p.  port.  $2.75. 

BROOKS,  AUBREY  LEE.  A  southern  lawyer,  fifty  years  at  the 
bar.  Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  [1950] 
viii,  214  p.  $3.50. 

BURLINGTON,  N.  C,  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE.  Builders 
of  Alamance.  Burlington,  N.  C,  1951.  69  p.  illus.  Apply  The 

DANIELS,  JONATHAN*.  The  man  of  Independence.3  Philadel- 
phia, J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  [1950]  384  p.  $3.75. 

DE  GRUMMOND,  JANE  LUCAS.  Envoy  to  Caracas;  the  story 
of  John  G.  A.  Williamson,  nineteenth-century  diplomat.  Baton 
Rouge,  Louisiana  State  University  Press,  [1951]  xx,  228  p. 
illus.  $3.75. 

GIBSON,  JOHN  MENDINGHALL.  Physician  to  the  world;  the 
life  of  General  William  C.  Gorgas.  Durham,  N.  C,  Duke  Uni- 
versity Press,  1950.  ix,  315  p.  illus.  $4.50. 


8  Winner  of  Mayflower  award,  1951. 


North  Carolina  Bibliography,  1950-1951  277 

HOCUTT,  HILLIARD  MANLY.  Struggling  upward;  a  brief  story 

of  the  upward  struggle  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  D.  Hocutt  and  their 

fourteen  children  of  Burgaw,   North  Carolina,  with  special 

emphasis  upon  the  record  of  the  family  in  Christian  education. 

[Asheville,  N.  C,  The  Author,  1951]  76  p.  illus.  Apply  Author, 

112  Belmont  Ave.,  Asheville,  N.  C.  pa. 
MANGUM,  WILLIE  PERSON.  Papers,  edited  by  Henry  Thomas 

Shanks.  Raleigh,  N.  C,  State  Department  of  Archives  and 

History,  1950-         .  v.  1,  illus.  Apply. 
PASCHAL,  JOEL  FRANCIS.  Mr.  Justice  Sutherland,  a  man 

against  the  state.  Princeton,  Princeton  University  Press,  1951. 

xii,  267  p.  port.  $4.00. 
POUND,  MERRITT  BLOODWORTH.  Benjamin  Hawkins,  Indian 

agent.  Athens,  Ga.,  University  of  Georgia  Press,  [c.  1951]  ix, 

270  p.  $4.00. 
REYNOLDS,  QUENTIN  JAMES.  The  Wright  brothers,  pioneers 

of  American  aviation ;  illustrated  by  Jacob  Landau.  New  York, 

Random  House,  [1950]  183  p.  illus.  $1.50.  Juvenile. 
SHIPP,  CAMERON  (with  LIONEL  BARRYMORE) .  We  Barry- 

moores  ...  as  told  to  Cameron  Shipp.  New  York,  Appleton- 

Century-Crofts,  Inc.,  1951.  296  p.  $3.50. 
SLAUGHTER,  FRANK  GILL.  Immortal  Magyar:  Semmelweis, 

conqueror  of  childbed  fever.  New  York,  Henry  Schuman,  1950. 

(Life  of  scientists  library,  no.  15)  211  p.  illus.  $3.50. 
TIPPETT,  JAMES  STERLING.  Abraham  Lincoln,  humble  and 

great.  Chicago,  Beckley-Cardy  Company,  1951.  (Forever  great 

series)  154  p.  $1.48.  Juvenile. 
TREASE,  GEOFFREY.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  captain  &  adventurer. 

New  York,  Vanguard  Press  [1950]  248  p.  $2.50.  Juvenile. 
WRIGHT,  WILBUR.  Miracle  at  Kitty  Hawk;  the  letters  of  Wil- 
bur and  Orville  Wright,  edited  by  Fred  C.  Kelly.  New  York, 

Farrar,  Straus  and  Young  [1951]  ix,  482  p.  illus.  $6.00. 

New  Edition  and  Reprints 

CELL,  JOHN  WESLEY.  Analytic  geometry.  2nd  ed.  New  York, 

John  Wiley,  1951.  xii,  326  p.  $3.75. 
COULTER,  ELLIS  MERTON.  College  life  in  the  old  South.  2nd 

ed.  Athens,  Ga.,  University  of  Georgia  Press,  1951.  xiii,  320  p. 

illus.  $4.50. 
FLETCHER,  INGLIS.  Roanoke  Hundred.  London,  Hutchinson 

and  Company,  1951.  284  p.  6  s. 
FLETCHER,  INGLIS.  The  young  commissioner,  a  tale  of  the 

African  bush.  London,  Hutchinson  and  Company,  1951.  264 

p.  6  s. 
KNIGHT,  EDGAR  WALLACE.  Education  in  the  United  States. 

3rd  rev.  ed.  Boston,  Ginn  and  Company,  1951.  xvi,  753,  xiv  p. 

illus.  $4.50. 
WALDMAN,  MILTON.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  Toronto,  Canada, 

William  Collins  Sons  and  Company,  1950.  $2.00. 


BOOK  REVIEWS 

The  Negro  and  Fusion  Politics  in  North  Carolina,  1894-1901.  By  Helen  G. 
Edmonds.  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press.  1951. 
Pp.  viii,  260.  $5.00.) 

To  the  growing  shelf  of  studies  on  southern  politics  Dr.  Ed- 
monds who  is  professor  of  history  at  North  Carolina  College  at 
Durham  has  added  a  scholarly  and  interesting  book  on  a  highly 
controversial  period  in  the  history  of  this  state.  After  explaining 
some  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  studying  the  Fusion  years, 
the  author  proceeds  to  compare  the  Democratic  and  Republican 
parties  as  they  faced  each  other  between  1876  and  1896.  A  con- 
servatively controlled  Democratic  party  continuously  dominated 
the  state  government,  but,  as  such  leaders  as  Vance  and  Ransom 
dropped  out,  new  "liberal  agrarian  anti-monopoly"  spokesmen 
such  as  Josephus  Daniels,  Walter  Clark,  and  L.  L.  Polk  began  to 
contest  the  Bourbon  leadership.  Confronting  the  Democrats  was 
a  strong  Republican  party,  which  received  between  forty  and 
forty-nine  per  cent  of  the  vote  in  forty-seven  counties  and  regu- 
larly carried  twenty-six  counties,  ten  in  the  west  (where  the 
party  remains  strong)  and  the  rest  in  the  north  central  and 
eastern  portions  of  the  state,  where  the  Negro  population  was 
high.  Such  was  the  situation  in  1890.  By  1901,  the  turmoil  of 
the  intervening  decade  had  resulted  in  the  reduction  of  Republi- 
can strength,  largely  because  of  the  almost  total  exclusion  of  the 
Negro  from  politics,  and  in  the  consequent  inauguration  of  a 
period  of  Democratic  rule  that  has  already  lasted  half  a  century. 
Dr.  Edmonds's  book  clarifies  the  circumstances  that  produced 
this  striking  result. 

By  1890  the  plight  of  the  farmers  in  North  Carolina,  as  else- 
where in  the  nation,  produced  strong  farm  organizations,  notably 
the  Farmers'  Alliance,  brought  such  new  leaders  into  the  field 
as  L.  L.  Polk  and  Marion  Butler,  and,  in  the  end,  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Populist  party.  The  showing  made  by  the  new 
party  in  1892  indicated  that  if  it  were  to  join  hands  with  the  Re- 
publicans, the  Democratic  party  could  be  overcome.  Such  was,  in 
essence,  the  course  followed  successfully  by  the  two  minorities  in 

1894  and  1896  with  the  result  that  the  General  Assemblies  of 

1895  and  1897  were  controlled  by  Fusion  majorities,  while  a 
Republican,  Daniel  L.  Russell,  occupied  the  Executive  Mansion 
from  1897  to  1901. 

[  278  ] 


Book  Reviews  279 

Fusion  of  Populists  and  Republicans  was  possible  largely  be- 
cause the  economic  and  political  reforms  desired  by  the  two 
groups  were  harmonious.  Dr.  Edmonds  devotes  some  attention 
to  the  efforts  to  achieve  these  reforms,  giving  an  entire  chapter 
to  the  Fusion  election  laws  of  1895  and  1897,  but  she  is  concerned 
primarily  with  the  position  of  the  Negro  in  the  Fusion  movement 
and  with  the  bitter  and  ultimately  successful  fight  greatly  to 
reduce  his  share  in  state  and  local  government.  Populists,  most  of 
whom  were  dissatisfied  Democrats,  in  cooperating  with  Republi- 
cans found  themselves  working  with  a  party  whose  majority  was 
reputably  Negro  and  may  have  been  so  in  fact.  The  Fusion  vic- 
tories of  1894  and  1896  necessarily  increased  Negro  participation 
in  politics,  and  the  author  devotes  three  very  interesting  chapters 
to  Negro  officeholders.  She  treats  with  understanding  and  in  de- 
tail many  such  officials  as  George  H.  White  (congressman) ,  John 
C.  Dancy  (collector  of  customs  at  Wilmington) ,  James  H.  Young, 
William  H.  Crews,  Isaac  Smith,  J.  H.  Wright  (four  state  legisla- 
tors), Dr.  James  E.  Shepard  (subsequently  president  of  North 
Carolina  College),  and  Thomas  S.  Eaton  (register  of  deeds  in 
Vance  County).  Although  Negro  politicians  revealed  a  high  de- 
gree of  race  consciousness,  the  author  shows  that  many  of  them 
possessed  above  average  qualifications  and  that  they  generally 
conducted  themselves  properly. 

The  political  spurt  that  Fusion  gave  the  Negro  proved  the 
combination's  weakest  spot,  for  many  Populists  were  opposed  to 
Negro  participation  in  government  and  were  therefore  ready 
to  give  credence  to  the  cry  of  "Negro  domination."  From  the 
Frederick  Douglass  resolution  and  the  Abe  Middleton  affair  of 
the  1895  General  Assembly  through  the  "white  supremacy" 
campaign  of  1898  and  the  ultimate  Democratic  recapture  of  the 
entire  state  government  in  the  election  of  1900,  the  race  question 
steadily  became  more  prominent  in  the  tactics  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  Dr.  Edmonds's  account  of  the  campaign  against  the 
Negro  shows  how  potent  the  race  issue  was  in  the  politics  of 
the  period.  The  Wilmington  race  riot  of  November,  1898,  is  de- 
scribed with  objectivity  and  fullness  of  detail.  Much  food  for 
thought  will  be  found  in  the  chapters  on  the  Democratic  legis- 
lature of  1899,  which  proposed  disfranchising  changes  in  the 
state  constitution,  and  on  the  campaign  of  1900,  which  saw 
Fusion  ended  and  disfranchisement  achieved. 


280  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

It  was  no  easy  task  to  secure  the  adoption  of  the  suffrage 
amendment  in  1900.  As  the  campaign  progressed,  resistance  be- 
came strong  in  the  western  counties  where  the  illiteracy  rate  was 
high  and  Negroes  were  few.  It  became  increasingly  apparent  that 
not  even  the  "grandfather  clause"  would  save  large  numbers  of 
whites  from  disfranchisement.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that 
Charles  B.  Aycock,  the  Democratic  gubernatorial  candidate,  cam- 
paigning in  the  western  counties,  began  to  put  main  emphasis 
on  his  plan  to  devote  the  forthcoming  administration  to  the  aboli- 
tion of  illiteracy  in  North  Carolina.  Aycock  and  the  amendment 
both  won,  and,  as  Hugh  T.  Lefler  has  said,  "a  new  day  dawned 
for  [public]  education"  in  North  Carolina. 

Dr.  Edmonds's  extensive  bibliography  includes  a  list  of  per- 
sonal interviews  and  her  index  is  adequate.  The  maps  and  charts, 
which  are  integrated  with  the  text,  and  the  statistical  data  and 
documentary  material,  which  make  up  the  appendix,  add  greatly 
to  the  book.  Taken  all  in  all,  The  Negro  and  Fusion  Politics  should 
prove  a  valuable  reference  tool  for  scholars  and  rewarding  read- 
ing for  any  person  interested  in  the  history  and  politics  of  North 
Carolina  and  the  South. 

Preston  W.  Edsall. 

North  Carolina  State  College, 
Raleigh. 


The  Negro  and  the  Communist  Party.  By  Wilson  Record.  (Chapel  Hill:  The 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press.  1951.  Pp.  x,  340.  $3.50.) 

In  this  book,  Texas-born  Wilson  Record1  provides  a  careful, 
detailed,  and  straight-forward  account  of  the  unsuccessful  efforts 
of  the  Communist  party  to  gain  the  support  of  the  American 
Negro  and  utilize  him  in  building  up  power  here  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  world.  To  those  who  know  the  nature  and  techniques 
of  Communism  but  lack  familiarity  with  the  country's  principal 
race  problem  and  to  those  who  are  familiar  with  Negro  protest 
without  having  a  corresponding  acquaintance  with  Communism, 
Record's  account  offers  a  way  to  more  rounded  understanding. 
For  those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  both  Communism  and  the 
Negro  protest,  the  book  goes  far  toward  providing  a  working 


1  Educated  at  Texas  Wesleyan  and  the  Universities  of  North  Carolina  and  Texas,  Mr.  Record 
has  had  experience  in  the  labor  movement  and  with  the  Federal  government.  He  received  a 
Rosenwald  grant  in  1947  and  now  teaches  sociology  at  San  Francisco  State  College. 


Book  Reviews  281 

knowledge  of  both  and  of  their  many  organizations  and  leaders. 
While  the  volume  lacks  a  bibliography,  it  is  thoroughly  docu- 
mented and  has  a  moderately  adequate  index. 

Mr.  Record  begins  by  putting  the  Negro  question  into  historical 
perspective  and  contemporary  context.  It  is  interesting  that  both 
the  Socialist  party  and  the  Communist  party  with  its  Kremlin- 
dominated  leadership  have  failed  to  capture  extensive  Negro 
support,  though  for  fundamentally  different  reasons.  Whereas 
Socialists  persisted  in  offering  Negroes  only  what  they  tendered 
wage-earners  generally  ("We  have  nothing  special  to  offer  the 
Negro,"  Debs  declared),  Communists  saw  America's  Negroes 
as  a  large  down-trodden  minority  of  potentially  political  value 
and  international  usefulness,  and  therefore  offered  much  in 
domestic  programs,  organization  work,  and  leadership  oppor- 
tunity, but  did  so  without  really  comprehending  the  Negro's 
immediate  concerns  or  ultimate  goals.  Consistency,  moreover, 
has  not  characterized  the  general  conduct  of  the  American  Com- 
munist party  and  was  strikingly  absent  from  its  dealings  with 
the  Negro.  This  lack  of  consistency  has  arisen  in  main  from  the 
fact  that  the  party  has  been  obliged  to  conform  to  a  frequently 
changing,  Moscow-dictated  "party  line"  laid  down  by  a  series 
of  international  congresses.  Mr.  Record  devotes  six  information- 
packed  chapters  to  tracing  the  tortuous  course  of  the  "party 
line,"  showing  how  it  affected  all  aspects  of  the  party's  effort 
to  win  Negro  support  and  control  Negro  action.  Space  does  not 
permit  an  adequate  summary  of  the  complicated  but  clearly  pre- 
sented story  these  chapters  tell;  their  titles  must  suffice:  "The 
Early  Pattern  of  Red  and  Black,  1919-1928";  "The  Kremlin 
Sociologists  and  the  Black  Republic,  1928-1935";  "Build  the 
Negro  People's  United  Front,  1935-1939";  "This  Is  Not  the 
Negro's  War,  1939-1941";  "All  Out  for  the  War  of  National 
Liberation,  1941-1945";  "American  Negroes!  Stop  Wall  Street 
Imperialism,  1945-1950."  Finally,  in  a  concluding  chapter,  "Red 
and  Black:  Unblending  Colors,"  the  author  offers  a  very  wise 
analysis  and  a  body  of  conclusions  that  add  value  to  the  book. 

Mr.  Record  does  not  allow  the  failure  of  the  Communist  party 
to  gain  general  Negro  support  to  obscure  certain  positive  results 
of  Communist  action.  Such  protest  organizations  as  the  National 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Colored  People  and  the  Na- 


282  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

tional  Urban  League,  while  successful  in  escaping  Communist 
domination,  have  nevertheless  been  forced  to  "initiate  changes 
in  their  policies  and  programs"  in  order  to  maintain  their  leader- 
ship in  the  Negro  protest  movement.  A  number  of  prominent 
Negro  leaders,  writers,  and  intellectuals  have  been  attracted  to 
the  Communist  cause,  and  the  Party  has  had  its  impact  on  the 
Negro  press,  on  the  trade  union  movement,  and,  indeed,  on  our 
major  political  parties,  particularly  where  civil  rights  issues  are 
at  stake. 

Why  have  three  decades  of  Communist  effort  failed  to  make 
more  than  a  handful  of  Negro  converts?  (Record  estimates  the 
maximum  number  at  8,000.)  The  answer  is  that  the  party  has 
blundered  in  various  ways,  particularly  in  analyzing  the  Negro's 
aspirations.  He  does  not  want  a  sovietized  America ;  he  does  not 
want  either  an  independent  national  existence  or  separate  state- 
hood in  the  American  union;  he  does  not  care  for  "the  Party's 
umbilical  attachment  to  the  Kremlin."  He  wants  equality  of  op- 
portunity in  democratic  America.  "Negroes  in  the  United  States," 
Record  declares,  "have  had  plenty  of  provocation  to  revolt.  But 
they  have  chosen  to  protest  within  the  constitutional  framework. 
.  .  .  And  because  the  aspirations  of  the  American  Negro  are  es- 
sentially egalitarian,  a  'bourgeois'  document  like  the  American 
Constitution  has  a  liberating  potential  in  the  Black  Belt  of  Ala- 
bama and  in  the  ghetto  of  Harlem  that  the  Communist  Manifesto 
could  never  hope  to  have."  We  make  a  serious  mistake,  Record 
argues,  in  identifying  "organized  discontent  with  an  alien  ideol- 
ogy" ;  instead  we  should  realize  that  "America  has  a  great  weapon 
against  Communism  among  racial  and  ethnic  minorities."  This 
weapon  is  the  Constitution,  and  "we  would  do  well  to  apply  its 
equalitarian  potentials." 

Preston  W.  Edsall. 

North  Carolina  State  College, 
Raleigh. 


Durham  and  Her  People.  By  W.  C.  Dula  and  A.  C.  Simpson.  (Durham:  The 
Citizens  Press.  1951.  Pp.  297.  $4.95.) 

As  explained  in  the  preface,  this  book  is  not  an  orthodox  his- 
tory. It  is  rather  a  personalized  history,  written  primarily  to 


Book  Reviews  283 

preserve  the  story  of  Durham  and  her  people,  with  special  at- 
tention to  present-day  facts  and  details  that  would  never  be  re- 
corded in  an  orthodox  history. 

There  are  twenty-four  headings  in  the  table  of  contents,  but 
the  volume  has  only  two  general  divisions.  First,  there  are  brief 
sketches  of  many  phases  of  the  business  and  social  life  of  Dur- 
ham, including  origin,  story  of  tobacco  and  the  tobacco  industry, 
public  utilities,  insurance  companies,  churches,  schools,  and 
others.  The  second  division,  roughly  four-fifths  of  the  pages,  is  a 
who's  who  of  about  550  individuals  and  business  establishments 
in  Durham  at  the  present  time. 

The  authors  have  written  a  book  especially  useful  and  valuable 
to  business-men  who  are  seeking  new  areas  in  which  they  might 
expand  their  field  of  operation.  Although  lacking  in  critical 
evaluations  and  weak  in  general  organization  of  materials,  it 
records  facts  upon  facts  which  clearly  prove  the  City  of  Durham 
to  be  a  most  remarkable  success  story  that  is  both  inspirational 
and  informative.  Durham  is  symbolic  of  the  New  South. 

If  there  is  a  central  theme  in  the  book,  it  is  growth.  Whether 
the  town  itself,  the  large  and  small  corporations,  the  schools 
and  churches,  or  the  great  tobacco  industry,  they  have  all 
started  humbly  and  grown  magnificently.  "The  Golden  Weed," 
the  authors  point  out,  is  the  foundation  of  Durham's  wealth. 

The  volume  is  attractively  printed  and  has  an  adequate  index. 

D.  J.  Whitener. 

Appalachian  State  Teachers  College, 
Boone. 


Survey  of  Marine  Fisheries  of  North  Carolina.  By  Harden  F.  Taylor  and  a 
Staff  of  Associates.  (Chapel  Hill:  University  of  North  Carolina  Press. 
1951.  Pp.  xii,  555.  $10.00.) 

Survey  of  Marine  Fisheries  of  North  Carolina  is  the  first  criti- 
cal analysis  of  local  fisheries  which  has  been  carried  out  and 
published  by  a  state  government. 

The  subject  is  introduced  by  a  description  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina marine  waters  by  Dr.  Nelson  Marshall.  The  complex  nature 
of  the  waters  is  explained,  with  information  on  currents,  tem- 
peratures, salinities,  and  nutrients  supplemented  by  charts  and 
graphs.  He  suggests  that  greater  yields  might  be  obtained  by 


284  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

utilizing  animals  low  in  the  food  chain.  Part  II  covers  a  discussion 
of  the  marine  commercial  species. 

The  section  on  menhaden  by  William  A.  Ellison,  Jr.,  which  is 
the  next  topic  covered,  is  based  on  limited  reports,  many  pub- 
lished before  1910.  Mr.  Ellison  discusses  migrations  but  concedes 
that  extensive  tagging  experiments  must  be  undertaken.  Most 
of  his  presentation,  however,  is  written  as  though  migration 
routes  had  been  worked  out  carefully. 

Mr.  Roelofs  does  a  creditable  job  of  condensing  information  on 
edible  finfishes.  He  stresses  the  need  for  research  and  feels  that 
with  present  facts  it  is  impossible  to  tell  whether  a  given  species 
is  being  fully  utilized. 

The  oyster  and  other  mollusks  are  covered  adequately  by  A.  F. 
Chestnut.  He  shows  that  mollusk  culture  can  be  profitable  and 
suggests  that  oyster  production  can  be  increased  almost  im- 
mediately. The  section  on  shrimp  by  Carter  Broad  discloses  a 
complex  pattern  of  species  intermingled  in  the  catch.  His  section 
is  enlightening,  since  it  clarifies  popularly  held  misconceptions 
that  shrimp  are  being  depleted.  John  Pearson  concludes  that  the 
blue  crab  has  not  been  fully  utilized  in  North  Carolina  but  points 
out  that  competitive  production  costs  with  the  Chesapeake  in- 
dustry may  make  expansion  of  the  fishery  unsound. 

According  to  Dr.  R.  E.  Coker,  there  is  promise  in  the  breeding 
and  rearing  of  diamond-back  terrapins  in  privately  managed  ter- 
rapin pens,  dependent  on  a  high  selling  price.  He  feels  this  could 
serve  as  a  basis  for  future  development  of  the  industry.  He  finds 
insufficient  information  on  wild  stock  to  draw  any  valid  con- 
clusions. 

The  last  two  sections  of  Part  II  cover  the  seaweeds  by  Dr. 
Harold  H.  Humm  and  marine  angling  by  Francesca  LaMonte.  Dr. 
Humm  describes  the  new  industry  which  has  developed  along  the 
Carolina  Coast  utilizing  seaweeds  to  produce  agar.  Mr.  LaMonte 
surveys  sports  fishing  in  coastal  waters.  This  chapter,  while 
interesting,  seems  somewhat  out  of  place,  preceded  by  rather 
technical  discussions  of  seaweeds  and  agar,  and  followed  by  a 
lengthy  economic  study  of  commercial  species.  It  might  better 
have  been  published  as  a  separate  bulletin. 

Almost  half  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  Part  III,  entitled  "Eco- 
nomics of  the  Fisheries  of  North  Carolina,"  by  Dr.  Harden  F. 


Book  Reviews  285 

Taylor.  This  heading  is  misleading,  since  Dr.  Taylor's  economic 
studies  have  led  him  to  analyze  the  fisheries  far  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  North  Carolina. 

His  introduction  explains  the  economic  conditions  and  standard 
of  living  of  the  coastal  region  of  North  Carolina,  and  he  con- 
cludes that  ".  .  .  the  main  impediment  to  what  we  call  progress 
is  that  the  human  qualities  of  creative  enterprise  and  desire  and 
ambition  for  more  and  better  things  have  not  had  adequate  stimu- 
lation." 

The  book  deals  with  the  fisheries  in  a  general  and  qualitative 
way.  Dr.  Taylor  points  out  that  the  productivity  of  the  sea  is  un- 
tapped, as  compared  to  land,  and  that  proteins  and  fats  so  es- 
sential for  human  welfare  can  be  produced  at  far  lower  cost  at 
the  marine  production  point  than  at  the  production  point  of  land 
animals. 

The  author  states  that  it  is  "impossible  to  exterminate  a 
species  or  a  fishery  for  profit,  since  the  profit  disappears  before 
the  fish  is  exterminated." 

Marketing,  distribution,  and  consumption  of  fish  in  the  United 
States  are  covered  with  explanatory  statistical  tables,  graphs,  and 
charts.  A  section  on  manufacturing  follows,  covering  methods  of 
processing  which  include  canning,  freezing,  and  filleting.  By- 
products are  also  discussed. 

The  next  major  heading  is  a  quantitative  consideration  of 
world  fisheries  and  those  of  the  United  States.  Dr.  Taylor  has 
standardized  statistical  procedures  and  has  re-worked  statistical 
data  compiled  by  the  Federal  government  from  1887  to  1940. 

His  findings  show  that  "the  fisheries  of  this  country  as  a  whole 
have  been  able  to  afford  and  continue  to  afford  a  production  in- 
creasing in  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  population."  Dr.  Taylor 
concludes  that  "production  of  food  fisheries  follows  an  economic 
rather  than  biological  trend."  "No  evidence  is  seen  that  abun- 
dance or  scarcity  of  any  kind,  or  of  all  kinds,  of  fish  had  any 
effect  on  the  total  quantity  or  value  of  the  product  of  the  food 
fisheries." 

Little  advance  has  been  made  in  any  fishery  in  North  Carolina 
except  in  the  menhaden.  Dr.  Taylor  feels  that  none  will  be  made 
unless  the  thinking  is  clarified  and  possibly  re-oriented,  "or  the 
emphasis  shifted  in  a  direction  which  will  afford  to  the  fisheries 


286  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  same  kind  of  encouragement  to  efficiency  as  is  given  to  agri- 
culture ;  unnecessary  restraints  should  be  removed  and  assurance 
given  that  the  use  of  any  improved  techniques  that  may  be  de- 
veloped will  not  be  forbidden  without  scientific  justification." 

This  composite  volume  is  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  the 
undertaking  of  our  fisheries.  While  many  may  disagree  with  the 
conclusions  reached  by  Dr.  Taylor,  none  can  question  the  thor- 
oughness of  the  study  or  the  fresh  thinking  brought  to  bear  on 
the  handling  of  our  marine  resources.  This  book  should  serve  as 
a  guide  for  future  research  on  North  Carolina  fishes. 

David  H.  Wallace. 
Annapolis,  Maryland. 


The  Southern  Humanities  Conference  and  Its  Constituent  Societies.  By  J.  0. 
Bailey  and  Sturgis  E.  Leavitt.  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North 
Carolina  Press.  1951.  Pp.  68.  $1.00.) 

This  booklet  represents  an  effort  of  the  Southern  Humanities 
Conference  to  give  publicity  to  the  history  of  the  conference  and 
its  constitutent  societies,  with  a  view  toward  encouraging  re- 
search in  the  field.  It  opens  with  a  history  of  the  organization. 
According  to  this  historical  sketch,  the  Southern  Conference 
originated  in  the  American  Council  of  Learned  Societies,  working 
largely  through  two  of  its  leading  members — Waldo  G.  Leland 
and  Sturgis  E.  Leavitt.  They  and  other  leaders  planned  the 
formation  of  a  committee  in  the  South.  Mr.  Leland,  director  of 
the  American  Council  of  Learned  Societies,  seems  to  have  been 
chiefly  responsible  for  creating  an  All-Southern  Committee. 

Correspondence  was  carried  on  in  1944  with  potential  con- 
stituent organizations  and  editors  suggesting  a  Humanities  Con- 
ference in  the  South  in  1945.  Though  many  favorable  replies 
were  returned,  war  conditions  led  the  American  Council  to  delay 
action. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Leavitt  resumed  action  and  in 
1947  again  communicated  with  southern  leaders  regarding  a 
possible  conference  to  form  a  "Regional  Committee  on  the  Hu- 
manities" to  promote  the  cause.  Responses  were  so  favorable 
that,  with  the  active  support  of  the  American  Council,  repre- 
sentatives of  southern  societies  held  meetings  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  and  Duke  University,  as  a  result  of  which  a 


Book  Reviews  287 

permanent  organization  was  formed  to  be  called  the  "Southern 
Humanities  Conference"  and  ten  organizations  were  invited  to 
become  members.  The  representative  of  the  American  Council 
stated  that  the  organization  hoped,  through  the  Southern  Hu- 
manities Conference,  to  "make  effective  impact  upon  the  life 
of  the  South"  (p.  7).  He  urged  that  support  from  southern 
foundations  be  sought  for  the  program. 

Activities  were  reported  for  making  a  survey  of  the  humani- 
ties in  the  South,  for  preparing  an  index  of  southern  societies  in 
the  fields  of  the  humanities,  and  for  making  a  survey  of  re- 
sources for  advanced  study  in  the  South. 

The  next  meeting,  in  Chapel  Hill  in  April,  1948,  heard  reports 
on  research  in  progress  in  the  South.  Data  showed  about  1,000 
research-scholars  active  on  about  1,500  research-projects  ranging 
from  encyclopedias  to  analyses  of  current  events.  Work  was  re- 
ported on  a  Guide  to  Manuscript  Resources.  The  group  also  dis- 
cussed three  important  problems:  ways  to  attract  the  best  men 
to  teach  in  the  humanistic  fields,  of  retaining  the  best  teachers  in 
the  South,  and  of  encouraging  creative  scholarship. 

It  was  decided  later  by  the  Executive  Committee  that  the 
Stroup  Survey  on  Research  in  Progress  should  be  published  as 
Bulletin  No.  I  of  the  Southern  Humanities  Conference,  the  first 
of  a  series  to  be  published  by  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
Press. 

Annual  sessions  were  held  at  Chapel  Hill  and  the  University  of 
Virginia  in  1949  and  1950.  Such  subjects  as  Societies  in  the  South 
Interested  in  the  Humanities,  the  Relationship  of  Library  Re- 
sources to  Graduate  Work,  Encouragement  of  Research  by  South- 
ern Institutions,  Collections  of  Manuscripts,  and  non-academic 
"Friends  of  the  Humanities"  in  the  South  were  discussed.  Col- 
leges and  universities  were  invited  to  become  institutional  as- 
sociate members.  The  conference  for  1951  was  planned  to  con- 
vene at  Washington  and  Lee  University. 

Following  the  history  of  the  organization  are  sections  on  Meet- 
ings and  Officers,  Histories  of  the  Constituent  Societies,  Asso- 
ciate Members  of  the  Southern  Humanities  Conference,  and  the 
constitution  consisting  of  eight  articles. 

The  first  two  bulletins  of  this  scholarly  organization  reveal 
genuine  achievement  in  vitalizing  the  humanities  in  the  South. 


288  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  first  bulletin  contains  eighty-six  pages  of  titles  only  of  work 
in  progress  in  the  humanities  in  a  single  year,  and  research  in 
sociology  and  economics  is  not  even  listed.  Had  the  research  of 
men  like  Howard  W.  Odum,  Rupert  Vance,  and  Calvin  Hoover 
been  included,  the  record  would  have  been  even  more  impressive. 
It  is  an  inspiring  record — clear  evidence  of  an  intellectual 
awakening.  It  proves  false  H.  L.  Mencken's  jibe  of  a  genera- 
tion ago  to  the  effect  that  the  South  is  ignorant  and  contented. 
The  history  of  the  Southern  Humanities  Conference  and  its  con- 
stituent organizations  as  recorded  in  this  second  bulletin  is  still 
more  inspiring  information  on  the  intellectual  South.  Every  in- 
stitution of  learning  that  is  interested  in  cultural  progress  of  the 
South  should  add  this  series  of  bulletins  to  its  collection.  More 
power  (and  financial  support)  to  Mr.  Leavitt  and  his  productive 
colleagues. 

M.  L.  Skaggs. 

Greensboro  College, 
Greensboro,  N.  C. 

Bourbon  Democracy  in  Alabama.  By  Allen  Johnston  Going.    (University, 
Alabama:  The  University  of  Alabama  Press.  1951.  Pp.  ix,  256.  $4.00.) 

The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  fill  the  gap  in  the  history  of 
Alabama  between  the  Reconstruction  era,  so  well  described  by 
Walter  L.  Fleming,  and  the  Populist  period,  which  has  been  treat- 
ed by  John  B.  Clark.  In  Alabama  this  period  extended  from  1874 
to  1890  and  was  characterized,  politically,  by  the  dominance  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  the  affairs  of  the  state.  This  party  was 
labeled  "Bourbon"  by  its  Radical  enemies  in  order  to  stamp  their 
Democratic  opponents  as  anti-progressive  and  ultra-conservative. 
However  accurate  or  inaccurate  the  label  might  have  been,  the 
phrase  still  supplies  us,  by  common  usage,  with  a  name  for  an 
era  in  southern  history. 

It  is  this  era  in  Alabama  which  Mr.  Going  proposes  to  analyze 
and  describe,  but  his  conception  of  his  task  is  a  narrower  one 
than  that  held  by  Fleming  or  Clark.  The  study  is  confined  to  an 
analysis  and  description  of  the  state  government  of  Alabama ;  it 
is  written  largely  from  a  spectator's  seat  in  the  state  legislature ; 
there  is  in  it  almost  nothing  of  the  social,  economic  and  industrial 
development  of  the  state  in  this  period.  Because  the  author  set 
out  to  do  no  more  than  describe  the  history  of  the  Democratic 


Book  Reviews  289 

party  his  work  inevitably  has  about  it  the  flavor  of  incomplete- 
ness. Though  the  task  he  proposed  to  perform  has  been  done,  the 
larger  history  of  Alabama  for  this  period  remains  to  be  treated. 

Though  the  term  "Bourbon"  is  shown  to  be  inaccurate  if  ap- 
plied to  all  factions  of  the  party,  yet  the  general  pattern  of 
Democratic  government  in  Alabama  is  revealed  to  conform  to 
the  general  characteristics  of  Bourbonism  over  the  Southland. 
Divided  by  the  war  quarrels,  the  party  was  united  by  the  issues 
of  race  and  economy  and  came  to  victory  in  1874.  Hardly  chal- 
lenged by  other  political  parties  thereafter,  its  victory  was  con- 
solidated by  the  constitution  of  1875,  and  political  domination 
was  subsequently  maintained  largely  by  control  of  the  election 
machinery.  What  were  the  attitudes  and  policies  of  this  party 
toward  the  pressing  questions  of  the  time  ? 

The  answers  are  given  in  Mr.  Going's  book  and  are  found  to 
conform,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  emerging  pattern  of  the 
Bourbon  South.  The  state  debt  was  partially  repudiated,  expendi- 
tures and  taxation  were  reduced,  and  economy  in  government 
became  a  potent  slogan.  As  a  result  of  economy  social  services 
were  reduced  or  eliminated,  public  education  was  neglected,  and 
there  was  no  state  action  to  alleviate  the  grievances  of  the 
farmer.  Toward  business  and  industry  the  Democratic  party 
adopted  a  dual  role  in  which  industry  was  both  impeded  and  en- 
couraged. This  same  duality  prevailed  in  regard  to  railroads,  for 
though  the  Constitution  of  1875  prohibited  direct  state  aid  to 
internal  improvements  the  railroad  commission  which  was  estab- 
lished in  1881  was  never  so  strict  or  powerful  as  in  some  other 
states.  Also  within  the  general  southern  pattern  of  the  times 
were  the  attitudes  of  the  party  toward  the  penal  system,  where 
reform  was  hardly  an  object,  and  toward  the  Negro,  who  was 
certainly  effectively  controlled,  though  not  disfranchised.  The 
total  picture  is  one  of  a  government  which  was  honest  and  eco- 
nomical but  which  was  also  weak  and  inefficient. 

But  if  the  author  paints  this  general  picture  he  also  makes  it 
clear  that  there  was  continual  disagreement  and  opposition 
within  the  party  on  matters  of  policy.  Many  pressures  from  sec- 
tional and  economic  groups  prevented  the  full  realization  of  an 
agrarian,  conservative  program.  Important  modifications  of  Bour- 
bon attitudes  were  forced  on  such  questions  as  debt  repudiation, 


290  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

encouragement  to  immigration  and  industry,  and  the  party  shib- 
boleth of  a  strictly  economical  government.  But  poverty  and  the 
prevailing  philosophy  of  laissez-faire  prevented  any  serious  al- 
terations in  the  Bourbon  program  before  1890. 

The  principal  sources  employed  in  this  study  are  official  docu- 
ments and  newspapers,  though  some  manuscript  collections  have 
been  found  useful.  The  research  has  been  thorough  and  the 
organization  of  the  material  is  clear  and  logical.  The  style  is 
undistinguished,  even  pedestrian,  but  the  subject  matter  treated 
doubtless  supplies  extenuating  circumstances.  A  useful  appendix 
furnishes  needed  summaries  of  elections  and  eighteen  maps  en- 
able the  reader  to  visualize  the  sectional  and  party  divisions 
within  the  state  throughout  the  period.  An  excellent  bibliography 
and  an  adequate  index  complete  a  sound  and  useful  account  of 
Bourbon  democracy  in  Alabama. 

Frontis  W.  Johnston. 

Davidson  College, 
Davidson. 


The  Territorial  Papers  of  The  United  States.  Compiled  and  edited  by 
Clarence  Edwin  Carter.  Volume  XV.  The  Territory  of  Louisiana-Missouri, 
1815-1821.  (Washington:  United  States  Government  Printing  Office.  1951. 
Pp.  834.  $5.00.) 

This  is  the  last  of  a  series  of  three  volumes  dealing  with  the 

Territory  of  Louisiana-Missouri,  1803-1821,  a  project  commenced 
by  the  Department  of  State  and  later  transferred  by  an  executive 

order  to  the  National  Archives  and  Records  Service.  Volume  XV 
includes  a  period  of  six  years,  1815-1821,  and  is  divided  into  four 
sections.  Section  one  deals  with  the  first  administration  of  Gov- 
ernor William  Clark,  1815-1816,  which  is  a  continuation  from 
Volume  XIV,  The  Territory  of  Louisiana-Missouri,  1806-1814. 
Section  two  deals  with  the  second  administration  of  Governor 
William  Clark,  1816-1820,  while  section  three  deals  with  his  third 
administration.  The  last  section  deals  with  the  period  of  transi- 
tion, 1820-1821,  that  is,  the  changing  of  the  status  of  Missouri 
from  that  of  a  territory  to  statehood. 

This  is  a  volume  of  documents  collected  from  many  sources, 
arranged  in  chronological  order.  The  source  from  which  each 
document  has  been  taken  is  given  in  headnotes,  most  of  which 
may  be  found  in  various  collections  of  the  National  Archives.  The 


Book  Reviews  291 

volume  opens  with  a  document  relating  to  mail  routes  and  closes 
with  a  letter  from  Governor  Alexander  McNair  to  John  Q.  Adams, 
secretary  of  state,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  letter,  declaring 
the  "admission  of  the  State  of  Missouri  as  a  member  of  the  Union 
to  be  complete."  The  numerous  footnotes  add  much  to  the  useful- 
ness of  the  volume,  as  they  help  clarify  many  of  the  documents 
included  and  give  reference  to  other  valuable  material. 

There  are  in  the  book  approximately  six  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  documents,  and  other  valuable  enclosures  such  as  letters 
and  petitions  relating  to  problems  growing  out  of  pioneer  con- 
ditions. Among  the  pressing  problems  confronting  the  three  ad- 
ministrations of  Governor  William  Clark  none  seem  to  be  of 
greater  concern  to  the  people  of  the  Missouri  Territory  than  the 
land  problem.  Many  of  the  documents  deal  with  land  surveys, 
land  claims  and  the  sale  of  the  public  domain.  Such  problems 
were  of  great  concern  to  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  Missouri 
territory  and  the  residents  of  the  region. 

The  first  three  sections  of  the  book  include  much  material  re- 
lating to  problems  concerning  the  Indian.  This  problem  along 
with  the  issues  growing  out  of  the  public  domain  gave  a  great 
concern  to  those  entrusted  with  the  administration  of  the  terri- 
tory. These  documents  reveal  the  growing  importance  of  Indian 
affairs  in  the  Missouri  Territory  during  the  last  few  years  pre- 
ceding statehood. 

The  fourth  section  contains  many  political  documents  relating 
to  Missouri's  move  for  statehood.  This  part  of  the  book  is  in- 
teresting reading,  for  it  gives  an  excellent  picture  of  the  social 
and  economic  conditions  as  well  as  the  political  activities  im- 
mediately preceding  Missouri's  admission  to  the  Union. 

This  volume  should  be  quite  useful  to  the  research  scholars, 
especially  those  interested  in  the  issues  growing  out  of  the  dis- 
posal of  the  public  domain,  and  in  problems  relating  to  Indian 
affairs. 

Walter  H.  Ryle. 

Northeast  Missouri  State  Teachers  College, 
Kirksville,  Mo. 


The  People's  General:  The  Personal  Story  of  Lafayette.  By  David  Loth. 
(New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  1951.  Pp.  viii,  346.  $3.50.) 


292  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

In  The  People's  General  David  Loth  gives  the  intimate  story 
of  an  ambitious  young  man  motivated  by  feelings  of  emotional 
insecurity  with  which  nearly  all  of  us  can  sympathize.  Beginning 
with  his  early  childhood,  the  reader  is  shown  the  family  back- 
ground, the  education,  and  the  youthful  associations — even  the 
accidental  occurrences — which  shaped  the  character  of  Marie 
Joseph  Paul  Yves  Koch  Gilbert  du  Motier,  Marquis  de  Lafayette. 
The  contrast  is  sharply  drawn  between  his  boyhood  home  in  the 
Auvergne  and  the  Noailles  Palace  in  Paris  where  according  to 
his  marriage  contract  he  was  compelled  to  live,  when  he  was  not 
with  his  regiment,  among  his  court-loving  in-laws.  Then  follows 
an  account  of  the  difficulties  Lafayette  encountered  in  leaving 
for  America,  the  satisfying  father-son  type  of  relationship  with 
Washington,  and  his  adventures  as  an  officer  in  the  American 
Revolution.  The  difficult  political  and  military  role  he  played 
before,  during,  and  after  the  French  Revolution  occupies  the  third 
part  of  the  book,  and  his  return  to  the  United  States  and  his 
retirement  and  old  age  conclude  the  work. 

Although  it  is  apparent  that  Loth  has  a  great  affection  for 
his  hero,  he  gives  a  frank,  objective  analysis  of  Lafayette's 
motives,  even  allowing  for  Lafayette's  lapses  of  memory  in  rela- 
tion thereto,  and  never  indulges  in  hero  worship.  His  background 
as  a  newspaperman  qualifies  the  author  as  a  raconteur — his  story 
is  a  succession  of  interesting  events — but  does  not  incline  him 
toward  documentation.  Sources  are  listed  in  the  appendix  and  in 
the  author's  acknowledgments,  but  no  footnote  references  are 
given.  Letters  are  quoted  in  the  text,  some  with  dates  and  places 
and  some  without  these  aids.  One  wonders  how  David  Loth  knows 
what  feelings  Lafayette  experienced  as  he  stood  outside  the  Tuil- 
leries  soon  after  his  return  from  America.  There  are  awkward 
skips  in  the  narrative  for  which  no  explanation  is  given.  Al- 
though the  book  is  relatively  free  from  typographical  faults, 
there  are  some  factual  discrepancies.  For  example,  an  eighty-day 
voyage  was  started  on  April  20,  1777  (page  67),  and  ended  June 
13,  1777  (page  72).  A  woman  who  is  "a  couple  of  years"  older 
than  the  hero  on  page  26  has  become  three  years  older  by  page  45. 

The  book  is  printed  in  large,  readable  type  and  has  an  adequate 
index.  There  is  one  illustration,  a  portrait  frontispiece,  and  an 
unusually  attractive  dust  jacket.  Mr.  Loth  is  to  be  commended 


Book  Reviews  293 

for  presenting  history  in  its  most  readable  form,  if  not  its  most 

useful. 

May  Davis  Hill. 

State  Department  of  Archives  and  History, 
Raleigh. 


Records  of  the  Accounting  Department  of  the  Office  of  Price  Administration. 
Compiled  by  Meyer  H.  Fishbein  and  Elaine  C.  Bennett.  Preliminary  In- 
ventories of  the  National  Archives,  No.  32.  (Washington,  1951.  Pp.  vii, 
108.  Processed.) 

Records  of  the  Bureau  of  Ordnance.  Compiled  by  William  F.  Shonkwiler. 
Preliminary  Inventories  of  the  National  Archives,  No.  33.  (Washington, 
1951.  Pp.  v,  33.  Processed.) 

Records  of  the  Solid  Fuels  Administration  for  War.  Compiled  by  Edward  F. 
Martin.  Preliminary  Inventories  of  the  National  Archives,  No.  34.  (Wash- 
ington, 1951.  Pp.  v,  39.  Processed.) 

These  preliminary  inventories  are  the  latest  in  a  series  begun 
by  the  National  Archives  in  1941  with  the  ultimate  aim  of  de- 
scribing in  detail  the  material  in  the  260-odd  record  groups  to 
which  its  holdings  are  allocated.  Although  designed  primarily  for 
staff  use — as  finding  aids  in  rendering  reference  service  and  as 
a  means  of  establishing  administrative  control  over  the  records — 
they  should  prove  equally  useful  to  the  researcher  interested  in 
the  record  group  inventoried. 

In  addition  to  describing  the  records  themselves  by  series, 
each  inventory  contains  a  statement  of  the  history  and  functions 
of  the  agency.  In  the  case  of  the  two  World  War  II  agencies,  these 
valuable  guides  to  their  administrative  complexities  are  supple- 
mented by  brief  administrative  histories  of  their  several  offices 
or  divisions.  Where  related  records  exist,  the  introductory  state- 
ments indicate  the  record  groups  in  which  they  are  to  be  found 
in  the  National  Archives  or  the  agency  that  has  retained  them  for 
current  use. 

The  records  of  the  accounting  department  of  the  Office  of 
Price  Administration,  1940-1947,  pertain  to  the  administration 
and  enforcement  of  the  price,  rent,  and  rationing  programs. 
Those  of  the  Solid  Fuels  Administration  for  War,  1941-1947,  deal 
with  the  control  of  coal  and  packaged  and  processed  fuels.  In- 
ventoried with  the  latter  are  the  closely  related  records  of  the 
Coal  Mines  Administration,  1943-1945,  and  the  Coal  Mines  Ad- 
ministration-Navy, 1946-1948,  which  operated  the  mines  during 


294  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  four  periods  when  they  were  seized  by  the  Federal  govern- 
ment. 

The  inventory  of  the  Bureau  of  Ordnance,  Department  of  the 
Navy,  describes  the  records  that  had  been  transferred  to  the 
National  Archives  by  June,  1951.  They  include  many  items  re- 
lating to  the  invention,  manufacture,  and  testing  of  ordnance 
equipment  and  incomplete  records  of  various  ordnance  boards. 
There  is  also  a  collection  of  maps,  photographs,  and  drawings, 
1818-1943. 

Dorothy  Dodd. 

Florida  State  Library, 
Tallahassee. 


HISTORICAL  NEWS 

A  committee  has  been  set  up  to  conduct  a  campaign  to  estab- 
lish at  Kitty  Hawk  a  museum  relating  to  the  Wright  brothers 
of  Dayton,  Ohio,  who  made  the  first  airplane  flight,  December  17, 
1903.  Members  are  Mr.  David  Stick  of  Kitty  Hawk,  chairman; 
Mr.  Ronald  F.  Lee,  assistant  director  of  the  National  Park 
Service,  Washington;  Mr.  Paul  Garber,  curator  of  the  National 
Air  Museum  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington;  Mr. 
Harold  S.  Miller  of  Dayton,  executor  of  the  Wright  estate ;  Mr. 
Harold  S.  Manning,  head  of  the  Southeastern  Airport  Managers' 
Association,  Augusta,  Georgia;  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  of 
Raleigh;  and  Mr.  Victor  S.  Meekins  of  Manteo.  The  committee 
met  with  officials  of  the  National  Park  Service  and  others  in 
Washington,  February  15,  and  made  plans  for  the  campaign. 

The  Tryon  Palace  Commission  has  signed  a  contract  with  the 
Boston  firm  of  architects,  Perry,  Shaw  and  Hepburn,  Kehoe  and 
Dean,  which  was  in  charge  of  the  restoration  of  colonial  Wil- 
liamsburg, for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Tryon  Palace,  colonial 
and  first  state  capitol  of  North  Carolina,  in  New  Bern.  For  this 
purpose  the  late  Mrs.  J.  E.  Latham  of  Greensboro  donated  ap- 
proximately $1,500,000,  and  the  state  appropriated  funds  for 
the  purchase  of  at  least  a  part  of  the  necessary  land. 

The  Department  of  Archives  and  History  has  arranged  for  the 
Genealogical  Society  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day 
Saints  to  make  microfilm  copies  of  the  older  records  in  Camden, 
Hyde,  Jones,  Montgomery,  Moore,  Person,  Richmond,  and  Wilkes 
counties.  Many  records  of  the  other  North  Carolina  counties 
have  previously  been  filmed  by  the  society.  In  each  case  the 
master  negative  is  retained  by  the  society  and  a  positive  print 
is  sent  to  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History. 

The  State  Records  Microfilm  Project,  coordinated  under  the 
Department  of  Archives  and  History,  has  been  in  operation 
since  August,  1951.  Projects  are  now  being  conducted  in  the 
Board  of  Education,  the  Personnel  Department,  and  the  office 
of  the  State  Treasurer. 


[295] 


296  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  older  records  of  the  A.  S.  Cox  Manufacturing  Company, 
Winterville,  have  been  accessioned  by  the  State  Department  of 
Archives  and  History.  The  company,  founded  in  1875,  made 
cotton  planters  that  were  distributed  as  far  west  as  Texas. 

The  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History,  through  the 
courtesy  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  H.  Cotten  of  Chapel  Hill,  has  acquired 
the  Virginia  Dare  desk,  a  gift  of  Mrs.  George  Ross  Pou  of 
Raleigh.  The  desk  was  made  by  North  Carolinians  out  of  white 
holly  from  Roanoke  Island  as  the  contribution  of  the  women  of 
the  state  to  the  women's  building  at  the  Chicago  World's  Fair  in 
1893.  The  carved  panels  represent  scenes  and  symbols  connected 
with  Virginia  Dare,  including  the  legendary  white  doe,  scupper- 
nong  vines,  and  the  coat  of  arms  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  The  desk 
has  since  been  preserved  by  the  State  Library,  the  Raleigh 
Woman's  Club,  and  the  late  George  Ross  Pou,  State  Auditor. 
Mrs.  Cotten  has  given  the  Department  a  gavel  which  accompanied 
the  desk  when  it  was  originally  presented. 

The  Southern  Appalachian  Historical  Association  has  chosen 
the  name  "Daniel  Boone  Theater"  for  the  outdoor  theater  which 
is  to  be  built  at  Boone  for  its  production,  "Horn  in  the  West,"  by 
Kermit  Hunter.  The  play  is  scheduled  to  open  June  27  and  its 
theme  is  the  change  effected  by  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina 
on  a  dyed-in-the-wool  royalist  in  the  period  between  1776  and 
1780. 

The  Department  of  Archives  and  History  has  a  limited  number 
of  copies  of  the  History  of  the  113th  Field  Artillery,  30th  Divi- 
sion, published  by  the  History  Committee  of  the  113th  Field 
Artillery,  Raleigh,  in  1920.  The  book  consists  of  262  pages  and  is 
illustrated  with  photographs,  maps,  and  other  material.  Any 
library  may  obtain  a  copy  of  this  volume  by  sending  twenty-five 
cents  for  wrapping  and  mailing  to  the  Division  of  Publications, 
Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Box  1881,  Raleigh. 

At  North  Carolina  State  College,  Dr.  Stuart  Noblin  has  been 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  associate  professor,  and  Dr.  Charles  F. 
Kolb  and  Dr.  Marvin  L.  Brown,  Jr.,  have  been  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  assistant  professor. 


Historical  News  297 

Dr.  Preston  W.  Edsall,  head  of  the  department  of  history  and 
political  science  at  North  Carolina  State  College,  attended  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Southern  Political  Science  Association  in 
Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  on  November  8,  9,  and  10  and  served 
as  a  discussion  leader  in  the  panel  of  "The  Rule  of  Law  Today." 

Dr.  William  B.  Todd,  professor  of  English  at  Salem  College, 
has  published  "Bibliography  and  the  Editorial  Problem  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century/'  Studies  in  Bibliography,  IV  (1951) ,  41-55 ; 
the  following  articles  in  Papers  of  the  Bibliographical  Society  of 
America,  XLV  (1951)  :  "Press  Figures  and  Book  Reviews  as 
Determinants  of  Priority:  A  Study  of  Home's  Douglas  (1757) 
and  Cumberland's  The  Brothers  (1770),"  72-76;  "Another  At- 
tribution to  Swift,"  82-83;  "Two  Issues  of  Crabbe's  Works' 
(1823),"  250-251;  "Twin  Titles  in  Scott's  Woodstock  (1826)," 
256;  and  "A  Hidden  Edition  of  Whitehead's  Variety  (1776)," 
357-358;  and  two  articles  in  The  Library,  5th  ser.,  VI  (1951)  : 
"The  Bibliographical  History  of  Burke's  Reflections  on  the  Revo- 
lution in  France,"  100-108,  and  "The  First  Printing  of  Hume's 
Life  (1777),"  123-125. 

Miss  Sarah  McCulloh  Lemmon  has  recently  published  the 
following  article:  "The  Ideology  of  the  Dixiecrat  Movement," 
Social  Forces,  December,  1951.  Miss  Lemmon  is  assistant  pro- 
fessor of  history  at  Meredith  College. 

Dr.  Elisha  P.  Douglass,  now  professor  of  history  at  Elon  Col- 
lege, has  been  appointed  assistant  professor  of  American  history 
at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  beginning  September  1, 
1952.  Professor  Douglass  received  his  A.  B.  from  Princeton, 
his  M.  S.  in  journalism  from  Columbia,  and  his  Ph.  D.  from  Yale 
in  1949.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Historical 
Markers. 

Dr.  Wallace  E.  Caldwell,  chairman  of  the  department  of  his- 
tory at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  has  just  published 
(with  W.  C.  McDermott)  Readings  in  Ancient  History  (Rine- 
hart) ,  a  collection  of  source  readings. 

Dr.  Loren  C.  MacKinney  delivered  the  inaugural  lecture  of 
the  "J.  C.  Trent  Society  of  the  History  of  Medicine"  at  the  Duke 
University  Medical  School,  February  19,  1952. 


298  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Dr.  Harold  A.  Bierck,  Jr.,  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
has  been  elected  secretary-treasurer  of  the  Conference  on  Latin 
American  History  of  the  American  Historical  Association. 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  The  South  Atlantic  Quarterly,  the 
nation's  second  oldest  literary-general  quarterly,  was  celebrated 
by  the  publication  on  March  21  of  Fifty  Years  of  the  South 
Atlantic  Quarterly,  edited  by  William  B.  Hamilton,  and  a  special 
January  anniversary  issue  of  the  Quarterly,  which  was  founded 
in  1902  by  John  Spencer  Bassett,  history  professor  at  Trinity 
College,  forerunner  of  Duke  University.  Dr.  William  T.  Laprade, 
chairman  of  the  Duke  history  department,  is  the  present  editor 
of  the  Quarterly. 

Mr.  John  E.  Tyler  of  Roxobel  has  been  named  district  vice- 
president  for  the  Albemarle  District  of  the  North  Carolina  So- 
ciety of  County  and  Local  Historians.  The  Albemarle  District 
consists  of  the  counties  of  Bertie,  Beaufort,  Camden,  Chowan, 
Currituck,  Dare,  Edgecombe,  Gates,  Halifax,  Hertford,  Hyde, 
Martin,  Nash,  Northampton,  Pasquotank,  Perquimans,  Pitt, 
Tyrrell,  Washington,  and  Wilson. 

Mrs.  Seth  L.  Smith  of  Whiteville  has  been  named  vice- 
president  for  the  Cape  Fear  District,  which  includes  the  counties 
of  Bladen,  Brunswick,  Carteret,  Columbus,  Craven,  Cumberland, 
Duplin,  Greene,  Jones,  Lenoir,  New  Hanover,  Onslow,  Pamlico, 
Pender,  Robeson,  Sampson,  and  Wayne. 

Mr.  John  E.  Monger  of  Sanford  is  vice-president  for  the  Cen- 
tral, which  includes  the  counties  of  Alamance,  Caswell,  Chat- 
ham, Durham,  Franklin,  Granville,  Guilford,  Harnett,  Hoke, 
Johnston,  Lee,  Montgomery,  Moore,  Orange,  Person,  Randolph, 
Richmond,  Rockingham,  Scotland,  Vance,  Wake,  and  Warren. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Hodges  of  Maiden  has  been  elected  divisional  vice- 
president,  in  charge  of  activities  in  the  Piedmont  District.  This 
district  is  composed  of  the  counties  of  Alexander,  Alleghany, 
Anson,  Cabarrus,  Catawba,  Cleveland,  Davidson,  Davie,  Forsyth, 
Gaston,  Iredell,  Lincoln,  Mecklenburg,  Rowan,  Stanly,  Stokes, 
Surry,  Union,  Wilkes,  and  Yadkin. 

Mr.  Clarence  W.  Griffin  of  Forest  City  is  vice-president  for  the 
Western  District,  which  includes  the  counties  of  Ashe,  Avery, 
Buncombe,  Burke,  Caldwell,  Cherokee,  Clay,  Graham,  Haywood, 


Historical  News  299 

Henderson,  Jackson,  McDowell,  Macon,  Madison,  Mitchell,  Polk, 
Rutherford,  Swain,  Transylvania,  Watauga,  and  Yancey. 

A  large  number  of  North  Carolinians  attended  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Association  in  New  York, 
December  28-30.  Taking  part  in  the  program  were  Miss  Frances 
Acomb,  Dr.  Paul  H.  Clyde,  Dr.  Ray  C.  Petry,  Dr.  Charles  S. 
Sydnor,  and  Dr.  Richard  L.  Watson,  Jr.,  all  of  Duke  University, 
and  Dr.  Fletcher  M.  Green  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Martin  Kellogg,  Jr.,  of  Manteo  was  named  chairman  of 
the  Roanoke  Island  Historical  Association  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  held  in  Raleigh  January  4.  Other  officers 
elected  were  as  follows :  Mr.  Russell  M.  Grumman  of  Chapel  Hill, 
vice-chairman ;  Mr.  I.  P.  Davis  of  Winston-Salem,  secretary ;  and 
Mr.  C.  S.  Meekins  of  Manteo,  treasurer.  Mr.  Chester  Davis  of 
Winston-Salem  and  Mr.  Grumman  were  presented  as  new  mem- 
bers of  the  board. 

On  January  11  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt  of  the  Department  of  Archives 
and  History  spoke  before  the  Bloomsbury  Chapter  of  the  Daugh- 
ters of  the  American  Revolution.  His  subject  was  Richard  Cas- 
well. On  January  17  he  addressed  the  Junior  League  of  Raleigh 
on  "The  Background  of  Raleigh." 

On  January  16  Mrs.  Joye  E.  Jordan  of  the  Department  of 
Archives  and  History  attended  the  preview  of  the  Brush-Everard 
house  in  Williamsburg,  Virginia;  on  January  23  she  attended 
the  opening  of  the  Southern  Furniture  Exhibition  at  the  Virginia 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts  in  Richmond;  and  on  February  5  she 
spoke  on  "Quilt  Patterns  as  Modern  Art"  at  a  luncheon  meeting 
of  the  Junior  Woman's  Club  of  Raleigh. 

On  January  16  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  addressed  the 
Sesame  Club  of  Faison  on  "Museum  Opportunities  for  All  Citi- 
zens";  on  February  14  he  spoke  at  the  chapel  exercises  of  St. 
Augustine's  College,  Raleigh,  on  "John  Chavis,  Free  Negro 
Teacher  and  Preacher  of  the  Early  Nineteenth  Century" ;  and  on 
February  15  he  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the 
National  Council  for  Historic  Sites  and  Buildings  in  Washington. 
He  has  been  reappointed  chairman  of  the  Society  of  American 
Archivists'  Committee  on  Long-Range  Planning. 


300  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  Warren  County  Historical  Society  was  organized  in  War- 
renton  on  January  14.  After  a  talk  by  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt  of  the 
Department  of  Archives  and  History,  who  had  been  invited  to 
help  organize  the  group,  the  following  officers  were  elected :  Mr. 
Arthur  Nicholson,  president;  Dr.  Lena  Hawks,  vice-president; 
and  Mrs.  Arthur  Williams,  secretary  and  treasurer.  Mr.  Charles 
M.  Heck  of  Raleigh  and  Dr.  D.  T.  Smithwick  of  Louisburg  also 
attended  the  meeting. 

At  an  organizational  meeting  of  the  Pitt  County  Historical 
Society  on  February  14,  the  following  officers  were  elected: 
Judge  Dink  James  of  Greenville,  president ;  Mrs.  J.  Paul  Daven- 
port of  Pactolus,  Mr.  C.  V.  Cannon  of  Ayden,  Mr.  Walter  Latham 
of  Bethel,  and  Mrs.  C.  A.  Lawrence  of  Falkland,  vice-presidents ; 
Mrs.  Tabitha  Visconti  of  Farmville,  secretary;  and  Mrs.  Bessie 
W.  Scott  of  Greenville,  curator.  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt  and  Mr.  J.  L. 
Jackson  of  Raleigh,  natives  of  Pitt  County,  assisted  in  the  organi- 
zation. 

The  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Day  Commission  met  in  Raleigh  on 
February  21  to  make  plans  for  the  celebration  later  in  the  year 
of  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  Sir  Walter's  birth.  The 
following  committees  were  named:  Executive  Committee:  Mr. 
Robert  Lee  Humber,  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden,  Mrs.  W.  T. 
Bost,  Mr.  H.  A.  Scott,  and  Mr.  A.  T.  Spaulding;  Committee  to 
Cooperate  with  Superintendent  Erwin  on  Raleigh  Day  in  the 
Schools:  Mr.  A.  B.  Gibson,  Mr.  Joe  Nixon,  Mrs.  E.  B.  Hunter, 
and  Mr.  A.  T.  Spaulding;  Committee  on  Dramatic  Productions: 
Mr.  Paul  Green,  Mrs.  E.  B.  Hunter,  and  Dr.  J.  Y.  Joyner ;  Com- 
mittee to  Confer  with  London  Commission  on  Raleigh  Quadri- 
centennial:  Mr.  Robert  Lee  Humber,  Mr.  Paul  Green,  and  Dr. 
Christopher  Crittenden;  Committee  on  Stamp  for  Raleigh 
Quadricentennial :  Mr.  William  T.  Polk,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  D.  Rey- 
nolds, and  Mrs.  W.  T.  Bost. 

The  expanded  program  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association,  announced  at  its  annual  meeting  last  December,  is 
getting  under  way.  The  following  chairmen  of  committees  have 
been  appointed  by  President  Frontis  W.  Johnston  of  Davidson : 
Awards,  Professor  Richard  Walser,  Raleigh;  Local  Historical 
Societies,  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt,  Raleigh;  Meetings  and  Programs, 
Dr.  D.  J.  Whitener,  Boone;  Membership,  Mr.  Russell  M.  Grum- 


Historical  News  301 

man,  Chapel  Hill;  To  Publicize  North  Carolina  History,  Mr. 
Clarence  W.  Griffin,  Forest  City.  A  full  list  of  committee  mem- 
bers will  be  published  later.  On  February  22  the  association's 
Executive  Committee  met  in  Raleigh  with  the  chairmen  of  the 
other  committees  and  certain  other  interested  members  to  hear 
reports  of  progress  and  to  make  plans  for  the  future.  The  pro- 
gram is  meeting  with  enthusiastic  response  throughout  the  state. 

The  Ashe  County  Historical  Society  was  formed  at  Jefferson 
on  February  22.  Mr.  A.  L.  Fletcher  of  Jefferson  and  Raleigh 
was  named  temporary  chairman  and  Mrs.  Ed  M.  Anderson  of 
West  Jefferson  was  named  secretary  of  a  seven-member  board 
in  charge  of  organization.  Permanent  officers  have  not  yet  been 
selected. 


CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THIS  ISSUE 

Miss  Fannie  Memory  Farmer  is  administrative  assistant  in  the 
State  Board  of  Public  Welfare  in  Raleigh. 

Dr.  John  Chalmers  Vinson  is  an  assistant  professor  of  history 
at  the  University  of  Georgia,  Athens. 

Dr.  Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr.,  is  an  assistant  professor  of  his- 
tory at  the  University,  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  James  M.  Merrill  is  a  doctoral  candidate  in  American  his- 
tory at  the  University  of  California,  Los  Angeles. 

Dr.  Ernest  M.  Lander,  Jr.,  is  an  associate  professor  of  history 
and  government  at  Clemson  College,  Clemson,  South  Carolina. 

Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  is  director  of  the  State  Department 
of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh,  and  secretary  of  the  State 
Literary  and  Historical  Association,  Raleigh. 

Mr.  E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr.,  is  a  doctoral  candidate  specializing 
in  colonial  American  history  at  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina. At  the  present  time  he  holds  the  William  Richardson  Davie 
memorial  scholarship  in  history  for  North  Carolina,  which  is 
awarded  by  the  North  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

Dr.  Frontis  W.  Johnston  is  head  of  the  department  of  history 
at  Davidson  College,  Davidson. 

Dr.  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson  is  a  reference  consultant  of 
the  Manuscript  Division  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  Washington. 

Miss  Mary  Lindsay  Thornton  is  librarian,  North  Carolina  Col- 
lection, University  of  North  Carolina  Library,  Chapel  Hill. 


[302] 


CONTENTS  OF  LAST  NUMBER 
JANUARY,  1952 

ADELAIDE  LlSETTA  FRIES Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina  James  s.  Purceii 
Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act  .  James  High 
Some  Aspects  of  Society  in  Rural  South 

CAROLINA  IN  1850 Joseph  Davis  Applewhite 

The  Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro 
Education  in  Virginia wuiiam  t,  Aiderson,  Jr. 

Unpublished  Letters  of 
Calvin  Henderson  Wiley Mary  Galium  Wiley 

Letters  from  North  Carolina  to 

ANDREW  JOHNSON    Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

Book  Reviews 
Historical  News 


X 


THE 


>  •    >  » 


North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 


Issued  Quarterly 


Volume  XXIX 


Number  3 


JULY,  1952 


Published  by 

STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Corner  of  Edenton  and  Salisbury  streets 
Raleigh,  N.  C. 


»     > 

>  -  -    , 


>    »  >  > 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORICAL  REVIEW 


vJ 


i * 


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'     '  '   '    "  :  ' l '  Published  by  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History 


Raleigh,  N,  C. 


Christopher  Crittenden,  Editor 
David  Leroy  Corbitt,  Managing  Editor 


ADVISORY  EDITORIAL  BOARD 
Walter  Clinton  Jackson  Hugh  Talmage  Lepler 

Frontis  Withers  Johnston  Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

George  Myers  Stephens 


STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Benjamin  Franklin  Brown,  Chairman 

Gertrude  Sprague  Carraway  McDaniel  Lewis 

Clarence  W.  Griffin  Mrs.  Sadie  Smathers  Patton 

William  Thomas  Laprade  Mrs.  Callie  Pridgen  Williams 

Christopher  Crittenden,  Director 


This  review  was  established  in  January,  192b,  as  a  medium  of  publication 
and  discussion  of  history  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  issued  to  other  institutions 
by  exchange,  but  to  the  general  public  by  subscription  only.  The  regular 
price  is  $2.00  per  year.  To  members  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association  there  is  a  special  price  of  $1.00  per  year.  Back  numbers  may  be 
procured  at  the  regular  price  of  $2.00  per  volume,  or  $.50  per  number. 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  Number  3 

CONTENTS 

CHRISTOPHER  NEWPORT  IN  1590 305 

Da\id  B.  Quinn 

THE  MIND  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  OPPONENTS 
OF  THE  STAMP  ACT 317 

C.  Robert  Haywood 

THE  ANTE-BELLUM  PROFESSIONAL  THEATER 

IN  RALEIGH 344 

Donald  J.  Rulfs 

NORTH  CAROLINA  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE 

CONGRESS  359 

Wilfred  B.  Yearns,  Jr. 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY  EXTENSION  IN  NORTH 

CAROLINA  AND  THE  WPA 379 

Elaine  von  Oesen 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO 
ANDREW  JOHNSON 400 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

BOOK  REVIEWS    432 

Oates'S  The  Story  of  Fayetteville  and  the  Upper  Cape 
Fear — By  Paul  Murray;  Walser's  Inglis  Fletcher  of 
Bandon  Plantation — By  Chalmers  G.  Davidson; 
Baker's  Mrs.  G.  I.  Joe — By  Percival  Perry;  Lewis's 
Northampton  Parishes — By  William  S.  Powell  ;  Hol- 
lis'S  University  of  South  Carolina.  Volume  I.  South 
Carolina  College — By  J.  Isaac  Copeland;  Williams's 
St.  Michael's,  Charleston,  1751-1951 — By  Lawrence  F. 
Brewster;  Easterby's  The  Journal  of  the  Commons 
House  of  Assembly,  September  12,  1739-March  26,  17  Ul 
(The  Colonial  Records  of  South  Carolina) — By  Hugh  T. 

Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  29,  1928,  at  the  Post  Office  at 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

[i] 


Lefler;  Milling's  Colonial  South  Carolina:  Two  Con- 
temporary Descriptions — By  C.  E.  Cauthen;  Wal- 
lace's History  of  Wofford  College,  1851^-19^9 — By 
Frontis  W.  Johnston;  Schlegel's  Conscripted  City: 
Norfolk  in  World  War  II — By  Horace  W.  Raper; 
Lawrence's  Storm  over  Savannah:  The  Story  of 
Count  d'Estaing  and  the  Siege  of  the  Town  in  1779 
— By  J.  D.  Applewhite;  Woodward's  Origins  of 
the  New  South,  1877-1913 — By  JEFFERSON  DAVIS 
Bragg;  Murdoch's  The  Georgia-Florida  Frontier,  1793- 
1796 — By  Cecil  Johnson;  Freeman's  George  Wash- 
ington: A  Biography — By  Leonidas  Dodson;  Mon- 
tross'S  Rag,  Tag  and  Bobtail:  The  Story  of  the 
Continental  Army,  1775-1783 — By  Hugh  F.  Rankin; 
McNair's  Simon  Cameron's  Adventure  in  Iron,  1837- 
181>6 — By  James  W.  Patton;  Shott's  The  Railroad 
Monopoly:  An  Instrument  of  Banker  Control  of  the 
American  Economy — By  C.  K.  Brown  ;  Thornbrough's 
A  Friendly  Mission:  John  Candler's  Letters  from 
America,  185 3-1 85 U — By  Tinsley  L.  Spraggins;  Mc- 
Allister's Business  Executives  and  the  Humanities — 
By  Tinsley  L.  Spraggins;  Paschal's  Mr.  Justice 
Sutherland:  A  Man  Against  the  State — By  Preston  W. 
Edsall. 

LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 460 

HISTORICAL  NEWS 465 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  JULY,  1952  Number  3 

CHRISTOPHER  NEWPORT  IN  1590 
By  David  B.  Quinn 

Captain  Christopher  Newport  holds  an  honorable  place  in 
early  Anglo-American  history  as  the  commander  of  the  expedi- 
tion which  left  England  in  December,  1606,  for  the  foundation 
of  Jamestown  and  on  account  of  his  subsequent  maritime  activi- 
ties in  support  of  the  struggling  colony.  It  is  now  known  that  it 
was  only  chance  and  misfortune  which  prevented  him,  sixteen 
years  before  the  Jamestown  expedition,  from  taking  part  in  the 
search  for  the  "Lost  Colony"  of  Roanoke  Island,  for  in  1590 
he  was  in  command  of  one  of  the  vessels  which  was  to  call  at 
Raleigh's  Virginia  for  this  purpose. 

For  John  White's  last  voyage  the  main  authority  has  hitherto 
been  his  own  journal  which  Hakluyt  first  published  in  1600,1 
but  the  very  date  of  it  has  been  misinterpreted,  "in  1590"  having 
been  frequently  taken,  by  the  present  writer  amongst  others,2 
to  mean  1591  since  the  journal  begins  on  March  20,  which  was 
within  the  English  official  year  March  25,  1590-March  24, 
1591.  Hakluyt  in  this  case  and  some  others  was  following  the 
continental  usage  of  beginning  the  year  on  January  1,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  at  all  that  1590  is  meant.  There  has  now  become  avail- 
able a  substantial  amount  of  new  material  on  this  1590  voyage, 
mainly  referring  to  its  West  Indian  phase.  On  the  one  hand,  Miss 
Irene  A.  Wright  has  found  at  Seville  valuable  evidence  which 
has  just  been  published  by  the  Hakluyt  Society,3  showing  the 
Spanish  reactions  to  the  activities  of  the  English  vessels.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  have  emerged  from  the  records  of  the  High 
Court  of  Admiralty  in  the  Public  Record  Office,  London,  a  num- 


1  Richard  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  III  (1600),  288-295,  or  VIII  (Glasgow,  1904), 
404-422  (to  which  subsequent  references  are  given).  Prefacing  the  journal  is  a  letter  from 
White  to  Hakluyt  of  February  4,   1593,   or   1594. 

2  E.g.,  in  Raleigh  and  the  British  Empire    (New  York,   1949),  122-125. 

3  Irene  A.  Wright,  ed.,  Further  English  Voyages  to  Spanish  America,  1583-1594,  (London, 
The  Hakluyt  Society,  2nd  ser.,  XCIX,  1951),  244-260,  documents  nos.  68-75. 

[  305  ] 


306  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ber  of  documents  which  throw  a  substantial  amount  of  new  light 
on  the  voyage  from  the  English  side  and,  incidentally,  reveal 
Christopher  Newport's  part  in  it.4 

It  is  not  proposed  to  give  here  a  full  account  of  the  voyage  as 
a  whole  but  rather  to  discuss  those  episodes  in  which  Newport 
took  part;  however,  a  certain  amount  of  general  description  of 
the  circumstances  surrounding  his  activities  is  essential.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  John  White,  having  left  the  third  colony  on 
Roanoke  Island  in  1587,  was  unsuccessful  in  his  attempt  to  re- 
turn with  supplies  and  reinforcements  in  1588.  He,  himself, 
explains  that  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  1590  that  he  seized 
another  opportunity  of  getting  back  to  Raleigh's  Virginia.  Hear- 
ing that  three  privateers,  owned  by  the  London  merchant  John 
Watts  and  his  partners,  were  held  up  in  the  Thames  by  an  em- 
bargo on  shipping,  he  says  that  he  went  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
with  the  proposal  that  they  should  be  released  on  condition  that 
they  should  take  him,  with  some  supplies,  to  Roanoke  Island. 
This,  he  says,  was  done,  the  ships  being  allowed  to  sail  on  giving 
bond  that  they  would  visit  Virginia.  At  the  last  moment,  how- 
ever, they  refused  to  accept  any  cargo  for  the  colonists  and 
merely  permitted  White,  himself,  to  come  on  board.5  We  have 
now  another  version  of  this  episode6  to  the  effect  that  it  was 
William  Sanderson,  Raleigh's  chief  commercial  supporter  in  his 
overseas  enterprises,  who  arranged  for  the  release  of  Watts's 
ships  provided  that  they  should  call  at  Roanoke  Island  and  that 
they  should  take  with  them  Sanderson's  own  ship,  the  Moon- 
light, commanded  by  Edward  Spicer  who  had  been  on  the  1587 
voyage.7  The  four  vessels  were  to  seek  prizes  in  the  West  Indies 
and  then  go  on  to  Virginia.  We  do  not  know  whether  the  Moon- 
light was  to  carry  any  supplies  for  the  colonists,  though  it  is 
possible  that  she  did. 

White's  journal  is  not  too  careful  in  its  references  to  the  ships 
which  took  part  in  the  expedition.  He,  himself,  sailed  in  the  flag- 
ship (or  admiral) ,  the  Hopewell,  which  was  also,  and  more  gen- 
erally, known  as  the  Harry  and  John,  and  gives  her  commander's 


4  They  are  to  be  published  in  the  Hakluyt  Society's  volumes  on  the  Roanoke  voyage  which 
are  being  edited  by  the  present  writer. 

5  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  404-405. 

6  Public  Record  Office,  London,  High  Court  of  Admiralty.  Interrogatories  on  behalf  of 
William  Sanderson  (H.  C.  A.,  23/4,  f.  326).  The  High  Court  of  Admiralty  is  hereafter  re- 
ferred to  as  H.C.A. 

7  Hakluyt,   Principal   Navigations,    VIII,    392. 


Christopher  Newport  in  1590  307 

name  as  "Captain  Cooke,"8  thus  concealing  the  fact  that  he  was 
Captain  Abraham  Cocke,  an  experienced  and  romantic  figure 
who  had  spent  some  years  in  South  America.9  With  her  was  the 
John  Evangelist,  sometimes  referred  to  as  the  Hopewell's  pin- 
nace, whose  commander  "Captaine  Lane"  is  distinguished  cor- 
rectly by  Hakluyt  as  Captain  William  Lane10  to  avoid  any 
confusion  with  Ralph  Lane.  The  third  vessel  was  the  vice- 
admiral,  the  Little  John,  which  is  usually  referred  to  by  White 
as  the  John,11  thus  providing  several  possibilities  of  confusion 
with  the  other  vessels.  Her  captain  is  nowhere  named,  but  it  is 
now  clear  that  he  was  Christopher  Newport12  in  what  was,  so  far 
as  is  known,  his  first  command.  In  tracing  the  Little  John  through 
White's  narrative  we  are  therefore  following  Newport's  progress 
from  England  to  the  West  Indies  and  back. 

Watts's  three  ships  slipped  out  of  Plymouth  on  March  20,  1590, 
and  kept  together  until  they  reached  Dominica  on  April  30.  From 
here,  on  May  2,  the  Hopewell  and  John  Evangelist  sailed  on  to 
scour  the  coasts  of  Puerto  Rico,  while  leaving  the  Little  John 
"playing  off  and  on  about  Dominica,  hoping  to  take  some  Span- 
iard outwardes  bound  to  the  Indies."13  All  she  took,  however, 
were  two  young  Caribs  and  they  escaped  when  the  vessel,  de- 
spairing of  a  prize,  had  gone  to  Santa  Cruz  (Saint  Croix)  to 
take  ballast.  She  then  sailed  on  to  make  a  rendezvous  with  the 
Hopewell  and  the  pinnace  at  the  island  of  Saona  off  the  south- 
eastern tip  of  Hispaniola.  Her  next  assignment,  on  May  19,  was 
to  ply  the  Mona  Channel  between  Hispaniola  and  Puerto  Rico, 
along  with  a  tiny  frigate  which  the  Hopewell  had  taken,  so  as  to 
intercept  the  Santo  Domingo  squadron,  which  was  due  to  join 
the  homeward-bound  Spanish  fleet  at  Havana,  if  it  should  take 
that  course.  She  was,  however,  to  wait  only  five  days  and  then 
to  join  the  Hopeivell  and  the  John  Evangelist  near  Cape  Tibu- 
ron  at  the  southwestern  end  of  Hispaniola.  This  she  did  and 
reached  the  rendezvous  on  May  26.14  From  then  on,  for  some 
five  weeks,  we  hear  nothing  of  the  Little  John,  but  apparently 


8  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  414-416. 

9  Sir  William  Foster,  ed.,   The   Voyages  of  Sir  James  Lancaster,   1591-1603,    (London,   The 
Hakluyt  Society,   1940),   41. 

10  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  409. 

11  E.g.,  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,   VIII,   407. 

12  Examination  of  Christopher  Newport   (pp.  314-316,  below);  Inventory  of  the  Grand  Jesus, 
December  20,  1590    (H.  C.  A.  24/58,  no.  72). 

13  Hakluyt,   Principal   Navigations,   VIII,    407. 

14  Hakluyt,    Principal   Navigations,   VIII,   409. 


308  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

with  her  consorts  she  plied  up  and  down  the  entrance  to  the 
Windward  Passage  and  along  the  south  coast  of  Hispaniola, 
still  awaiting  the  tardy  Spanish  squadron.  By  July  2,  when 
reinforcements  were  to  join  them,  there  were  six  vessels  under 
Captain  Cocke's  command,  Watts's  three  ships  with  two  tiny 
Spanish  frigates  and  a  substantial  merchant  vessel  taken  as 
prizes  by  the  Hopewell  and  the  John  Evangelist.15 

According  to  William  Sanderson,  Watts's  three  ships  had  left 
Plymouth  in  March  without  waiting  for  Sanderson's  vessel,  the 
Moonlight,  or,  as  she  was  also  called,  the  Mary  Terlanye.16  She 
was  not  ready  until  May  and  when  she  was  about  to  sail  alone 
she  received  an  offer  of  consortship  from  another  small  vessel, 
a  pinnace  of  some  thirty  tons,  which  Captain  Spicer  accepted. 
This  was  the  Conclude,  Joseph  Harris,  captain,  owned  by  Thomas 
Middleton  of  London  and  his  partners.17  It  was  these  two  ships 
which,  after  a  rapid  outward  passage,  joined  the  other  six  vessels 
near  Cape  Tiburon  on  July  2.  John  White,  who  saw  little  of  the 
Conclude,  refers  to  her  as  the  Moonlight's  pinnace  and  calls  her 
captain,  Joseph  Harris,  "Mast er  Harps"  :18  he  does  not  mention 
that  the  Moonlight  was  owned  by  Sanderson.  Before  there  had 
been  time  for  either  courtesies  or  business — an  agreement  about 
the  way  prize  money  was  to  be  shared  would  have  saved  much 
litigation  later — the  Santo  Domingo  squadron  of  fourteen  ships 
at  last  came  in  sight.  All  the  eight  vessels  under  English  com- 
mand sailed  at  once  in  pursuit.19  The  Spaniards  scattered,  in- 
tending to  make  for  Jamaica  where  they  could  hope  to  reassemble 
in  shelter.  The  English  squadron  evidently  divided,  the  Hopewell 
keeping  with  the  Moonlight  and  Conclude,  the  Little  John  taking 
the  John  Evangelist  and  the  two  small  prizes.  La  Trinidad,  the 
large  prize,  sailed  alone  and  may  have  been  lost.20  The  chase  was 
continued  from  noon  until  nightfall,  and  it  is  probable  that  it 
was  Newport  in  the  Little  John  who  made  a  prize  before  dark.21 

At  dawn  it  was  Newport's  vessels  that  were  nearest  to  the 
Spanish  ships  making  for  Jamaica.  The  John  Evangelist  was  in 


15  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  408-410;  and  below. 
"H.  C.  A.  23/4,   11th  item  from  end. 

17  Thomas  Middleton,  etc.  v.  Robert  Hallett,  John  Watts,  etc.  (H.  C.  A.  13/28,  depositions 
of  Henry  Millett,  John  Tayler,  and  Thomas  Harden,  October  26,  1590;  of  William  Davell 
and  John  Bedford,   October  27;  of  Henry   Swanne  and  Hugh  Hardinge,   October  29). 

18  E.g.,  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,   VIII,   410. 

19  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  245,  255;  Hakluyt,   Principal  Navigations,   VIII,   410. 

20  See  below. 

21  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  420;  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  245,  255.  New- 
port,  himself,   does   not   mention    this   prize. 


Christopher  Newport  in  1590  309 

the  lead  and  tried  to  prevent  the  enemy's  reaching  safety  under 
the  guns  of  Santiago  de  la  Vega.  She  bravely  challenged  the 
Spanish  flagship,  commanded  by  Captain  Vicente  Gonzalez,22 
but  turned  aside  to  try  to  head  off  some  other  vessels  from  the 
harbour  and  was  so  far  successful  that  two  of  them  were  forced 
to  go  aground.  The  Spanish  account  continues : 

At  this  juncture  the  English  vice-admiral  [the  Little  John]  came 
up,  a  ship  of  about  160  tons  burden,  and  with  the  first  vessel 
[the  John  Evangelist]  resumed  the  fight  with  Vicente  Gonzalez's 
ship.  When  they  had  fought  a  while  both  enemy  vessels  withdrew 
for  fear  lest  they  also  run  aground,  and  Vicente  Gonzalez  made 
the  harbour  of  Jamaica,  on  the  south  side  with  six  or  seven 
ships.23 

Newport,  though  foiled,  was  not  defeated.  He  got  his  ships 
together  and  armed  his  boats  and  pinnaces  to  go  inshore  against 
the  Spanish  vessels  which  had  grounded.  Their  crews  did  not 
stay  to  fight  and  so  the  English  boats  were  able  to  haul  off  both 
of  them  unmolested.  One  of  the  prizes  sank,  however,  before  she 
could  be  pillaged,  but  the  other  was  salvaged.  It  was  now  prob- 
ably late  in  the  day  of  July  3  and  Newport  had  done  all  he  could ; 
keeping  his  ships  together  during  the  night,  he  set  sail  on  the 
morning  of  July  4  for  Cape  Corrientes  near  the  western  end  of 
Cuba.  24  If  all  his  consorts  remained  with  him  he  had  now  in- 
creased his  squadron  from  four  to  six  vessels.  His  progress  must 
have  been  slow  because  at  least  one  of  his  prizes  was  damaged. 
He  delayed  four  or  five  days  at  Cape  Corrientes  before  going  on 
to  Cape  San  Antonio  at  the  southwestern  tip  of  Cuba,  where  he 
stayed  another  three  days.  There  he  determined  to  improve  the 
sailing  capacity  of  his  squadron.  The  prize  salvaged  on  the 
Jamaica  coast  was  rudderless  and  a  liability,  so  she  was  stripped, 
her  cargo  of  sugar,  ginger,  and  hides  redistributed,  and  then 
scuttled.  Some  Spanish  prisoners  were  also  set  on  shore.25  Pre- 
cisely how  long  all  this  took  is  not  clear  but  it  is  evident  that 
Newport,  by  the  time  he  rounded  the  western  end  of  Cuba  and 


22  He  had  commanded  the  Spanish  expedition  which  had  searched  Chesapeake  Bay  in  the 
summer  of  1588  for  the  English  colony  which  was  believed  to  have  been  established 
there,  and  had  accidentally  discovered  some  traces  of  the  "Lost  Colony"  on  the  Carolina 
Banks  on  his  return  journey.  See  D.  B.  Quinn,  "Some  Spanish  Reactions  to  Elizabethan 
Colonial  Enterprises,"  in  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society,  5th  ser.,  I  (1951),  15-17. 

23  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  255. 

24  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  420;  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  255;  p.  315, 
below. 

25  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  255-256. 


310  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

made  for  Matanzas  on  the  north  coast,  was  at  least  a  week,  and 
probably  more,  behind  the  Hopewell  and  her  consorts,  and  had 
missed  all  opportunity  of  rejoining  them. 

During  the  chase  on  July  2  the  Hopewell,  the  Moonlight,  and 
the  Conclude  had  not  sailed  so  far  southwards  as  Newport  and 
his  ships  and  had  anchored  at  nightfall.  During  the  night  a 
Spanish  ship  was  heard  nearby  and  when  day  broke  the  three 
English  vessels  closed  in  on  her.  She  was  El  Buen  Jesus,  called 
by  the  English  the  Grand  Jesus  or  the  Great  Jesus,  vice-admiral 
of  the  Santo  Domingo  squadron,  which  had  failed  to  follow  the 
course  towards  Jamaica  set  by  Gonzalez.  After  a  sturdy  defence 
she  was  forced  to  surrender.26  The  precise  part  which  each  of 
the  English  ships  played  in  her  capture  was  to  be  fiercely  con- 
tested in  the  courts  after  she  was  brought  to  England  and  need 
not  detain  us  here,  but  she  was  a  rich  prize  and  was  given  a  crew 
under  Robert  Hallett  from  the  Hopewell,  drawn  from  all  three 
ships  and  including  the  Concluded  captain,  Joseph  Harris.27 
Captain  Cocke  now  made  for  Cape  San  Antonio,  arriving  on 
July  11,  but  to  his  intense  chagrin  the  four  ships  were  becalmed 
there  while  the  treasure  fleet  from  the  Spanish  Main,  under 
Juan  de  Oribe  Appalua,  appeared  off  the  western  end  of  Cuba 
and  made  its  way  to  Havana  which  it  entered  on  July  19/29.28 
There  was  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  make  for  the  next  rendezvous, 
Matanzas,  east  of  Havana,  where  the  ships  arrived  on  July  25 
without  any  sight  of  Newport.  After  a  few  days'  patrolling  off 
Havana,  Captain  Cocke  decided  to  wait  no  longer,  but  to  set  out 
for  Virginia.  29  The  Conclude  parted  company  with  the  other 
vessels  and  apparently  sailed  direct  for  the  Azores.30  The  Grand 
Jesus,  it  was  intended,  should  sail  direct  to  England,  but  she  left 
the  Hopewell  and  the  Moonlight  without  the  courtesy  of  a  fare- 


26  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  411.  High  Court  of  Admiralty  documents  cited  in 
notes  6,  12,  and  17  above.  The  Privy  Council  to  Dr.  Julius  Caesar,  Oct.  11,  1590  (H.C.A. 
14/27,  no.  73);  draft  Sequestration  Order,  Oct.  13,  1590  (H.C.A.  14/27,  no.  118,  last  leaf); 
Inventory  of  the  Great  Jesus,  Dec.  20,  1590  (H.C.A.  24/58,  f.  115);  Personal  Answer  of  Robert 
Hallett,  Nov.  3,  1590  (H.C.A.  13/101);  Interrogatories  on  behalf  of  Robert  Hallett  (H.C.A. 
3/24,  ff.  333-339);  Articles  on  behalf  of  John  Watts,  etc.  (H.C.A.  24/58,  ff.  118-120);  Deposi- 
tions of  Antonio  de  Samora  Carenio  and  Francisco  Gomez,  Jan.  8,  1591  (H.C.A.  13/28); 
note  of  Articles  on  behalf  of  the  Lord  High  Admiral  (H.C.A.  24/58,  after  no.  93);  Examina- 
tion of  Abraham  Cocke,  Robert  Hutton  and  Michael  Geere,  Nov.  10,  1590  (H.C.A.  13/28); 
entries  of  Jan.  11,  12,  16,  1591  (Book  of  Acts,  H.C.A.  3/21);  Decree  in  Middleton,  etc.,  v. 
Hallett   (H.C.A.  24/58,  no.  71). 

-'7  See,   especially,   Deposition    of   William   Davell,    October   27,    1590    (H.    C.   A.   13/28). 

28  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  lxxvii.  The  Spanish  New  Style  reckoning  was  ten 
days   ahead    of   the    English   Old    Style. 

29  Hakluyt,    Principal   Navigations,    VIII,    412. 

:i0  Depositions  of  William  Davell,  October  27,  1590,  and  of  Henry  Millett,  October  26,  1590 
(H.   C.  A.   13/28);   Hakluyt,   Principal  Navigations,   VIII,   412. 


Christopher  Newport  in  1590  311 

well  on  July  31  after  they  had  sailed  through  the  Florida  Chan- 
nel. She,  too,  sailed  to  the  Azores  and  thence  to  the  Thames.31 

John  White  has  told  in  sufficient  and  well-known  detail  how 
the  remaining  two  ships  paid  their  unavailing  visit  to  the  Caro- 
lina Banks  and  to  Roanoke  Island  without  finding  the  "Lost 
Colony."  Captain  Spicer  and,  several  men  from  the  Moonlight 
were  drowned  and  the  weather  turned  too  bad  for  the  search  to 
be  continued.  White  persuaded  Cocke  to  winter  in  the  West  Indies 
and  to  make  another  search  for  the  colonists  at  the  end  of  the 
1591  privateering  season,  but  the  new  commander  of  the  Moon- 
light,  John  Bedford,32  begged  and  obtained  leave  to  bring  his 
vessel  home.  Yet  the  Hopeivell  failed  to  keep  to  her  course  under 
stress  of  weather  and  finally  turned  eastwards  to  the  Azores. 
There  amongst  the  English  naval  vessels  and  privateers  who 
were  awaiting  the  Spanish  convoys  she  found  the  Moonlight  and 
also  the  prize  which  the  Little  John,  which  had  just  left  for 
England,  had  taken  from  the  Santo  Domingo  squadron.  From 
her  prize  crew  John  White  picked  up  part  of  the  story  of  New- 
port's adventures  since  July  2.33 

These  we  have  followed  down  to  the  end  of  July  or  beginning 
of  August  when  he  was  ready  to  sail  round  the  western  end  of 
Cuba.  From  what  White  learnt  and  what  the  Spanish  documents 
tell  the  next  part  of  the  story  becomes  clear.  Off  Los  Organos,  the 
rocky  promontories  in  northwestern  Cuba,  three  Spanish  vessels 
were  sighted  at  sunset  by  the  Little  John  and  one  of  her  consorts. 
These  had  sailed  with  Rodrigo  de  Rada  and  the  Mexican  fleet  but 
had  lost  contact  off  Tortuga  with  the  main  body  of  the  fleet 
which  had  reached  Havana  on  July  3/13.34  At  dawn  two  of  the 
Spanish  ships  were  still  in  sight — the  third  having  fled  to  Mex- 
ico35— and  the  Little  John  closed  in  on  the  smaller  and  weaker 
of  her  two  adversaries,  the  ship  commanded  by  Juan  de  Borde. 
Her  consort,  the  Nuestra  Senora  del  Rosario,  Miguel  de  Acosta, 
master,  threw  a  cable  across  her  stern  so  as  to  be  able  to  rein- 
force her  when  the  English  boarded.  After  a  brisk  exchange  of 
artillery  fire  there  was  a  bitter  struggle  when  the  boarding 
parties  attacked.  Captain  Newport  had  his  "right  arm  strooken 


31  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  405,  413-422. 

32  Deposition    of   John    Bedford,    October    27,    1590    (H.    C.    A.    13/28);    Hakluyt,    Principal 
Navigations,  VIII,  419. 

33  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  420-421. 

34  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  lxxvii-viii. 

85  Wright,  Further  English   Voyages,  lxxviii,  246. 


312  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

off,"  his  lieutenant  and  four  men  killed,  and  sixteen  others  in- 
jured. By  this  time  de  Borde's  ship  was  sinking  and,  though  the 
English  began  to  search  her  and  removed  some  cochineal,  "be- 
fore they  could  take  out  her  treasure  she  sunke ;  so  that  we  lost 
thirteene  Pipes  of  silver  which  sunke  with  her,  besides  much 
other  rich  marchandize."  This  disaster  was  followed  by  a 
further  misfortune.  The  Nuestra  Senora  del  Rosario  now  became 
the  sole  object  of  the  English  attack  and  was  soon  holed  some 
nine  times  below  the  waterline  and  had  two  of  her  men  killed  and 
eight  injured.  But  her  crew  got  her  clear  and  ran  her  aground 
on  the  western  end  of  Los  Organos,  themselves  getting  away  in 
their  boats,  as  they  expected  the  English  to  land  and  seize  the 
cargo  of  hides  and  indigo  which  she  held.  The  Little  John,  in  spite 
of  her  losses,  was  making  for  land  with  this  objective  when  her 
lookout  reported  that  Spanish  galleys  from  Havana  were  in 
sight,  whereupon  the  Little  John  turned  out  to  sea  again  and  left 
the  booty  untaken.  White's  informant  believed  the  lookout  had 
been  mistaken  and  that  he  had  taken  "certaine  rockes"  for  the 
galleys,  but  this  was  not  so.  The  two  galleys  of  the  Cuba  Station, 
the  San  Agustin  and  the  Brava,  had  gone  out  from  Havana  to 
clear  the  English  from  the  north  coast  of  the  island.  On  July  27/ 
August  6  they  encountered  the  boats  containing  the  crew  of  the 
Nuestra  Senora  del  Rosario,  who  were  making  for  Havana.  They 
then  made  search  for  Newport's  ships,  but  they  had  disap- 
peared.30 The  English  did  stop  another  Spanish  vessel  nearby  but 
merely  took  some  meal  from  her  and  let  her  go.  The  Spanish 
frigates  which  came  out  from  Havana  to  salvage  the  stranded 
vessel  and  her  cargo  were  unsuccessful  and  she  went  to  the 
bottom.37 

It  is  not  surprising  that  with  Newport  seriously  injured  and 
with  several  rich  cargoes  lost  to  them  the  English  became  dis- 
couraged. It  is  probable  that  they  went  on  to  Matanzas  to  find 
no  trace  of  the  Hopewell.  It  was,  in  any  case,  very  late  for  New- 
port to  keep  his  engagement  to  go  on  to  Virginia,  even  had  he 
not  suffered  such  casualties,  so,  instead,  he  made  for  the  Azores. 
From  there  he  sailed  about  September  19  for  England,  having 
apparently  encountered  the  Grand  Jesus,  from  which  he  may 


36  Hakluyt,     Principal     Navigations,     VIII,     420-421;     Wright,     Further     English     Voyages, 
Ixxviii,  247-249;  and  below. 

:!T  Wright,  Further  English   Voyages,  259;  and  below. 


Christopher  Newport  in  1590  313 

have  transhipped  some  cargo  for  the  Little  John  to  take  to  Ports- 
mouth, where  she  apparently  put  in.38  The  John  Evangelist  re- 
turned and  probably  also  the  Santo  Domingo  prize,  but  there  is 
no  word  of  the  other  two  prizes  which  were  with  Newport  on 
July  2,  nor  of  La  Trinidad.  The  Hopewell  (October  24)  ,39  the 
Moonlight,  and  the  Conclude,  as  well  as  the  Grand  Jesus,  got 
safely  back. 

The  battle  with  the  Spaniards  being  over — whether  it  yielded 
a  final  return  of  two  or  five  prizes — the  legal  battle  for  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  voyage  was  now  to  begin.  The  Grand  Jesus  had  not 
been  long  in  the  Thames  before  the  owners  of  the  Conclude  took 
an  action  in  the  High  Court  of  Admiralty  against  Robert  Hallett, 
John  Watts,  and  his  partners  to  secure  for  their  vessel  a  seventh 
share  (estimated  by  them  at  £3,000)  in  the  proceeds  of  the 
Grand  Jesus.  From  October  26  onwards  depositions  were  being 
taken  on  their  behalf  from  members  of  the  crews  of  the  Conclude 
and  the  Moonlight,  the  latter  being  favourable  to  the  pinnace's 
claims.40  Watts  was  determined  to  keep  whatever  he  could  for 
his  syndicate  and,  in  pursuit  of  this  aim,  began  an  action  against 
William  Sanderson  in  an  endeavour  to  prove  that  the  Moonlight, 
like  the  Conclude,  as  he  alleged,  had  no  right  to  a  share  in  the 
prize.  Sanderson  put  up  an  active  and  somewhat  embarrassing 
defence,  recalling  the  terms  under  which  Watts's  ships  had  been 
allowed  to  sail  from  England  in  the  first  place.41  The  Lord  High 
Admiral  (Lord  Howard  of  Effingham),  to  whom  one-tenth  of  the 
prize  goods  was  due  by  virtue  of  his  office,  and  the  Crown,  which 
had  the  right  to  levy  customs  duties  on  the  value  of  the  prize 
goods,  were  also  interested  in  these  suits.42  Owners  and  crews 
alike  were  concerned  to  win  their  case  and  yet  conceal  the  true 
value  of  the  prizes  from  the  Crown  and  from  each  other.  The 
official  valuation  of  the  Grand  Jesus,  made  on  December  20,  was 
only  £5806  10s  4d,43  but  much  of  her  portable  wealth  had  gone 
long  before.  On  January  12,  1591,  John  Watts  put  in  a  list 
of  defence  witnesses  in  his  attempt  to  prove  that  the  prizes 
were  taken  by  his  own  vessels  alone.  A  number  of  these  men  had 


38  Interrogatories  for  William  Sanderson    (H.  C.  A.  23/4,  f.  326). 

39  Hakluyt,    Principal   Navigations,    VIII,    423. 

40  References  given   in  notes   17  and  26  above. 

41  Interrogatories  for  William  Sanderson    (H.  C.  A.  23/4,  f.  326). 

42  This  is  shown  by  Newport's  deposition  and  by  the  questions  answered  by  Abraham 
Cocke,  Robert  Hutton,  and  Michael  Geere,  November  11,  1590  (H.  C.  A.  13/28),  and  also 
by  the  notes  made  by  the  judge,  Dr.  Julius  Caesar   (H.  C.  A.  24/58,  following  no.  93). 

43  H.  C.  A.  24/58,  no.  72. 


314  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

testified,  or  were  to  testify,  in  his  favour.  Among  them  was 
Christopher  Newport.44  His  deposition,  made  on  November  23, 
1590,  and  printed  below  for  the  first  time,  showed  that  he  had  in 
some  measure  recovered  from  his  wound.  He  had  by  that  time 
come  up  from  Portsmouth  and  was  probably  at  his  home  in 
Limehouse,  so  that  he  was  able  to  attend  the  admiralty  court  at 
Orton  Key  for  his  examination.  He  was  asked  two  questions  only : 
what  ships  and  prize  goods  were  taken  on  the  voyage,  and  what 
treasure,  jewels,  or  other  precious  articles  were  among  the  spoil. 
His  story  is  concise  and  cautious.  It  adds  some  details,  confirms 
others  already  known,  and  is  a  valuable  addition  to  the  materials 
on  the  voyage.  It  gives  his  age  as  thirty.  Even  without  his  own 
evidence,  Christopher  Newport  emerges  from  the  1590  voyage 
as  an  able  commander  and  a  brave  antagonist.  That  he  suffered, 
in  the  loss  of  his  right  arm,  a  serious  handicap  is  not  evident 
from  his  later  career. 

It  may  be  noted  in  conclusion  that  Watts  obtained  a  decree45 
in  the  admiralty  court  in  favour  of  himself  and  his  partners.  This 
stated  that  the  Grand  Jesus  was  the  Hopewell's  prize  alone,  so 
that  Sanderson  and  Middleton  got  nothing,  at  least  officially,  but 
the  crews  of  the  Little  John  and  the  John  Evangelist  were  entitled 
to  shares  in  the  proceeds  of  the  voyage  as  a  whole.  We  do  not 
know  how  much  Newport  received  in  the  way  of  shares,  but  it  is 
highly  probable  that  he,  like  other  members  of  the  expedition, 
had  tucked  away  already  a  much  less  modest  amount  than  he 
admitted  in  his  examination.  His  bravery  and  his  wound,  after 
all,  deserved  some  compensation. 

Christopher  Newport's  Deposition 
Die  Lune  xxiii0  Novembris  159047 
Officium  Christopher  Newporte  of  Lymehouse48  mariner  aged 
domini  xxx  yeares  or  thereaboutes49  sworne  &  examined  before 
gratia46  the  right  worshipf ull  Master  Doctor  Cesar  Iudge  of  the 
Admiralty  vppon  certaine  articles  ministred  on  the 
behaulfe  of  the  Lord  Admirall50  Sayth  thereunto  as  followeth 


44  H.  C.  A.  3/21. 

«  H.  C.  A.  24/58,  no.  71. 

40  This  apparently  means  "Authority  by  his  lordship's  grace."  Dr.  Julius  Caesar,  judge  of 
the  admiralty,  is  making  his  inquiries  on  behalf  of  the  lord  admiral,  Lord  Charles  Howard, 
whose  perquisite  it  was  to  take  one-tenth  of  all  spoil  brought  home  by  privateers. 

17  Monday,  November  23,  1590. 

48  The  district  bordering  Limehouse  Reach  on  the  River  Thames  where  many  seamen  lived. 

49  Witnesses  were  asked  their  ages,  though  the  results  are  not  always  reliable.  If  this 
is  accurate  the  date  of  Newport's  birth  can  be  placed  between  November  24,  1559,  and 
Novmber  23,   1560.  No  previous  information  on  this  has  been  available. 

r>0  The  Articles,  the  questions  asked  Newport  on  behalf  of  Lord  Charles  Howard,  have 
not    been    found,    but    a    rough    note    by    Dr.    Caesar    reminds    him    to    ask    Abraham    Cocke, 


Christopher  Newport  in  1590  315 

To  the  first  article  he  sayth  he  was  Captaine  of  the  Little  Iohn 
this  late  viadge  to  the  Indies,  and  beinge  in  company  of  the  Harry 
and  Iohn  one  of  his  consortes  they  first  tooke  two  frigottes51  one 
being  laden  with  hydes  &  the  other  with  stones,  and  her  with 
hides  they  vnladed  &  putt  the  hides  a  shore  on  the  Indies  think- 
inge  to  take  them  on  borde  agayne  and  soe  vsed  the  f rigott  being 
of  vi  or  vii  tonnes  for  theire  necessary  vses,  &  by  reason  of  pur- 
chase that  happened  they  wente  away  &  lefte  the  said  hydes  on 
the  shore.  Afterwardes  they  tooke  an  other  frigott  worth  aboute 
one  thowsand  poundes52  &  putt  xviii  men  into  her  to  bringe  her 
for  Englande  &  loste  them  in  the  Indies  what  ys  become  of  them 
god  knoweth.53  Nexte  the  Harry  &  Iohn  tooke  a  Spanishe  shippe54 
with  sugar  ginger  &  hides  which  ys  broughte  into  this  Ryuer  of 
Thames  &  there  landed.  And  the  nexte  day55  the  Iohn,  the  Iohn 
Euangeliste  &  two  frigottes  did  dryue  two  other  shippes  of  the 
Spanishe  flete  on  shore,  and  gott  them  of  agayne  and  the  nexte 
day  one  of  them  soncke  without  sauinge  eany  goodes  out  of  the 
same,  and  the  other  hauinge  loste  her  rudder,  &  not  being  able 
to  be  broughte  home,  they  tooke  out  xvi  Chestes  of  suger  into 
the  Iohn  Euangeliste,  and  iiiCL  hides  also  were  taken  into  the 
Iohn  with  some  bundells  of  salsaperill  and  nothing  alse  to  his 
remembraunce  sauinge  some  quantity  of  ginger  was  also  taken 
out  of  the  said  prize  and  the  reste  was  sonck  in  the  shippe.56 

Afterwardes  saylinge  to  S*  Antony  they  foughte  with  two 
shippes  hauinge  of  the  Kinges  treasure,  and  tooke  one  of  them 
beinge  laden  with  Cochenile  hides  &  treasure  as  he  herde  and 
after  they  had  taken  out  six  Chestes  &  bagges  of  Cochenile  she 
presentely  soncke  with  all  her  ladinge  within  one  quarter  of  an 
hower  after  they  tooke  her.57  And  the  other  shipp58  after  sore 
fighte  they  drove  a  shore  vppon  the  Rockes  and  was  wholy  caste 
away  beinge  laden  with  fyue  hundreth  Chestes  of  Cochenile  & 
thre  hundreth  Chestes  of  silkes  as  he  herde  by  a  Frigott  laden 
with  meale  which  they  tooke  the  nexte  day  after  bounde  from 
S*  Iohn  de  Louis  to  Auana.59 

To  the  second  he  sayth  he  sawe  nether  pearle  Iewell  siluer  or 
goulde  that  was  taken  in  eany  of  the  said  prizes  sauinge  about 
xii11.60  in  siluer  which  was  taken  out  of  the  prize  that  soncke  & 

and  his  company,  as  Hallett,  Newport  and  others,  what  quantity  of  goods  was  taken  in  the 
Indies,  especially  pearls,  silver,  gold  (coined  or  bullion),  silks,  jewels,  and  "other  riche 
comodities,"  and  who  has  any  of  these  and  where  they  are    (H.  C.  A.   24/58,   after  no.  93). 

51  One  was  taken  by  the  Hopewell  (or  Harry  and  John)  near  the  northwest  end  of 
Puerto  Rico  on  June  7,  and  the  other  near  Cape  Tiburon  on  June  14  (Hakluyt,  Principal 
Navigations,  VIII,  410). 

52  La  Trinidad,  taken  at  Yaguana,  Hispaniola,  by  the  John  Evangelist  between  June  17 
and  24  estimated  by  White  to  be  worth  £1,000  to  £1,300  (Wright,  Further  English  Voyages, 
254-255;  Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  410). 

53  No  record  of  the  arrival  of  La  Trinidad  in  England  has  been  found. 
64  El  Buen  Jesus   (pp.  310-314  above). 

55  July  3. 

66  This  part  of  Newport's  statement  is  confirmed  by  White  and  by  the  Spanish  account 
(Hakluyt,  Principal  Navigations,  VIII,  420:  Wright,  Further  English  Voyages,  255-256), 
except  that  the  latter  says  that  the  whole  cargo  was  trans-shipped  before  the  vessel  was 
scuttled  and  that  it  included  hides. 

57  Juan  de  Borde's  ship    (p.  311,  above). 

58  Nuestra  Senora  del  Rosario   (p.  311,  above). 

59  From  the  Basque  port  of  St.  Jean  de  Luz  to  Havana    (see  p.  312,  above). 

60  Probably  £12  in  value  and  not  twelve  lb.  in  weight.  It  was  apparently  taken  from  Juan 
de  Borde's  ship. 


316  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

shared  amongst  the  company.  But  sayth  theire  was  a  bagge  of 
pearle61  which  Abraham  Cocke  had  in  his  custody  &  broughte 
home  what  ys  become  thereof  he  knoweth  not.  And  sayth  aboute 
xviii  boultes  of  silke62  was  gotten  out  of  the  shipp  that  soncke 
beinge  founde  in  the  mariners  Chestes  whereof  xii  boultes  were 
deliuered  to  Master  Wattes  the  company  shared  the  reste.  Affirm- 
inge  that  all  the  Cochenill  &  other  goodes  which  he  hath  before 
spoken  of  were  broughte  home  to  this  City  &  deliuered  to  the 
owners.  And  other  thinges  theire  was  not  taken  to  his  knowledge 
of  which  silke  this  examinate  had  two  boultes  &  a  haulf  e  &  aboute 
thre  or  foure  poundes  in  money  which  he  spente  in  releeuinge 
sicke  folckes  in  the  viadge.63 

[signed]  xpofer64  newport65 

61  Pearls  formed  part  of  the  lading  of  El  Buen  Jesus  (Wright,  Further  English  Voyages, 
252). 

63  This  is  likely  also  to  have  come  from  Juan  de  Borde's  ship. 

03  The  crews  were  entitled  to  (a)  pillage  (usually  limited  by  agreement  or  custom),  and 
(b)  shares  when  the  accounts  were  wound  up.  Most  sailors  managed  to  embezzle  more  than 
they  were  entitled  to,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  accept  Newport's  story  as  being,  precisely, 
correct. 

64  The  old  abbreviation  for  Christopher. 

65  H.  C.  A.  13/28,  November  23,  1590.  I  am  indebted  for  this  transcript  and  for  other  help  to 
Dr.  K.  R.  Andrews,  who  hopes  shortly  to  publish  a  study  of  Newport  from  1581  to  1606  which 
will  contain   much  new  material. 


THE  MIND  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  OPPONENTS 

OF  THE  STAMP  ACT 

By  C.  Robert  Haywood 

Early  in  the  year  1760  Henry  McCulloh  in  writing  a  mer- 
cantilist propaganda  pamphlet  for  English  consumption  included 
among  numerous  suggestions  for  colonial  reform  a  simple  state- 
ment that  ".  .  .  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary  to  establish  proper 
Funds  in  America  by  a  Stamp  Duty  on  Vellum  and  Paper.  .  .  J'1 
From  this  very  casual  beginning  the  importance  to  England  of 
the  stamp  duty  grew  to  the  point  that  the  Annual  Register  of 
1766  devoted  three  out  of  eight  chapters  of  the  "History  of 
Europe"  to  the  Stamp  Act  conflict  in  America.  The  effect  on  the 
thinking  of  the  colonists  was  equally  great.  The  political  history 
of  North  Carolina  in  the  years  1765  and  1766  is  almost  wholly 
the  story  of  the  effect  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The  excitement  in  North 
Carolina  over  the  passage  of  the  act  subsided  only  after  the 
psychology  of  resistance  had  been  developed  which  laid  the 
basis  for  more  serious  conflict  both  within  the  colony  and  within 
the  empire. 

The  French  and  Indian  War  had  in  the  process  of  removing 
France  from  Canada  fixed  on  England  the  unbelievable  debt  of 
£140,000,000.  To  a  nation  which  still  embraced  the  mercantilist 
theory  that  gold  in  surplus  in  the  treasury  meant  power  and 
strength,  the  debt  appeared  truly  alarming.  It  became  apparent 
to  English  officials  that  the  debt  must  be  removed.  To  do  this  it 
was  necessary  that  taxes  be  raised,  expenses  curtailed,  and  a 
more  efficient  administration  organized.  This  came  to  include  all 
the  empire,  colonies  as  well  as  England. 

There  were  at  least  two  other  postwar  obligations  of  the 
English  government  which  directly  affected  North  Carolina,  i.e., 
protection  and  reorganization  of  colonial  administration.  As  far 
as  America  was  concerned  it  was  a  problem  of  protection  from 
both  the  French  and  the  Indians.  Prospects  of  hostilities  with  the 
defeated  and  humiliated  France  were  always  in  the  background 
of  English  political  thinking.2  The  Indian  menace  was  to  remain 


1  Henry    McCulloh,    Miscellaneous    Representations    Relative    to    Our    Concern    in    America 
(London,  1760),  12. 

2  George  Louis  Beer,  British  Colonial  Policy,  175Jt-1765   (N.  Y.,  1922),  252. 

[317] 


318  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

an  ever  present  danger  down  to  the  Revolution.  The  late  war  had 
left  serious  doubts  in  the  minds  of  English  officials  as  to  the 
ability  of  the  colonists  to  meet  either  of  these  threats. 

Furthermore  the  war  years  had  been  a  period  when  the  colo- 
nies had  begun  to  flex  their  fast-developing  muscles.  In  North 
Carolina,  as  in  most  of  the  other  colonies,  the  war  period  had 
demonstrated  the  inefficiency  and  impotency  of  the  colonial  ad- 
ministration. In  nearly  every  clash  between  the  Crown's  preroga- 
tive and  the  colonial  legislature  the  latter  had  emerged  the  victor.3 
While  the  colonial  soldier  was  winning  honor  for  England  on  the 
field  of  battle  the  colonial  politician  was  winning  colonial  rights 
and  privileges  in  the  legislature.  The  natural  result  was  the 
gradual  growth  of  an  independent  spirit  in  the  American  mind. 

With  the  advent  of  peace  the  English  government  was  placed 
in  a  position  in  which  she  could  deal  with  other  than  diplomatic 
and  military  matters.  Under  the  guidance  of  George  Grenville  a 
program  was  developed  designed  to  meet  the  three  great  prob- 
lems. Protection  was  to  be  supplied  from  England,  the  reigns  of 
colonial  control  tightened,  and  the  colonies  forced  to  contribute 
to  the  expense  of  government.  Such  a  program  was  destined  to 
meet  opposition  in  North  Carolina. 

North  Carolina  felt  no  pressing  need  for  protection.  France 
was  too  remote  a  danger  for  serious  consideration.  It  was  felt 
that  the  militia  law  passed  in  1764  was  adequate  for  meeting  any 
Indian  threat.  Furthermore,  the  Cherokee  had  been  quiet  since 
their  defeat  by  Colonel  James  Grant's  Highlanders  and  the  com- 
bined troops  of  Virginia  and  North  and  South  Carolina.  Some- 
thing of  the  confidence  of  the  North  Carolinians  can  be  seen  in 
their  condemnation  of  Governor  Tryon  in  running  the  South 
Carolina-Cherokee  line.  To  the  North  Carolinian's  way  of  think- 
ing an  expedition  consisting  of  less  than  fifty  militia  men  was 
an  undue  extravagance.  Tryon  was  severely  criticized  for  this 
unnecessary  display  of  pomp  and  ceremony,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  this  expedition  took  the  governor  into  the  heart  of  what 
had  been  hostile  Indian  territory  no  more  than  five  years 
previously. 

The  attempt  to  subordinate  the  colonial  political  institutions  to 
English  control  was  to  meet  determined  opposition.  The  com- 


3  Eugene  Irving  McCormac,  "Colonial  Opposition  to  Imperial  Authority  during  the  French 
and  Indian  War,"  University  of  California  Publications  in  History,  I,  92. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       319 

parative  freedom  of  the  war  period  had  developed  a  spirit  among 
the  controlling  class  which  demanded  an  increasingly  larger  and 
more  independent  role  in  their  own  government.  England  had 
made  the  serious  mistake  of  issuing  instructions  to  the  governors 
of  North  Carolina  which  were  in  opposition  to  prevailing  colonial 
desires  without  backing  their  demands  with  actual  enforcing 
power.  The  governors,  whose  very  subsistence  was  dependent 
upon  the  colonies,  were  unable  to  cope  with  the  situation.  Some 
of  the  disputes  that  developed  were  mere  matters  of  personali- 
ties in  conflict,  but  an  increasing  number  came  to  center  around 
constitutional  issues.  The  difference  in  opinion  of  the  colonial 
and  home  government  as  to  what  made  up  the  fundamental  law 
of  North  Carolina  or  the  empire  was  one  of  the  most  serious 
problems  of  the  reorganization  program.4  The  degree  of  freedom 
demanded  in  North  Carolina  was  incompatible  with  the  English 
concept  of  colonial  status.5  Quarrels  between  the  Assembly  and 
Governor  Dobbs  over  who  should  control  finances,6  troops,7  and 
Assembly  procedure8  and  disputes  centering  around  the  appoint- 
ment of  agents,9  lands,  fees  and  chartering  towns  all  involved 
constitutional  interpretation.  Raper  illustrates  the  widening  gap 
between  colonial  and  English  constitutional  thought  by  citing 
the  large  number  of  acts  disallowed  by  the  mother  country.  In 
1754  twenty-six  acts  were  disallowed  on  the  ground  that  the  legis- 
lature had  infringed  on  the  exclusive  rights  of  the  crown.  In 
1759  five  acts  were  disallowed  because  they  had  usurped  the 
crown's  authority  to  create  courts.10  In  annulling  an  act  of  1766 
the  Privy  Council  wrote,  "We  are  therefore  of  opinion,  that  an 
Act  so  contrary  to  the  Spirit  and  principle  of  the  British  Laws 
should  not  be  allowed.  .  .   "n 

In  most  of  the  disputes  involving  the  governor  the  elected 
colonial  legislature  emerged  the  victor.  As  a  result  the  lower 
house  began  to  exercise  powers  beyond  those  originally  consider- 


4  Charles  Lee  Raper,  North  Carolina,  A  Study  in  English  Colonial  Government  (N.  Y., 
1904),  225-  Hereafter  cited  Colonial  Government. 

5  McCormac,  "Colonial  Opposition  to  Imperial  Authority,"  92. 

6  W.  L.  Saunders,  ed.,  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina  (Raleigh,  Goldsboro,  etc.,  1886- 
1898),  VI,  1  et  seq.  Hereafter  cited  Colonial  Records. 

7  Colonial  Records,   32. 

8  The  most  serious  dispute  centered  around  the  quarrel  which  extended  down  to  1773 
concerning  the  number  of  members  needed  to  constitute  a  quorum.  Colonial  Records,  VI, 
257,  319,  344-345,  539,  1024-1025;  IX,  593-596. 

9  Colonial  Records,  VI,  539;  Ella  Lonn,  The  Colonial  Agents  of  the  Southern  Colonies 
(Chapel  Hill,  1945),  55. 

10  Raper,  Colonial  Government,  226  et  seq. 

11  Acts  of  the  Privy  Council,  Colonial  Series   (London,  1911),  V,  38. 


320  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ed  a  part  of  its  functions.  The  governor  usually  took  a  position 
based  on  precedent  and  the  English  understanding  of  the  con- 
stitution. Although  the  governors  were  granted  rather  large 
discretionary  powers,  their  main  guide  for  action  came  from  the 
instructions  that  came  directly  from  the  British  government.12 
Governor  Dobbs,  the  most  vigorous  defender  of  the  crown  pre- 
rogative, was  frequently  forced  to  retreat  and  make  concessions 
in  direct  violation  of  his  instructions,  as  in  the  case  of  the  is- 
suance of  paper  money.13  In  times  of  war  Dobbs  was  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Assembly,  which  furnished  the  revenue  and  men  to  fight 
the  war.14  Once  the  Assembly  had  successfully  evaded  following 
the  instructions  of  England  it  was  not  a  large  step  in  their  think- 
ing to  deny  the  right  of  all  outside  interference. 

The  growing  spirit  of  independence  impressed  nearly  every 
Englishman  who  spent  any  time  in  the  colonies.  When  Bute's 
administration  began  looking  for  information  as  to  colonial 
conditions  there  was  no  other  one  fact  that  was  repeated  so 
frequently.15  Other  colonial  governors  wrote  in  the  same  vein  as 
Governor  Dobbs  when  he  advised  the  English  government  to  take 
more  vigorous  action  to  ".  .  .  suppress  a  republican  spirit  of  In- 
dependency rising  in  this  colony.  The  Assembly  think  themselves 
entitled  to  all  the  Privileges  of  a  British  House  of  Commons  and 
therefore  ought  not  to  submit  to  His  Majesty'  hon.ble  Privy 
Council .  .  .  or  .  .  .  Governor  and  Council  here  whose  person  they 
would  usurp  and  place  all  in  a  Junto  of  an  Assembly  here."16 
Even  before  the  French  and  Indian  War  James  Abercromby,  the 
mercantilist-minded  agent  of  Governor  Johnston,  was  hinting 
that  the  colonies  might  some  day  "feel  their  own  strength"  and 
settle  in  their  own  way  the  question  as  to  "whether  they  are  to 
remain  subjects  or  become  confederates."17  Military  officials 
returning  home  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  regulating  the  growing 
spirit  of  independence  in  America.18  It  was,  however,  a  spirit 
more  apparent  to  the  British  mind  than  to  the  Americans  them- 


13  Charles  Lee  Raper,  North  Carolina:  A  Royal  Province,  1729-1775  (Chapel  Hill,  N.  C, 
1901),  71.  Hereafter  cited  Royal  Province. 

«  Colonial  Records,  VI,  1308-1311. 

14  Raper,  Royal  Province,  48. 

15  Sydney  George  Fisher,  The  Struggle  for  American  Independence  (Philadelphia,  1908), 
I,  70. 

16  Colonial  Records,  VI,  279. 

17  Quoted  from  pamphlet  of  1752  entitled  "An  Examination  of  the  Acts  of  Parliament 
relative  to  the  Trade  and  Government  of  our  American  Colonies."  C.  M.  Andrews,  The 
Colonial  Background  of  the  American  Revolution    (New  Haven,   1924),  IV,   410. 

18  Fisher,   The  Struggle  for  American  Independence,  I,   70. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       321 

selves,  who  were  full  of  protestations  of  loyalty.  Their  thinking 
had  not  yet  escaped  the  web  of  tradition,  habit,  education,  social 
and  economic  ties  which  held  their  formal  loyalty  to  the  "Old 
Colonial  System."  But  what  they  actually  desired,  although  only 
a  very  few  farsighted  men  like  Benjamin  Franklin  realized  it, 
was  what  we  today  would  call  dominion  status.  In  1765  no  one  in 
North  Carolina  had  offered  any  such  plan;  yet  with  the  magic 
of  hindsight  we  can  see  in  their  formal  action  and  statements 
that  anything  less  would  have  been  rejected. 

The  most  apt  characterization  of  North  Carolina's  attitude 
toward  any  governmental  agency's  attempt  to  raise  revenue  can 
be  summed  up  in  a  single  word:  negative.  Taxes  were  collected 
with  difficulty  except  for  the  most  necessary  and  immediate  local 
use.  Once  the  purpose  for  the  revenue  was  removed  from  the 
immediate  locale  or  time,  collection  became  next  to  impossible. 
The  Assembly  was  never  able  to  redeem  her  paper  money  largely 
because  of  the  inability  of  the  colonial  government  to  collect 
added  poll  taxes.  The  mother  country  had  very  little  experience 
in  collecting  taxes  in  North  Carolina.  During  the  French  and 
Indian  War  she  had  relied  upon  the  requisition  system,  which 
was  next  to  a  failure.  The  only  direct  crown  levy  in  North  Caro- 
lina was  in  the  form  of  a  feudal  dues  on  land.  The  difficulties, 
evasions,  and  litigation  resulting  from  this  anachronism  cover 
the  colonial  period.  The  North  Carolina  Assembly  was  especially 
reticent  in  approving  direct  taxes.  This  was  a  reflection  of  the 
self-interested  thinking  on  the  part  of  the  property-owning  class 
of  the  coastal  plain  who  dominated  the  colony's  politics.  As  any 
direct  tax  would  have  fallen  on  the  accumulated  wealth  of  the 
landowners  they  managed  to  limit  all  direct  taxes  in  the  colonial 
budget.19  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  taxes  other  than  the  poll  tax 
were  limited  to  extraordinary  and  special  levies  for  limited 
periods  of  time. 

The  English  tax  system  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act 
consisted  of  indirect  taxes  in  the  form  of  customs  duties  levied 
as  control  measures  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  raising  revenue. 
The  enforcement  of  the  laws  was  lax  and  the  proceeds  that  were 
collected  were  usually  used  within  the  colony.  The  crowded 
profession  of  smuggling  was  considered  a  legitimate  occupation. 

19  Coralie  Parker,   The  History  of  Taxation  in  North  Carolina  During  the  Colonial  Period 
(N.  Y.,  1928),  73. 


322  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

As  the  duties  inconvenienced  the  planter  politician  but  little, 
there  was  practically  no  formal  complaint  and  apparently  little 
private  resentment  even  of  the  later  Navigation  and  Sugar  acts. 
As  far  as  revenue  was  concerned,  customs  duties  were  a  losing 
proposition.  In  the  two-year  period  1765  to  1767  the  charges  of 
managing  the  customs  laws  exceeded  the  proceeds  of  the  Bruns- 
wick port  by  £169/11/14  and  at  those  of  the  Bath  port  by 
£79/7/9.20  Such  figures  were  hard  to  justify  to  the  British  officials 
intent  on  reducing  the  British  debt.  Thus  it  became  one  of  the 
chief  objectives  of  the  American  Revenue  Act  of  March,  1764, 
to  correct  the  abuses  of  the  colonial  commercial  administration. 

The  English  plans  for  reorganizing  colonial  administration 
began  under  the  ministry  of  Lord  Bute  and  under  the  special 
guidance  of  George  Grenville.  Thus  the  program,  although  almost 
universally  desired  in  England,  was  carried  out  under  a  govern- 
ment on  a  shaky  foundation  and,  much  like  the  foreign  affairs 
of  today,  was  caught  up  in  the  play  of  party  politics.  However, 
lack  of  self-confidence  was  certainly  not  apparent  in  Grenville's 
planning. 

By  the  early  part  of  1763  it  was  decided  to  establish  an  ade- 
quate protective  force  in  America.  Grenville  decided  that  an  army 
of  ten  thousand  was  necessary  and  that  part  of  the  maintenance 
cost  should  be  extracted  from  the  colonies.  The  policy  met  with 
no  opposition  in  England  or  the  colonies,  although  it  was  a  well 
established  fact  and  known  in  America  as  early  as  March,  1763.21 
It  was  only  when  the  specific  form  of  taxation  was  adopted  by 
the  passage  of  the  Sugar  Act  of  March,  1764,  that  there  developed 
any  thought  of  colonial  opposition.  The  act  called  for  duties  on 
certain  imports  and  a  more  rigid  enforcement  of  customs  regu- 
lations. The  provisions  fell  heaviest  on  the  northern  colonies,  al- 
though the  provisions  concerning  smuggling  should  have  affected 
North  Carolina  as  much  as  any  colony,  but  as  Governor  Tryon 
was  to  point  out  later,  North  Carolinians  had  ways  of  circum- 
venting customs  officials.  Opposition  was  mild  in  North  Carolina, 
at  least  officially,  largely  because  the  Assembly  considered  the 
act  as  a  part  of  the  commercial  regulatory  system.22  As  such  no 
vital  interest  of  the  plantation  owner  was  damaged  and  England 

20  Copies  in  the  North  Carolina  Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh,  of  records  of 
the  British  Public  Record  Office.  Treasury  Papers,  Bundle  442,  fo.  258.  Hereafter  cited 
PRO  Treasury  Papers. 

21  Beer,  British  Colonial  Policy,   1754-1765,  275. 

22  Raper,  Colonial  Government,  230-231. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       323 

wisely  refrained  from  diverting  part  of  the  revenue  to  pay 
colonial  officeholders,  as  Dobbs  had  suggested.23  North  Carolina 
had  in  the  past  offered  little  opposition  to  the  commercial  policies 
of  England.  Her  commerce  was  not  affected  by  the  Navigation 
Acts  and  the  new  Sugar  Act  added  little  to  her  burdens.24 

In  October,  1764,  the  Assembly  did  issue  a  protest  against  the 
commercial  policies,  but  the  Assembly  was  probably  thinking 
more  of  the  proposed  stamp  duty  than  the  Sugar  Act.  The  pro- 
test is  important  for  its  expression  of  the  official  colonial  and 
apparently  widely  accepted  ideas  on  taxation.  The  Assembly  in 
response  to  the  governor's  speech  referred  to  the  concern  with 
which  they  saw  themselves  ".  .  .  Burthened  with  new  Taxes  and 
Impositions  laid  on  us  without  our  Privity  and  consent,  and 
against  what  we  esteem  our  Inherent  right  and  Exclusive  privi- 
lege of  Imposing  our  own  Taxes.  .  .  ."25  This  represents  one  of 
the  clearest  statements  of  the  idea  of  no  taxation  without  repre- 
sentation that  the  pre-Stamp  Act  period  offers  and  indicates 
something  of  the  difficulties  that  any  tax  would  meet. 

Since  the  Sugar  Act  met  only  about  one-seventh  of  the  cost  of 
maintaining  an  army  in  America,  Grenville  had  planned  gradu- 
ally to  increase  the  amount  of  revenue  collected  by  levying  new 
taxes.26  At  the  time  the  Sugar  Act  was  introduced  he  had  sug- 
gested that  the  next  session  of  parliament  should  adopt  a  colonial 
stamp  duty.27 

The  stamp  duty  was  by  no  means  a  diabolical  invention  of 
Grenville  but  had  already  had  a  long  and  useful  history  in  Eng- 
land, yielding  about  £100,000  per  year  with  practically  no  col- 
lection cost.28  It  had  been  proposed  for  colonial  use  to  Robert 
Walpole  and  Pelham.  Pitt  admitted  that  even  in  his  administra- 
tion there  had  been  those  who  ".  .  .  proposed  to  me  to  burn  my 
fingers  with  an  American  Stamp  Act."29  At  least  two  colonial 
agents,  William  Knox  of  Georgia  and  Israll  Mauduit  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  two  colonial  governors,  Shirley  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Keith  of  Pennsylvania,  had  advocated  a  stamp  duty.30  The 

■    ^  Colonial  Records,  VI,  1021. 

24  Raper,  Colonial  Government,  230. 

25  Colonial  Recoi-ds,  VI,  1261. 

26  Beer,  British  Colonial  Policy,  175A-1765,  275. 

^William  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History    (London,  1806-1820),  XV,  1427. 

28  John   C.  Miller,  Origins  of  the  American  Revolution    (Boston,   1943),   110. 

29  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XV,  105. 

30  Wm.  Byrd,  History  of  the  Dividing  Line  and  Other  Tracts  from  the  Papers  of  William 
Byrd,  of  Westover  (Richmond,  1866),  II,  226-227;  Ella  Lonn,  The  Colonial  Agents  of  the 
Southern  Colonies  (Chapel  Hill,  1945),  105;  George  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States 
(Boston,  1837-1875),  III,  58:  Fisher,  The  Struggle  for  American  Independence,  I,  74. 


324  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

immediate  source  of  the  idea  for  the  Act  of  1765  seems  to  have 
been  Henry  McCulloh.31  McCulloh,  writing  in  1763,  had  pro- 
posed a  plan  for  strengthening  the  control  of  England  over  her 
colonies  and  at  the  same  time  to  benefit  the  English  merchant 
and  farmers  by  improving  trade  and  levying  certain  taxes  on  the 
colonies,  including  a  stamp  duty.  On  October  10,  1763,  he  drew  up 
a  tabular  statement  in  three  columns  under  the  heading, 

A  state  of  the  several  articles  proposed  by  Mr.  M' Cull  oh  to  be 
stamped,  and  the  duties  thereon;  likewise  a  state  of  all  the  dif- 
ferent articles  which  are  now  stamped  in  Great  Britain,  in  order 
to  fix  upon  the  articles  which  are  to  be  inserted  in  the  law  in- 
tended for  imposing  Stamp  duties  in  America  and  the  West 
Indies. 

Two  days  later  Grenville  approved  this  plan  following  a  confer- 
ence with  McCulloh.32  The  decision  reached  at  this  point  did  not 
outline  completely  the  act  that  followed.  But  it  did  lay  the  basis 
for  the  proposal  to  lay  a  stamp  duty  that  was  made  in  Grenville's 
budget  on  March  10,  1764.33  Grenville  was  a  careful  and  de- 
liberate administrator;  therefore  he  proposed  that  the  measure 
should  stand  discussion  for  a  year  in  order  that  all  parties  con- 
cerned might  have  their  say.  Grenville  apparently  was  willing 
to  alter  or  discard  the  measure  at  any  time  during  this  year's 
moratorium  if  anyone  would  suggest  something  better.  In  speak- 
ing to  a  delegation  of  colonial  agents  he  stated  flatly,  "If  they 
think  any  other  mode  of  taxation  more  convenient  to  them  and 
make  any  proposition  of  equal  efficacy  with  the  stamp  duty,  I 
will  give  it  all  due  consideration.,,34 

Other  remedies  were  mentioned  but  were  rejected  for  prac- 
tical reasons.  At  least  two  of  the  proposals  offered  would  have 
raised  no  colonial  opposition  or  revenue.  The  old  requisition  sys- 
tem which  had  broken  down  even  in  time  of  war  was  rejected,  as 
was  a  proposal  to  call  a  colonial  congress  to  allot  taxes  to  the 
various  colonies.  Grenville  was  correct  in  his  position  that  the 
only  result  of  a  congress  would  be  quarrels  and  haggling  among 


31  There  seems  to  be  some  confusion  as  to  who  this  particular  Henry  McCulloh  was.  It  ia 
quite  possible  that  he  is  the  famous  North  Carolina  land  speculator  who  was  living  in  England 
as  late  as  1766.  See  PRO.  Treasury  Minute  Book,  T.  29,  Vol.  37,  381.  Or  he  may  have  been 
the  persistent  and  unsuccessful  seeker  for  North  Carolina  and  other  colonial  offices  who 
haunted  the  Board  of  Trade  in  England  and  who  was  unrelated  to  the  land  speculator.  See 
James  High,  "Henry  McCulloh:  Progenitor  of  the  Stamp  Act,"  The  North  Carolina  Historical 
Review,  XXIX  (January,  1952),  24-38,  and  letters  to  the  editor  in  the  present  issue,  pp. 
460-464. 

32  McCulloh,   Miscellaneous  Representations,  xv. 

33  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XV,   1428. 

34  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States,  III,  74. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       325 

the  colonies  as  to  their  share  of  the  tax  with  no  returns  in  actual 
revenue.35 

As  no  adequate  substitute  was  brought  forward  Grenville  con- 
tinued with  preparations  for  a  stamp  tax.  Instructions  were  sent 
to  the  governors  to  make  up  lists  of  all  legal  instruments  used  or 
expected  to  be  used  in  order  that  the  tax  list  could  be  prepared.36 
Conciliatory  measures  were  passed  in  an  attempt  to  sugar-coat 
the  bitter  stamp  duty  pill.  Concessions  were  made  to  New  Eng- 
land's whale  fishing.  Pennsylvania  was  to  be  allowed  to  ship  iron 
to  Ireland,  and  the  West  Indies  received  a  number  of  special  privi- 
leges. North  Carolina,  which  had  given  little  opposition  to  previous 
acts,  was  strangely  singled  out  for  special  considerations.  The 
shipment  of  her  rice  to  the  newly  opened  West  Indies  ports  was 
placed  on  an  unrestricted  basis  and  bounties  were  ".  .  .  guaran- 
teed upon  the  importation  of  deals,  planks,  boards,  and  timber, 
into  the  kingdom.  .  .  .  "37 

With  this  preparation  behind  him  Grenville  introduced  the 
Stamp  Bill  into  Parliament  and  after  what  Pitt  called  a  "languid 
debate"  it  passed  the  House  of  Commons  with  only  a  small 
minority  in  opposition.38  Of  the  two  or  three  members  who  spok^ 
against  the  act  only  Isaac  Barre  gave  a  full  speech.  However 
his  reference  to  the  colonials  as  "sons  of  liberty"  was  to  have 
wide  ramifications  in  America.39  In  the  House  of  Lords  there  was 
no  debate  or  division.  The  king  at  the  moment  was  indulging  in 
one  of  his  lapses  into  insanity  and  on  March  22,  1765,  the  Stamp 
Act  became  law  by  the  assent  of  a  royal  commission. 

Grenville  could  well  congratulate  himself  on  the  smooth  course 
of  his  schemes.  It  is  true  that  six  of  the  colonies  had  protested 
by  petitions  which  were  rejected,  as  was  customary  when  Par- 
liament dealt  with  revenue  bills.40  But  the  violent  opposition 
darkly  hinted  at  by  Colonel  Barre  seemed  remote.  However,  in- 
structions were  directed  to  the  governors  of  the  colonies  ordering 
them  to  give  aid  and  assistance  to  the  distribution  of  stamps  and 
to  be  especially  vigilant  in  preventing  fraud  and  abuses  in  the 
offices  created.41  Apparently  the  government  anticipated  more 


35  Miller,  Origins  of  the  American  Revolution,  110. 

39  Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of   the  State  of  New-York    (Albany,    1856), 
VIII,  646. 

37  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XVI,  71. 

38  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XVI,  40. 

39  Parliamentary  History,  XYI,  39. 

40  Beer,  British  Colonial  Policy,   1754-1765,  285. 

41  H.  Smyth,  ed.,  The  Writings  of  Benjamin  Franklin    (New  York,  1905-1907),  VI,  200. 


326  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

trouble  with  officials  who  were  to  collect  the  tax  than  with  the 
colonists  who  were  to  pay  it.  These  officials  were  the  subject  of 
special  consideration  by  Grenville.  He  saw  in  their  appointment 
a  chance  to  create  good  will  between  the  mother  country  and  the 
colonies.  Wheatly,  Grenville's  secretary,  called  the  agents  to- 
gether and  asked  them  to  appoint  "discreet  and  reputable  Per- 
sons" to  the  various  offices  who  would  be  agreeable  to  the  colo- 
nists.42 Franklin  fell  for  the  bait,  nominated  his  friends  to  office, 
and  advised  Jared  Ingersoll  to  apply.  Nine  years  later  Franklin 
was  still  trying  to  explain  away  his  action  and  Ingersoll  was  still 
trying  to  collect  his  pay.  North  Carolina's  agent  at  the  time  was 
Couchet  Jouvencal,  a  strong  defender  of  colonial  rights  who  was 
later  to  be  suspended  by  the  Board  of  Trade  for  his  outspoken 
stand  during  the  Stamp  Act  controversy.  The  men  appointed 
to  the  North  Carolina  posts  probably  represent  his  choice.  They 
were  North  Carolinians  of  prominence  and  esteem  in  their  own 
localities.  Henry  Eustace  McCulloh,  Collector  at  Beaufort  (per- 
haps an  exception  to  the  rule) ,  and  Robert  Palmer,  Collector  at 
Bath  Town,  had  been  members  of  the  Council  under  Dobbs  and 
Tryon.  William  Dry,  Collector  and  Searcher  at  Brunswick,  the 
man  who  later  "talked  treason  by  the  hour,"  had  been  a  member 
of  both  the  Assembly  and  Council.  The  much-abused  stamp  agent 
Houston  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  a  physician,  and  Justice 
of  Peace.43  William  Pennington,  Comptroller  at  Brunswick,  was 
much  admired  in  Willington  society  for  his  "polished  urbanity."44 
If  any  group  of  men  could  have  made  the  Stamp  Act  acceptable 
this  should  have  been  the  group.  That  they  failed  and  lived  to 
regret  their  appointment  is  amply  attested.  Henry  Eustace 
McCulloh,  when  he  saw  the  turn  of  events,  no  doubt  following 
the  lead  of  his  sovereign,  found  it  advisable  to  secure  a  leave  of 
absence  as  he  was  ".  .  .  almost  blind  from  a  Disorder  in  his  Head 
and  unfit  for  all  business."45 

Grenville's  feeling  of  complacency  lasted  until  June,  when  the 
news  of  the  colonial  opposition  reached  England.  The  amazement 
of  the  average  Englishman  on  hearing  the  news  was  probably 
as  great  as  Grenville's  consternation.  The  English  press  had 


42  Lonn,  The  Colonial  Agents  of  the  Southern  Colonies,  159,  365. 

43  PRO,   Treasury  Paper   Correspondence.   Bundle  452   contains  the  list   of   North   Carolina 
offices  and  office  holders. 

**  James  Sprunt,  Chronicles  of  the  Cape  Fear  River    (Raleigh,   1916),   76. 
«  PRO,  Treasury  Minute  Book,  T.  29,  Vol.  37,  381. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       327 

completely  overlooked  the  significance  of  the  act  until  August, 
1765,  when  the  London  Chronicle  printed  a  dialogue  by  way  of 
explaining  it.40  The  tax-laden  Englishmen  were  even  more 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  furor  had  been  caused  by  a  tax  de- 
signed to  raise  no  more  than  £145,000  in  the  American  colonies.47 
Stamp  duties  ranging  from  a  halfpenny  to  £10  were  placed  on 
commercial  papers  of  various  kinds  in  use  or  expected  to  be  used 
in  the  future ;  on  deeds,  bonds,  leases  and  other  legal  documents, 
pamphlets,  newspapers,  liquor  licenses,  etc.  Heavy  fines  and 
forfeitures  were  provided  for  violations  which  could  be  collected 
in  the  vice-admiralty  courts.48  The  funds  raised  were  earmarked 
for  colonial  defense,  of  which  the  colonies  were  to  pay  no  more 
than  one-third  of  the  total  cost.  There  was  no  attempt  to  tie  the 
revenue  to  the  English  debt  financing  scheme. 

Nothing  demonstrates  better  than  the  English  and  North 
Carolina  attitudes  toward  the  Stamp  Act  just  how  far  the  colo- 
nies had  grown  from  the  mother  country.  To  England  armed 
resistance  to  escape  what  amounted  to  a  shilling  tax  per  capita 
seemed  foolish  and  opposition  from  an  agrarian  colony  doubly  so. 
The  English  people  and  officials  simply  did  not  understand  the 
economic  conditions,  the  actual  political  system,  and  especially 
the  constitutional  philosophy  of  the  colonies.  English  ignorance  is 
understandable,  since  the  colonists  had  never  completely  formal- 
ized this  philosophy.  In  North  Carolina  it  was  only  after  the 
shock  of  the  specific  legislation  of  the  Stamp  Act  that  the  colonial 
mind  was  jarred  from  its  traditional  acceptance  of  the  "Old 
Colonial  System"  into  consideration  of  exactly  what  the  empire 
relations  were. 

The  colonies  as  a  whole  in  1765  were  experiencing  a  period  of 
postwar  readjustment.  Prosperity  had  followed  the  English 
troops  out  of  America.  Complaints  against  the  high  cost  of  living 
and  English  manufactured  goods  were  coupled  with  complaints 
of  the  decline  in  real  estate  values  and  the  ratio  of  paper  money 
to  gold.49  The  postponement  of  the  Stamp  Act  for  the  year's  dis- 
cussion meant  that  its  application  caught  the  colonies  in  a 
depressed  condition.  North  Carolina,  notoriously  poor  from  the 


46  F.  J .  Hinkhouse,   The  Preliminaries  of  the  American  Revolution  as  Seen  in  the  English 
Press    (New  York,   1926). 

47  Beer,  British  Colonial  Policy,  175U-1765,  286. 

48  William  MacDonald,  Documentary  Source  Book  of  American  History    (New  York,  1909), 
122  et  s«q. 

49  Miller,  Origins  of  the  American  Revolution,  115  et  seq. 


328  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

beginning  of  its  history,  had  been  plagued  by  the  absence  of  a 
substantial  circulating  medium  of  exchange.  Colonists,  agents, 
British  merchants,  governors,  and  pamphleteers  had  urged  the 
British  government  to  remedy  the  condition  of  North  Carolina's 
currency.  In  McCulloh's  pamphlet  urging  the  Stamp  Act  he  em- 
phasized the  necessity  of  including  currency  reforms.50  As  early 
as  1757  McCulloh  had  proposed  that  "Exchequer  Bill  of  Union" 
be  introduced  into  America.51  Each  of  North  Carolina's  gov- 
ernors had  expressed  the  need  for  more  and  better  currency  and 
each  had  been  forced  to  accept  unstable  paper  money.  The  Cur- 
rency Act  of  1764  had  stopped  the  use  of  paper  money  and  com- 
modity money  as  legal  tender.  Throughout  the  legislative  session 
of  1765  the  Assembly  tried  to  pass  laws  making  certain  com- 
modities legal  payment  for  debts  in  spite  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Currency  Act.  Their  attempts  were  unsuccessful.52  Although  the 
stamp  tax  represented  only  one  shilling  per  person  increase  in 
taxes,  North  Carolinians  in  1765  could  not  have  paid  the  tax  in 
specie.  In  the  words  of  Governor  Tryon,  "There  is  little  or  no 
specie  circulating  in  the  maritime  counties  of  the  province,  and 
what  is  in  circulation  in  the  back  counties  is  so  very  inconsider- 
able that  the  Attorney  General  assured  me,  that  the  Stamp  duties 
on  the  instruments  used  in  the  five  Superior  Courts  of  this 
province  would  in  one  year  require  all  the  specie  in  the  coun- 
try .  .  .  ,"  to  say  nothing  of  the  demands  of  the  other  courts  and 
business.53 

The  English  considered  the  terms  of  the  duty  light  and  refused 
to  believe  that  the  colonists  could  not  comply  with  the  act. 
"Pepper-corn"  was  a  favorite  expression  in  describing  the  re- 
turns by  the  members  of  Parliament.54  The  London  Magazine 
and  the  London  Chronicle  pointed  to  the  wide  difference  between 
the  English  and  American  taxes  and  especially  to  the  fact  that 
England  paid  twelve  shillings  per  person  for  interest  on  the  debt, 
which  was  largely  America's  responsibility.55  The  difference 
between  the  money  economy  of  mercantile  England  and  the  semi- 
barter  economy  of  rural  North  Carolina  placed  a  barrier  between 
the  two  countries  that  prevented  mutual  understanding. 

50  McCulloh,  Miscellaneous  Representations,  12. 

51  McCulloh,  Miscellaneous  Representations,  xiii. 

52  Colonial  Records,  VII,  51,  58,  65,  75,  82. 

63  William  Tryon,  Tryon 's  Letter  Book   (copy  of  the  original  in  the  North  Carolina  Depart- 
ment of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh),  25. 

M  Cobbett,   Parliamentary  History,   XVI,   96  passim. 

55  Hinkhouse,  Preliminaries  of  the  American  Revolution,  50. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       329 

But  in  spite  of  the  sorry  economic  picture  it  was  not  on  the 
basis  of  practical  economics  that  the  Stamp  Act  was  opposed  in 
North  Carolina.  Of  much  more  importance  in  the  conflict  was  the 
divergent  constitutional  philosophy  of  the  two  units  of  the  same 
government.  When  a  North  Carolinian  spoke  of  "The  Constitu- 
tion" he  was  not  referring  to  the  same  institution  that  England 
and  Grenville  knew.  The  Americans  had  in  mind  a  fixed  consti- 
tution which  was  over  and  above  all  other  governmental  institu- 
tions, including  Parliament.  Grenville  saw  no  power  above  the 
sovereignty  of  Parliament.  The  discerning  Josiah  Tucker  sum- 
med up  the  philosophical  conflict  in  the  Universal  Magazine  in 
1775,  "The  Colonists  reason  principally  from  what  they  appre- 
hend ought  originally  to  be  the  case, — to  what  in  the  future  shall 
or  must  be : — and  the  mother  country  from  what  actually  was, — 
to  what  still  ought  to  be."56 

As  the  attention  of  the  colonists  became  focused  on  the  con- 
stitutional aspect  of  the  struggle  they  became  convinced  that  the 
British  constitution,  their  own  charter,  custom,  and  tradition 
guaranteed  self-government  while  geography,  economic  well- 
being,  and  political  integrity  demanded  it.  Maurice  Moore  in  his 
1765  pamphlet,  "Justice  and  policy  of  Taxing  the  American 
Colonies  in  England,"  stated  that  what  was  needed  was  a  union 
"upon  a  foundation  of  equality"  and  quoted  Cato's  letter  to  the 
effect  that  "human  nature"  demanded  self-rule.57  "Moore's  ideas 
represent  the  thought  of  the  controlling  politicians  of  North 
Carolina.  As  a  wealthy  plantation  owner  he  was  basically  con- 
servative, certainly  not  given  to  any  radical  democratic  agita- 
tion (later  he  joined  in  crushing  the  Regulator  movement) ,  but 
he  was  determined  to  leave  control  of  North  Carolina  in  the 
hands  of  the  Assembly. 

Moore's  pamphlet,  which  is  the  most  complete  expression  of 
North  Carolina  political  thought  of  the  Stamp  Act  period,  de- 
velops the  concept  of  "no  taxation  without  representation"  as 
the  principal  constitutional  argument  against  the  act.  In  this 
he  was  merely  elaborating  upon  the  expression  of  the  Assembly 
in  1764.  He  reaffirmed  the  idea  that  the  colonists  enjoyed  all 
the  "constitutional  right,  liberty,  and  privilege"  of  an  English- 


56  Hinkhouse,  Preliminaries  of  the  American  Revolution,  81. 

57  William  K.  Boyd,  Some  Eighteenth  Century  Tracts  Concerning  North  Carolina   (Raleigh, 
1927),  173  et  seq. 


330  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

man  including  the  right  of  taxation  only  by  one's  own  repre- 
sentatives. He  scoffed  at  the  idea  that  North  Carolina  was 
virtually  represented,  since  it  was  divided  by  "a  thousand  leagues 
from  Great-Britain"  and  could  have  no  influence  on  British 
legislation.  Furthermore,  he  argued  that  the  idea  of  virtual 
representation  had  had  its  origin  since  North  Carolina's  charter 
had  been  granted.  The  English  Parliament  could  not  be  obeyed 
because  the  charter  had  given  them  sovereign  and  complete  legis- 
lative power  over  their  own  affairs,  and  no  people  could  be 
governed  by  two  sovereign  legislatures.58 

Moore  completely  repudiated  the  English  doctrine  of  Parlia- 
mentary supremacy.  Grenville,  as  spokesman  for  the  English 
concept,  answered  all  such  arguments  as  directly  as  possible. 
"That  this  kingdom  has  the  sovereign,  the  supreme  legislative 
power  over  America  is  granted  .  .  .  and  taxation  is  part  of  that 
power,"  was  his  direct  unequivocal  statement.59  There  were  few 
in  England  who  would  not  have  endorsed  that  statement  com- 
pletely. Without  compromise  on  this  basic  constitutional  rela- 
tionship there  could  be  only  conflict  between  mother  and 
daughter. 

Coupled  with  the  problem  of  sovereignty  and  giving  the 
colonial  opposition  vigor  was  the  tenacity  with  which  the  North 
Carolina  plantation  aristocracy  held  to  their  control  of  the 
Assembly.  The  "Cape"  and  "Sound"  factions  had  gradually 
drawn  together  in  opposition  to  the  growing  West.  With  control 
apparently  firmly  fixed  in  their  hands,  the  planters  were  enjoy- 
ing the  fruits  of  cooperation  in  the  form  of  taxation  by  head  and 
administration  by  eastern  officials.  The  Stamp  Act  represented  a 
threat  to  this  control.  On  at  least  one  point  England  and  her 
colonies  understood  each  other.  Both  realized  that  if  any  part  of 
the  act  was  accepted  the  precedent  would  be  established  for 
further  taxation,  regulation  and  control.  A  North  Carolina  dele- 
gation expressed  the  idea  to  Governor  Tryon  in  refusing  to 
".  .  .  assent  to  the  payment  of  the  smaller  Stamp :  An  Admission 
of  Part,  would  put  it  out  of  our  Power  to  refuse  with  any  Pro- 
priety, a  Submission  to  the  Whole.  .  .  ."60  George  III  expressed 
the  same  idea  when  he  asked  for  modification  of  the  act  in  hopes 


58  Boyd,  Some  Eighteenth  Century  Tracts,  165  et  seq. 
50  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XVI,   101. 
eo  Colonial  Records,  VII,  129. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       331 

that  it  would  placate  the  colonists,  ".  *  .  any  part  remaining  suf- 
ficiently ascertained  the  Right  of  the  Mother  Country  to  tax  its 
Colonys "61 

Grenville  realized  it  would  be  necessary  to  gain  control  over 
taxation  if  England  was  to  have  any  control  over  colonial  gov- 
ernment. Political  domination  of  the  colonies,  like  the  stamp 
tax,  was  not  exclusively  a  Grenville  policy,  but  was  the  under- 
lying goal  of  English  policy  from  the  close  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War  to  the  Revolution.  The  king's  speech  of  January  10, 
1765,  just  before  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  emphasized  the 
desire  for  ".  .  .  promoting  the  obedience  to  laws,  and  respect  to 
the  legislative  authority."  In  the  king's  speech  closing  Parlia- 
ment after  the  passage  of  the  act  he  thanked  the  members  of 
Parliament  for  "framing  such  regulations."62  Grenville  in  his 
speeches  defending  the  stamp  tax  constantly  referred  to  the 
colonial  obligation  to  obey  Parliament.63  To  escape  this  obligation 
North  Carolina's  plantation  aristocrats  led  the  opposition  against 
English  taxation  and  control — control  that  would  have  affected 
the  large  landowners  more  than  any  other  class,  since  all  other 
classes  were  already  obeying  a  government  not  of  their  direct 
choosing. 

Just  how  early  and  from  what  sources  the  opposition  to  the 
Stamp  Act  began  is  difficult  to  determine.  Certainly  by  the  latter 
part  of  June,  1765,  North  Carolinians  were  discussing  at  length 
the  reported  action  of  the  northern  assemblies  in  resisting  the 
stamp  tax.64  Both  the  governors  of  North  and  South  Carolina 
later  insisted  that  the  southern  colonies  were  only  following  the 
lead  of  the  more  "northward  provinces."65  James  Murray,  who 
had  recently  moved  from  North  Carolina  to  Boston,  did  not  agree 
with  the  Carolina  governors  as  he  considered  the  southern 
colonies  more  aggressive  in  their  attitude  than  the  northern 
colonies.66 

There  were  reported  minor  public  demonstrations  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1765  at  Cross-Creek,  New  Bern,  and  Edenton.67  On  Oc- 


61  John  William  Fortescue,  The  Correspondence  of  King  George  the  Third  (London,  1927), 
269. 

62  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XVI,  2,  80  et  seq. 

63  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XVI,  102. 

64  North  Carolina  Items  from  the  South  Carolina  Gazette  (typed  copy  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh),  III,  119. 

5  Tryon's  Letter  Book,  25,  34.  Arthur  Meier  Schlesinger,  "The  Colonial  Merchants  and 
the  American  Revolution,"  Columbia  University  Studies  in  History,  Economics  and  Public 
Law    (1918),  LXXVIII,  73. 

66  James   Murray,   Letters  of  James  Murray,   Loyalist    (Boston,   1901),    115. 

67  R.  D.  W.  Connor,  History  of  North  Carolina   (Chicago,  1919),  I,  321. 


332  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

tober  19,  1765,  the  citizens  of  Wilmington,  in  town  for  a 
Saturday  evening,  staged  a  spontaneous,  boisterous,  and  some- 
what fluid  demonstration,  complete  with  effigies  of  the  Stamp 
Agent  Houston,  tar  barrel  bonfires,  and  frequent  and  enthusi- 
astic toasts.68  This  was  apparently  the  only  spontaneous  action 
in  North  Carolina.  One  of  the  most  distinctive  aspects  of  the 
American  Revolution  is  the  absence  of  anarchy  and  mob  rule. 
The  English  policy  of  leaving  the  colonies  more  or  less  alone  had 
produced  a  desire  among  the  colonists  for  an  increasing  role  in 
their  own  government.  But  the  period  of  neglect  also  produced  a 
number  of  men  who  could  lead  and  organize  the  people. 

Apparently  the  Wilmington  Saturday  affair  had  been  so  well 
received  that  it  was  decided  to  incorporate  the  Stamp  Act  theme 
into  the  Halloween  festivities  of  the  same  month.  In  a  setting 
true  to  Allhallows'  Evening  customs  of  bonfires  and  resurrected 
spirits, 

...  a  great  Number  of  People  again  assembled,  and  produced  an 
Effigy  of  Liberty,  which  they  put  in  a  Coffin,  and  marched  in 
solemn  Procession  with  it  to  the  Church-Yard,  a  Drum  in  Mourn- 
ing beating  before  them,  and  the  Town  Bell,  muffled,  ringing  a 
doleful  Knell  at  the  same  Time : — But  before  they  committed  the 
Body  to  the  Ground,  they  thought  it  advisable  to  feel  its  Pulse ; 
and  when  finding  some  Remain  of  Life,  they  returned  back  to  a 
Bonfire  ready  prepared,  placed  the  Effigy  before  it  in  a  large 
Two-arm'd  Chair,  and  concluded  the  Evening  with  great  Re- 
joicings on  finding  that  Liberty  had  still  an  Existence  in  the 
COLONIES.69 

Two  weeks  later  Dr.  Houston,  the  colonial  stamp  agent,  found 
it  necessary  to  come  to  town  on  a  Saturday,  a  most  unfortunate 
choice  of  days.  The  usual  Saturday  crowd,  looking  for  diversion, 
soon  found  it  in  the  good  doctor.  He  was  immediately  sur- 
rounded by  three  or  four  hundred  people  who  forced  him  to 
resign  his  commission.  Then  after  ".  .  .  Several  Sorts  of  Liquor, 
were  .  .  .  drank  in  great  Form  and  all  the  favorite  American 
Toasts  .  .  .  ,"  the  crowd  pushed  (or  staggered)  on  to  the  print 
shop.  After  appropriate  threats  Andrew  Steuart  was  forced 
to  print  the  famous  death's  head  paper  without  stamps.70  Up 
to  this  point  leadership  had  been  nebulous  and  the  whole  affair 


a8  Colonial  Records,  VII,  123. 
w  Colonial  Records,  VII,  124. 
70  Colonial  Records,  VII,  124  et  seq. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       333 

carried  off  in  spirit  of  frivolous  holiday  diversion  and  not  based 
on  any  formalized  theory  of  opposition.  But  beneath  the  antics 
of  the  people  there  was  real  and,  to  Tryon's  way  of  thinking, 
dangerous  opposition  to  royal  authority. 

Governor  Tryon  represents  the  major  source  of  royalist 
strength  in  North  Carolina.  Probably  no  colonial  governor 
worked  more  for  or  understood  better  the  people  of  North 
Carolina.  Although  he  was  vain  and  given  to  ostentatious  dis- 
play he  was  an  astute,  diplomatic  politician.  Before  he  left  the 
governorship  he  won  the  respect  of  the  planter  class,  the  Indians, 
Anglicans,  Presbyterians,  Moravians,  Germans,  and  the  Council 
and  Assembly.  The  Anglican  minister,  George  Micklejohn,  spoke 
of  him  as  ".  .  .  defender  and  friend,  the  Patron  and  nursing 
father  of  the  Church."71  He  won  the  Presbyterian  gratitude 
by  securing  for  them  the  right  of  their  ministers  to  perform 
marriages.72  In  his  visit  to  Bethabara,  he  and  Mrs.  Tryon  had 
apparently  captivated  the  Moravians  with  their  charm,  interest 
and  good  will.73  The  Cherokee  renamed  him  with  respectful 
dignity  the  Great  Wolf.  But  probably  the  best  criteria  of  his 
success  is  the  fact  that  he  received  all  the  appropriations  he 
asked  for  and  left  the  colony  with  his  salary  paid  in  full.  Tryon 
was  justly  respected  and  he  exerted  all  the  pressure  he  felt 
justifiable  to  secure  colonial  rights.  He  did  not  favor  the  Stamp 
Act  and  wrote  the  Board  of  Trade  that  he  believed  it  impractical 
and  destined  to  fail.74  But  in  spite  of  this  feeling,  Tryon,  the 
soldier,  was  also  committed  to  execute  the  orders  given  him 
by  the  British  Government.  Governor  Tryon  is  the  perfect  il- 
lustration of  the  conscientious  colonial  governor  caught  between 
loyalty  to  the  crown  and  to  the  people  under  his  commission. 

As  the  public  demonstrations  began  to  develop  into  directed 
projects  Tryon  tried  to  gain  the  cooperation  of  the  political 
leaders.  Early  in  November  Tryon  called  some  fifty  of  the  most 
prominent  men  of  Brunswick,  New  Hanover,  and  Bladen  coun- 
ties to  a  conciliatory  banquet.  In  an  address  to  these  men  he 
sympathized  with  the  colonial  position,  expressed  the  idea  that 
the  act  was  unworkable,  and  offered  to  use  his  considerable  in- 


71  Colonial  Records,  VII,  520. 

72  M.  DeLancey  Haywood,  Governor  William  Tryon    (Raleigh,   1903),   18. 

73  John   Henry    Clewell,    History   of    Wachovia   in   North   Carolina    (New    York,    1902),    98 
et  seq. 

74  Tryon's  Letter  Book,  25. 


334  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

fluence  in  their  behalf  with  the  home  government.  Meantime, 
since  the  laws  must  be  obeyed,  he  personally  offered  to  grant 
free  liquor  licenses  to  a  number  of  towns.75  Perhaps  because 
the  early  acts  of  opposition  were  liberally  spiked  with  a  variety 
of  potent  beverages  Tryon  thought  he  could  bribe  the  citizenery 
by  playing  up  to  their  thirst.  But  colonial  thinking  had  gone 
beyond  the  stage  where  it  could  be  swayed  by  any  but  the  most 
basic  concessions.  The  constitutional  implications  of  the  issue 
were  becoming  clarified  and  Tryon's  offer  was  summarily  re- 
jected on  the  ground  that  to  submit  to  part  of  the  act  would 
place  the  colonists  under  the  obligation  of  submitting  to  the 
constitutional  principle  of  English  taxation  which  implied 
English  domination  of  internal  colonial  affairs. 

By  rejecting  Tryon's  offer  the  leaders  had  committed  them- 
selves to  resistance.  The  first  test  came  when  the  sloop  Diligence 
with  the  stamps  aboard  anchored  at  Brunswick.  Hugh  Waddell, 
the  local  hero  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  John  Ashe, 
the  leading  local  orator,  led  an  armed  body  of  men  which 
prevented  the  landing  of  the  stamps.  Tryon  saw  fit  to  ignore 
reporting  this  treason  to  England  and  continued  his  efforts  to 
get  the  act  repealed.  Although  he  might  conceal  from  England 
the  armed  resistance  to  law,  he  was  determined  to  see  that  the 
laws  were  obeyed  as  nearly  as  possible.  With  the  assistance  of 
the  judges  he  prevented  all  the  legal  business  from  being  con- 
ducted in  the  courts.76  Captain  Phipps  of  the  Diligence  com- 
pleted the  picture  of  business  stagnation  by  placing  restrictions 
on  shipping  on  the  Cape  Fear  River.  Ministers  complained  be- 
cause their  salaries,  letters,  and  building  program  were  held 
up.77  Marriages,  law  suits,  debt  collection,  binding  contracts, 
and  franchises  were  delayed  indefinitely.  The  high  spirit  in 
which  opposition  had  begun  changed  to  depression  and  antag- 
onism. Rev.  Reed  spoke  of  the  people  as  being  ".  .  .  very  uneasy, 
discontented  and  dejected."78  Andrew  Steuart  wrote  of  the 
threats  to  horsewhip  him  if  he  did  not  print  a  certain  letter. 
He  then  proceeded  to  print  an  inflammatory  letter  calling  on  the 
people  to  "Rouze"  and  resist  with  arms  the  confiscation  of 
property.79 


™  Colonial  Records,  VII,  127. 

76  Tryon's  Letter  Book,  25   et  seq. 

77  Colonial  Record,  VII,  135,  154,  162. 

78  Colonial  Records,  VII,  154. 
70  Colonial  Records,  VII,  168. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       335 

In  this  charged  atmosphere  rumor  began  circulating  indi- 
cating that  Cape  Fear  was  "the  only  spot  on  the  continent"  in 
which  the  Stamp  Act  was  enforced.80  It  was  certainly  more 
than  a  rumor  that  all  trade  on  the  Cape  Fear  had  stopped.  The 
Diligence  had  been  joined  by  another  sloop,  the  Viper,  and  these 
two  ships  were  rigidly  enforcing  the  customs  and  stamp  regu- 
lations. Three  ships  were  seized  for  violation  of  navigation 
laws  by  the  end  of  January81  and  in  January  and  February 
three  more  vessels  were  seized  for  violating  the  Stamp  Act.82 
Reports  arriving  from  the  north  indicated  that  no  relief  could 
be  expected  from  England.  Tryon  had  prorogued  the  assembly 
so  that  there  was  no  legal  means  of  redressing  grievances.  The 
last  hope  of  legal  assistance  died  when  the  attorney  general 
backed  the  action  of  the  British  naval  officers  and  Tryon,  in- 
cluding the  right  to  have  cases  of  seizures  tried  in  the  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia,  Admiralty  Court.  To  the  North  Carolinian,  dis- 
turbed by  rumor  of  discrimination  while  other  colonies  were 
reaping  a  harvest  of  trade,  confronted  by  the  real  and  arbitrary 
royal  restrictions,  and  balked  at  every  attempt  to  secure  legal 
redress,  it  was  only  natural  that  in  seeking  relief  his  mind 
should  turn  to  illegal  methods. 

Almost  immediately  on  learning  of  the  Attorney  General's 
action  the  citizens  of  Wilmington  organized  an  association  for 
the  purpose  of  "preventing  entirely  the  Operation  of  the  Stamp 
Act,"  the  preservation  of  property,  and  opening  the  Carolina 
ports.  Officers  were  chosen  and  the  day  after  the  association 
was  organized  (February  19),  an  oath  was  taken  to  resist  the 
stamp  tax  to  death,  and  an  armed  company  of  over  a  thousand 
men  marched  on  Brunswick.  The  next  morning  a  delegation  from 
the  association  held  a  conference  with  the  ship  captains  and 
custom  officials.  A  promise  was  gained  from  the  officials  for 
the  return  of  the  three  captured  ships  and  a  temporary  opening 
of  the  ports.  Apparently  this  would  have  satisfied  the  more 
conservative  leaders,  but  it  did  not  give  complete  satisfaction 
to  the  rest  of  the  association,  who  were  not  in  a  compromising 
mood.  So  the  whole  company  remained  another  day  in  order 
to  extract  a  promise  from  the  officials  that  they  would  never 


80  Colonial   Records,    VII,    168a   et   seq. 

81  Colonial  Records,  VII,  159. 

82  Colanial  Records,  VII,  168e. 


336  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

try  to  enforce  the  Stamp  Act.83  Once  again  all  the  officials,  with 
the  exception  of  Pennington,  yielded  without  resistance.  Penn- 
ington, the  comptroller  of  Brunswick,  had  sought  the  protection 
of  the  governor's  house  the  night  before.  Early  the  next  morning 
Tryon  saw  Pennington  and  George  Moore,  one  of  the  association 
officers,  leaving  his  house.  The  governor  called  them  back  and 
refused  to  let  the  comptroller  leave.  The  house  was  immediately 
surrounded,  notes  were  exchanged,  and  finally  Cornelius  Harnett 
and  George  Moore  came  as  a  delegation  to  demand  that  Penn- 
ington be  turned  over  to  them.  Connor  calls  the  intense  struggle 
that  followed  between  Harnett  and  Tryon  the  most  dramatic 
in  the  Stamp  Act  struggle.84  Both  were  men  of  considerable 
force  and  they  bandied  the  disposition  of  the  polished  Mr. 
Pennington  about  as  if  he  were  not  there.  Pennington  even- 
tually decided  that  the  future  was  less  uncertain  in  the  hands 
of  Harnett  and  his  armed  supporters  and  offered  to  leave  with 
him.  This  weakness  so  infuriated  Tryon  that  he  made  him  resign 
his  office  before  leaving  the  building.85 

Tryon  was  determined  to  do  what  he  could  to  uphold  the  law. 
In  the  evening  he  visited  Capt.  Lobb  of  the  Viper  and  repri- 
manded him  for  giving  in  to  the  "armed  inhabitants."  He  con- 
tinued down  to  Fort  Johnson,  where  he  had  the  cannon  put 
into  condition  and  the  fort  made  ready  for  attack,  all  this  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  fort  was  manned  by  only  one  sick 
officer  and  two  men.86  Tryon  was  determined  "to  repel  Force 
with  Force."87  Although  once  calmed  down  after  the  humiliation 
by  Harnett  he  realized  it  was  physically  impossible  to  enforce 
the  issue  in  his  present  circumstance,  the  idea  did  not  leave  his 
mind.  Throughout  March  and  April  of  the  next  year  he  was 
advising  the  Board  of  Trade  on  sending  troops.88 

The  colonists  had  gained  their  objective.  The  three  impounded 
ships  were  restored,  the  ports  were  opened,  and  the  stamps 
were  not  used.  There  was  no  reason  for  further  disturbance. 
With  the  single  exception  of  tolerating  commerce  to  enter  with- 
out stamps  Tryon  maintained  the  letter  of  the  laws.  Pennington 
was  reinstated  and  the  customs  office  was  in  operation  as  far 


83  Colonial  Records,  VII,  168d. 

84  Connor,  History  of  North  Carolina,  I,  326. 

85  Colonial  Records,  VII,  172. 
89  Colonial  Records,  VII,  173. 

87  Colonial  Records,  VII,   179. 

88  Colonial  Records,  VII,  189,  202. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       337 

as  the  old  laws  were  concerned.89  The  courts  refused  to  treat 
civil  and  criminal  cases.90  The  controversy  had  reached  a  stale- 
mate in  North  Carolina  and  both  sides  were  willing  to  await 
the  decision  of  the  British  Parliament.  Although  the  colonists 
had  spurned  previous  compromise  on  immediate  issues  the  spirit 
of  opposition  had  not  progressed  to  the  point  where  they  had 
lost  faith  in  the  ultimate  justice  of  the  English  government. 

The  colonial  mind  placed  its  values  on  immediate  concrete 
objectives.  As  in  the  case  of  taxation,  once  an  issue  developed 
involving  other  than  immediate  consequences  the  colonial  passion 
cooled.  The  North  Carolinian  could  go  to  the  extreme  of  treason 
to  gain  the  opening  of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  but  he  could  not 
justify  the  use  of  illegal  means  in  electing  representatives  to 
the  Stamp  Act  Congress  held  outside  his  own  state.  Since  Tryon 
had  prorogued  the  Assembly,  no  formal  legal  action  was  possible. 
There  was  a  desire  on  the  part  of  many  to  attend,  but  it  remained 
a  desire  and  not  a  conviction.  However,  the  only  colonial  criti- 
cism that  Tryon  received  for  his  activities  in  the  Stamp  Act 
struggle  came  because  he  had  prevented  the  meeting  of  the 
Assembly  and  consequently  the  cooperation  of  North  Carolina 
with  the  other  colonies  in  the  Stamp  Act  Congress.91 

The  mayor  and  corporation  of  Wilmington  who  had  rebuked 
Tryon  for  his  action  need  not  have  lamented  too  bitterly  their 
inability  to  join  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  protest.  It  was  not 
consideration  of  colonial  petitions  and  rights  that  moved  Par- 
liament to  repeal  the  Stamp  Act.  The  movement  for  repeal  was 
led  by  Englishmen  for  considerations  that  affected  Englishmen. 
Of  the  many  factors  influencing  the  action  of  Parliament  two 
are  paramount:  English  party  politics  and  the  agitation  of  the 
English  commercial  interests. 

The  decline  of  American  commerce  was  the  most  important 
factor  coming  from  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  North  Carolinians 
were  pursuing  a  more  effective  course  before  they  forced  from 
the  royal  officials  the  concessions  that  opened  the  Cape  Fear 
than  they  were  afterwards.  Much  more  effective  than  petitions 
were  items  appearing  in  the  London  papers,  such  as  that  under 
the  date  line  of  Wilmington  describing  the  complete  absence  of 


so  Colonial  Records,  VII,  189. 

90  Colonial  Records,  VII,   199,  201. 

91  Colonial  Records,  VII,  347  et  seq. 


338  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

trade  there  and  the  ruin  of  the  tar  and  turpentine  industry.92 
For  while  the  colonists  were  waiting  with  what  Thompson  called 
"patience  and  temper,  tho  with  much  anxiety  and  distress  of 
mind,"  the  English  merchants  and  laborers  were  equally 
agitated.93  In  September  the  papers  of  England  began  reporting 
numerous  petitions  ".  .  .  all  complaining  of  the  great  decay  in 
trade  to  the  North  American  colonies,  owing  to  the  late  obstruc- 
tions and  embarrassments  laid  thereon,  and  praying  for  relief."94 
There  was  a  real  fear  of  loss  of  trade,  not  only  temporarily  but 
permanently.  Franklin  played  on  this  emotion  in  his  propaganda 
articles  in  the  English  press  and  for  once  there  apparently  was 
some  truth  to  his  stories.  The  South  Carolina  Gazette  carried  a 
story  that  South  Carolina  was  copying  the  North  Carolina 
policy  of  establishing  looms  to  escape  purchasing  English 
cloth.95  Petitions  from  the  manufacturing  towns  and  boroughs 
poured  into  Parliament  expressing  the  fear  of  loss  of  both  raw 
materials  and  markets.96  Although  the  point  was  played  down 
in  Parliamentary  debate  there  were  voiced  fears  of  such  losses 
and  the  influence  of  the  mercantile  interest  on  the  question  was 
fully  realized  in  England  at  the  time.97 

The  party  aspect  of  repeal  revolved  around  the  attempt  of 
the  Pitt  faction  to  discredit  the  government  and  specifically  to 
restrict  the  influence  of  the  king.  To  gain  public  support  Pitt 
championed  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  and,  assisted  by  Judge 
Pratt  (Lord  Camden),  fought  the  issue  on  the  basis  of  con- 
stitutional principles.98  This  explains  the  reason  for  the  high 
theoretical  level  at  which  the  debates  were  carried  on — debates 
which  were  echoed  in  the  colonies  and  influenced  the  philosophi- 
cal tone  of  the  colonial  arguments. 

Contrary  to  the  North  Carolina  position,  it  was  not  theoretical 
considerations  that  were  of  paramount  importance  in  English 
thinking,  for  in  the  end  it  was  not  constitutional  arguments 
that  prevailed  but  rather  the  practical  idea  of  expediency.  The 
group  that  secured  the  repeal  was  the  one  that  believed  Parlia- 


02  D.  L.  Coi-bitt,  "Historical  Notes,"  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review,  II  (July,  1925), 
388 

93  "Thomson  Papers,  1765-1816,"  Collections  of  the  New-York  Historical  Society  (1878), 
XI,  15. 

04  Hinkhouse,   Preliminaries  of  the  American  Revolution,  64. 

05  North  Carolina  Items  from  the  South  Carolina  Gazette,  III,   132. 
™  The  Annual  Register    (London,   1803),  IX,   35. 

97  The  Annual  Register,  IX,  36;  Hinkhouse,  Preliminaries  of  the  American  Revolution,  78 
et  seq.;  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XVI,  110. 

C8A.  V.  Ruville,   William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham    (London,   1907),  III,   162. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       339 

ment  had  the  right  to  tax  the  colonies  but  felt  it  inexpedient 
because  "the  duty  was  not  adapted  to  colonial  conditions"  and 
was  "ruinous  to  British  trade/'99  The  members  might  not  be- 
lieve in  colonial  poverty  or  they  might  reject  the  colonial  concept 
of  the  constitution  or  Pitt's  theories  of  taxation,  but  no  one 
could  deny  that  commerce  had  been  adversely  affected.  The 
repeal  had  not  been  an  unconditional  surrender.  For  the  repeal 
had  been  linked  with  a  Declaratory  Act  giving  Parliament  ".  .  . 
full  power  &  Authority  to  make  Laws  &  Statutes  ...  in  all 
Cases  Whatsoever."100 

North  Carolina  chose  to  ignore  the  Declaratory  Act  but  was 
somewhat  less  enthusiastic  than  the  other  colonies  that  were 
caught  by  the  upsurge  of  patriotism  that  swept  the  country. 
Formal  expressions  of  thanks  and  loyalty  were  sent  from  the 
mayor  and  corporation  of  Wilmington  and  from  the  Assembly.101 
The  colony  did  not  erect  a  lead  statue  of  George  III,  as  Massa- 
chusetts did,  to  be  melted  down  later  for  bullets,  but  it  did, 
according  to  Williamson,  finance  the  £15,000  Tryon  Palace  as 
an  act  of  gratitude.102  Certainly  there  was  no  standing  antago- 
nism between  Governor  Tryon  and  those  who  had  participated 
in  the  opposition.  As  early  as  May  6,  1766,  the  governor  had 
recommended  Colonel  Thomas  Lloyd,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Brunswick  opposition,  to  a  seat  in  the  Council.103  During  the 
Regulators'  War  he  appointed  to  the  ranking  military  position 
every  recorded  leader  of  the  Stamp  Act  opposition.  Even  though 
good  feeling  did  develop,  neither  the  governor  nor  the  opposition 
retracted  one  statement  or  action  made  during  the  crisis  or 
changed  their  political  conviction  in  any  point.  Of  all  the  op- 
ponents of  the  governor  during  this  time  only  one  apologized 
to  him  for  the  insults  to  his  person.104  The  Corporation  of  Wil- 
mington was  quick  to  defend  its  position  when  Tryon  under- 
took to  administer  a  polite  reprimand  for  its  part  in  the  affair. 
Tryon  wisely  dropped  the  matter  before  it  developed  into  an 
acrimonious  quarrel.105 

Actually  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  had  settled  nothing. 
There  was  no  compromise  on  the  basic  issue  of  sovereignty  and 

99  Cobbett,  Parliamentary  History,  XVI,   194. 

100  Fortescue,   The  Correspondence  of  King  George   the   Third,   262. 

101  Colonial  Records,  VII,  223,  298. 

102  Hugh  Williamson,  The  History  of  North  Carolina   (Philadelphia,  1812),  123. 

103  Colonial  Records,  VII,  206. 

104  Colonial  Records,  VII,  206. 

105  Colonial  Records,  VII,  222-223,  242-243, 


340  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

there  were  no  governmental  reforms.106  Charles  Lee  had  pre- 
dicted correctly  in  1767  that  the  affection  and  loyalty  in  the 
colonies  would  exist  only  so  long  as  England  made  no  attempt 
to  tax  the  colonies.107  But  the  Stamp  Act  struggle  did  more 
than  strengthen  the  old  resolution  to  resist  taxation.  Opposition 
to  the  duty  had  begun  on  an  independent  basis  in  the  colonies, 
but  the  organization  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  which  spread  to 
nearly  all  the  colonies  and  apparently  flourished  in  North 
Carolina,  the  exchange  of  resolutions,  proclamations,  and  cor- 
respondence, and  the  meeting  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  had 
developed  a  strong  sentiment  for  united  action.  North  Carolina 
had  not  participated  in  the  Stamp  Act  Congress,  but  there  was 
growing  regret  that  she  had  not.  In  the  future  she  would  tend 
to  associate  her  interests  with  those  of  her  sister  colonies. 
Schlesinger  considered  the  chief  importance  of  the  Stamp  Act 
to  be  the  ".  .  .  common  ground  on  which  the  planting  provinces 
might  join  with  the  commercial  provinces  in  protest."108 

Lee  was  not  alone  in  predicting  future  opposition.  The  report 
of  the  customs  officials  of  North  Carolina  in  November,  1769, 
emphasized  the  fact  that  ".  .  .  it  becomes  popular  to  resist  & 
oppose  such  [revenue]  laws  and  hence  [those]  whose  Duty  it 
is  to  execute  them  incur  the  odium  &  resentment  of  the  people 
.  .  .  and  every  attempt  to  regulate  Trade  or  raise  a  Revenue 
in  the  Plantation  will  only  afford  matter  of  opposition.  .  .  ,"109 
The  prophecy  was  borne  out  with  the  passage  of  the  Townshend 
Duties.  Church  officials  also  noted  the  rebellious  spirit  among 
the  people.  Since  rebellion  had  proven  useful  and  successful 
techniques  of  opposition  had  been  developed,  it  was  only  natural, 
to  a  practical-minded  people,  that  they  should  put  these  new 
ideas  and  tools  into  operation  to  meet  other  problems.  Andrew 
Morton,  writing  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  August,  1766,  described  "a  solemn  league  and  covenant"  that 
was  drawn  up  in  Mecklenburg  to  oppose  the  establishment  of 
the  Anglican  Church  which  the  citizens  considered  ".  .  .  as 
oppressive  as  the  Stamp  Act  and  were  determined  to  prevent 


108  There  was  created  in  England  in  1768  an  "American  Department,"  but  it  was  not 
created  because  of  the  colonial  opposition  but  only  as  a  political  maneuver  and  it  did  not 
change  the  nature  or  source  of  colonial  policies.  See  M.  W.  Spector,  The  American  Depart- 
ment of  the  British  Government    (New  York,  1940). 

107  Charles  Lee,  "The  Lee  Papers,"  Collections  of  the  New-York  Historical  Society  (1871), 
I,   59. 

108  Schlesinger,   "The   Colonial  Merchants  and  the  American   Revolution,"   65. 
io»  pro,  Treasury  Board  Letters,  Bundle  474,  fo.  454. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       341 

its  taking  place,  there  by  opposing  the  settlement  of  any  min- 
ister. .  .  ."no  This  was  a  practical  application  on  a  local  scale 
of  the  lessons  and  techniques  learned  during  the  Stamp  Act 
struggle.  The  same  sort  of  application  on  a  wider  scale  led  the 
Regulators  into  a  colonial  civil  war.  Just  how  much  the  eastern 
activities  had  molded  the  thinking  of  the  back  country  can  be 
seen  in  the  Regulators'  advertisement  of  August,  1766. 

Whereas  that  great  good  may  come  of  this  great  designed  Evil 
the  Stamp  Law  while  the  sons  of  Liberty  withstood  the  Lords 
in  Parliament  in  behalf  of  true  Liberty  let  not  Officers  under 
them  carry  on  unjust  Oppression  in  our  own  Province  ...  it 
is  our  Duty  as  well  as  right  to  see  &  examine  where  such  rulers 
abuse  such  trust.  .  .  . 

Let  each  Neighborhood  throughout  the  country  meet  together 
and  appoint  one  or  more  men  to  attend  a  general  meeting  on 
Monday  .  .  .  while  men  are  men  though  you  should  see  all 
those  Sons  of  Liberty  (who  has  just  now  redeemed  us  from 
tyranny)  set  in  Office  and  vested  with  power  they  would  soon 
corrupt  again  and  oppress  if  they  were  not  called  upon  to  give 
an  account  of  their  Stewardship.111 

The  concept  of  the  right  and  duty  of  redressing  grievances 
by  other  than  legal  means,  the  doctrine  of  local  self-rule,  and 
the  method  of  opposition  through  local  associations  were  bor- 
rowed from  the  Stamp  Act  opponents.  Certain  of  their  grievances 
arose  from  or  were  colored  by  the  earlier  opposition.  The  four 
major  grievances  of  the  Regulators  were  excessive  taxes,  dis- 
honest officials,  and  extortionate  fees  which  went  unredressed 
because  of  the  system  of  centralized  office-holding.112  The  defeat 
of  the  attempt  by  Grenville  to  change  colonial  relationship  with 
England  left  North  Carolina's  government  in  the  hands  of  a 
few  eastern  planters.  Thus  there  would  be  no  change  in  colonial 
officials  or  taxation.  The  building  of  Tryon's  Palace,  if  we  accept 
Williamson's  point  of  view,  arose  from  the  Stamp  Act  crisis 
and  the  burden  of  payment  rested  on  the  poll  tax  system  which 
was  so  odious  to  the  West.  As  for  the  excessive  fees,  there  had 
been  complaints  on  this  score  before  any  active  opposition  to 
the  Stamp  Act  had  developed.113  But  from  November  1,  1765, 
to  July,  1766,  no  business  had  been  transacted  by  the  courts. 


110  Colonial  Records,  VII,  252  et  seq. 

111  Lee,  "The  Lee  Papers,"  I,  249-250. 

112  Connor,  History  of  North  Carolina,  303. 

113  See  the  Nutbush  Address,  Colonial  Records,  VII,   89-90. 


342  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

As  a  result  a  great  backlog  of  legal  business  accumulated  in  the 
courts.  At  the  Halifax  (North  Carolina)  Superior  Court  alone 
the  docket  in  April  contained  nearly  one  thousand  civil  cases.114 
When  the  courts  were  opened  in  July  a  flood  of  fees,  fines  and 
judgments  overwhelmed  the  people,  making  the  ordinary  evils 
seem  a  hundred  times  more  vicious. 

When  the  Regulators  saw  the  futility  of  attempting  legal 
methods  of  redressing  grievances  they  attempted  local  associa- 
tions to  give  more  strength  to  their  demands.  The  eastern 
politicians  were  quick  to  grasp  the  danger  of  their  political 
position  in  the  colony  and  to  their  theoretical  arguments  abroad. 
The  Regulators'  opposition  to  colonial-enacted  laws  certainly 
refuted  the  repeated  statement  made  by  the  Americans  that 
the  colonists  would  willingly  contribute  to  any  taxation  if  it 
were  levied  by  their  own  legislature. 

The  struggle  in  the  early  1770's  when  compared  to  that  of 
1766  varies  only  in  degree,  between  lower  units  of  government, 
and  not  in  basic  issues  of  reasoning  on  the  part  of  those  in- 
volved. The  demand  for  political  control  of  the  back  country, 
no  taxation  unless  by  their  own  representatives,  and  opposition 
to  foreign  (in  this  case  eastern)  courts  and  officials  correspond 
to  similar  motives  on  the  part  of  the  eastern  planters  in  the 
earlier  dispute.  The  essence  of  the  Regulator  movement  was  a 
demand  for  equality  of  political  privilege  and  participation  which 
in  turn  meant  local  or  self-control.  The  Stamp  Act  opponents 
in  1766  did  not  want  a  change  of  government,  nor  did  the 
Regulators  want  more  than  a  correction  of  the  evils  that  existed 
in  provincial  government.115 

In  its  total  effect  the  Stamp  Act  struggle  in  North  Carolina 
contributed  to  the  ideas,  grievances,  and  methods  of  the  intra- 
colonial  civil  war,  created  a  strong  feeling  for  colonial  inde- 
pendence and  intercolonial  cooperation,  and  helped  formulate 
the  basic  philosophy  of  the  struggle  that  led  to  the  American 
Revolution.  But  the  primary  importance  of  the  Stamp  Act 
resistance  was  to  release  the  mind  of  the  North  Carolinians 
from  the  unthinking  acceptance  of  the  "Old  Colonial  System" 
by  focusing  their  attention  on  the  fundamental  nature  of  the 


114  Colonial  Records,  VII,   199  et  seq.;  248. 

115  Elmer  D.  Johnson,  The  War  of  the  Regulators  (unpublished  master's  thesis,  University  of 
North  Carolina,  1942),  145. 


North  Carolina  Opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act       343 

system  and  a  consideration  of  what  that  system  ought  to  be. 
The  result  of  their  studied  consideration  was  a  demand  for 
local  control  of  North  Carolina  with  equal  status  with  every 
other  unit  of  the  Empire.  This  was  diametrically  opposed  to 
the  English  theory  of  colonial  inferiority  and  dependence  and 
represented  a  basic  difference  in  constitutional  theory  which 
was  not  to  be  reconciled.  The  colonists  would  accept  nothing 
less,  and  England  would  grant  nothing  more  than  she  had 
granted.  Since  the  success  of  the  opposition  in  1766  had  turned 
the  colonial  mind  from  compromise  and  England  came  to  be 
convinced  of  the  folly  of  appeasement,  only  complete  independ- 
ence or  complete  dependence  could  settle  the  issue. 


THE   ANTE-BELLUM   PROFESSIONAL 
THEATER  IN  RALEIGH 

By  Donald  J.  Rulfs 

Although  we  are  told  that  the  first  State  House  in  Raleigh, 
completed  in  November,  1794,  was  frequently  used  for  "theatri- 
cal representations"  and  "sleight  of  hand  performances,"1  the 
earliest  newspaper  notice  of  professional  entertainment  was  an 
advertisement  in  the  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina 
Gazette  for  December  19,  1803,  to  the  effect  that  Davenport 
and  Street's  Wax  Figures  would  be  on  exhibit  at  the  court- 
house beginning  on  December  26  and  remaining  through 
January  2.  A  partial  list  of  figures  in  the  exhibit  included 
General  Washington  and  his  Lady,  the  Honorable  John  Adams, 
His  Excellency  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  General  Bonaparte.  There 
were  no  further  professional  attractions  until  1806  when  Mr. 
Rannie,  a  ventriloquist,  advertised  in  the  Register  from  August 
18  through  September  1  that  he  would  soon  visit  the  principal 
towns  in  North  Carolina,  but  he  gave  no  specific  dates  for  his 
appearance  in  Raleigh.  On  November  26  of  the  same  year, 
Gross  and  Ollendorff  Museum  of  Wax  Figures  gave  notice 
in  the  Register  that  the  exhibition  had  already  opened  opposite 
the  courthouse  and  would  leave  town  on  November  26.  There- 
after, professional  entertainment  was  not  offered  until  after 
the  opening  of  the  theater. 

The  first  theater  in  Raleigh  was  on  the  lower  floor  of  a 
wooden  building  erected  in  1814  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
Morgan  and  Dawson  streets  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North 
Carolina  Masons  and,  the  Raleigh  Lodge,  Hiram  No.  40,  both 
of  which  shared  a  lodge  room  on  the  upper  floor.  The  lot  was 
donated  by  Theophilus  Hunter,  who  also  contributed  one  hundred 
dollars  to  the  building  fund.2  On  Friday,  January  13,  1815,  the 
Star  and  North  Carolina  Gazette  (Raleigh)  announced  that 
the  new  theater,  "the  pride  and  ornament  of  our  city,"  was 
nearly  completed  and  would  be  opened  during  the  next  week. 


1  David  L.  Swain,  Early  Times  in  Raleigh    (Raleigh:  Waltei-s,  Hughes,  and  Co.,  1867)    7. 

2  John   Nichols,  History  of  Hiram  Lodge  no.  U0,  Raleigh,  N.  C.   [?]   from  1800  to  1900  In- 
clusive  (Raleigh   [?],  1900   [?]),  15-16. 

[  344  1 


Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater  345 

The  writer  for  the  Star,  who  signed  himself  "Dramaticus," 
stated  that  ".  .  .  the  most  competent  judges  have  pronounced 
both  the  model  and  execution  of  the  building,  to  be  superior 
to  that  of  any  theatre  of  its  dimensions  in  America,"3  and 
Alexander  Lucas,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge,4  was 
designated  as  manager  and  architect.  At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  in  Raleigh  during  the  late  fall  of  1817,  Lucas, 
in  reporting  on  the  finishing  touches  that  were  being  made  to 
the  building,  stated  that  it  had  recently  received  two  coats  of 
paint  on  the  outside  and  that  the  staircase  was  being  improved. 
He  added  that  "It  was  considered  that  the  shutters  would  be  an 
equal  benefit  to  the  Theatre  and  the  Lodge,  and  it  was  agreed 
on  the  part  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Theatre,  that  they  would 
sustain   one-half  the   expense   of  the   shutters."5 

The  first  performance  in  the  new  theater  was  offered  by  the 
Raleigh  Thespian  Society,  which  had  been  organized  at  an 
uncertain  date  in  the  early  1800's  and  which  had  been  offering 
amateur  productions  in  the  Raleigh  Academy  Building,  com- 
pleted in  January,  1804, 6  and  located  on  Burke  Square,  present 
site  of  the  Governor's  Mansion.7  Apparently  there  was  a  delay 
in  the  opening  of  the  theater  because  the  only  newspaper  notice 
after  the  initial  account  in  the  Star  for  January  13  was  an 
advertisement  in  the  Register  for  January  27  to  the  effect  that 
the  plays  for  that  evening  would  be  Thomas  Morton's  Secrets 
Worth  Knowing,  or  the  Young  Architect,  and,  in  accordance 
with  a  long  established  custom  in  the  English  and  American 
theater,  an  afterpiece  in  the  form  of  the  anonymous  farce  The 
Bee  Hive,  or  Industry  Must  Prosper.  During  the  remainder  of 
the  year  productions  were  advertised  by  the  Thespians  for 
April  24,  May  15,  and  November  10.  This  capable  amateur 
group  had  been  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly 
in  1814.8 

The  Masonic  Lodge  seems  to  have  sold  the  theater  to  the 
Thespians.  From  September  21  through  November  16,  1821,  the 


3  Review  quoted  in  full  by  Archibald  Henderson,  North  Carolina,  the  Old  North  State  and 
the  New    (Chicago:   Lewis   Publishing  Co.,   1941),   II,   662-663. 

4  Proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  from  A.  L.  5804,  A.  D. 
1804,  to  A.  L.  5840,  A.  D.  1840  (Oxford,  N.  C:  Orphan  Asylum  Press,  1909),  Proceed- 
ings 1814-1819,  passim. 

5  Proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge,   1817,  9-10. 

6  Henderson,  North  Carolina,  II,  660. 

7  Swain,  Early  Times  in  Raleigh,  "Map  of  Raleigh  for  1834,"  opposite  p.  24. 

8  Henderson,  North  Carolina,  II,  662. 


346  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

theater  was  advertised  in  the  Register  for  rent,  and  the  notice 
stated  that  letters  of  inquiry  were  to  be  addressed  to  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Thespian  Society.  Eight  years  later  the  Grand  Lodge 
appointed  a  committee  on  December  18,  1829,  to  investigate  the 
possibility  of  acquiring  the  theater,  but  the  group  reported  on 
December  23  that  it  would  be  "inexpedient  to  purchase  at 
present/'9  Two  years  later  the  matter  was  still  pressing,  and 
at  a  meeting  on  December  7,  1831,  R.  Haywood  introduced  the 
following  resolution: 

That  whereas  the  Grand  Lodge  has  been  frequently  incom- 
moded by  players,  jugglers,  and  others,  who  have  rented  the 
theatre  attached  to  the  Grand  Lodge ;  and  whereas  the  safety  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  is  endangered  thereby;  and  whereas  it  is 
understood  that  said  theatre  will  be  sold  in  a  short  time  at  public 
sale,  under  and  by  virtue  of  a  deed  in  trust:  be  it  therefore 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  persons  be  appointed  to 
purchase  said  theatre,  provided  it  does  not  sell  for  more  than 
dollars :  .  .  ,"» 

The  committee  found  that  the  theater  was  for  sale  for  $246.59 
by  the  Bank  of  New  Bern,  which  apparently  held  a  mortgage 
on  the  Thespians'  property,  and  on  December  31  a  committee 
of  four  was  voted  permission  to  make  the  purchase.  That  the 
theater  was  still  owned  by  the  Lodge  four  years  later  is  evi- 
denced by  the  following  letter  which  was  submitted  by  Henry  W. 
Preston,  manager  of  a  traveling  company,  and  which  was  read 
at  a  meeting  on  December  15,  1835: 

To  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina: 

The  undersigned  respectfully  showeth :  That  he  has  rented  the 
Theatre  belonging  to  your  body,  for  which  he  pays  $20  per 
week :  That  he  has  gone  to  considerable  expense  in  painting  and 
repairing  the  front  of  said  building:  That  he  finds  the  Scenery 
in  miserable  order,  and  much  in  want  of  repainting  and  repair- 
ing ;  the  cost  of  which  he  estimates  at  $50  or  $60.  He  prays  that 
he  may  be  allowed  to  repair  said  Scenery,  and  that  your  body 
will  allow  him  the  use  of  said  building  a  fortnight  as  Compen- 
sation therefor. 

December  12,  1835  H.  W.  Preston 

At  the  December  20  meeting  Preston's  request  was  granted.11 
Five  years  later  the  Lodge  paid  F.  H.  Reeder  $20.50  "for  work 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  1829,   13-15. 

10  Proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  1831,  5-6. 

11  Proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  1835,  12-13. 


Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater  347 

done  on  chimney  and  stove  in  theatre."12  The  last  professional 
performance  in  the  building  was  on  January  8,  1841,  as  will 
be  indicated  below,  but  the  structure  was  identified  on  maps 
of  Raleigh  for  1847  and  1872.13  It  was  finally  abandoned  in 
1874.14 

The  first  professional  performance  in  the  new  theater  oc- 
curred on  November  22,  1816,  when  a  Mr.  Philibert  offered  a 
program  of  "upwards  of  over  260  of  the  most  wonderful  and 
curious  performances  in  Tumbling,"  according  to  his  advertise- 
ment in  the  Register  for  that  date.  During  the  next  spring,  on 
April  25,  1817,  the  Register  advertised  that  James  H.  Caldwell, 
a  popular  actor-manager  in  the  South,  would  appear  for  one 
more  evening  on  April  26  in  "A  Dramatic  Olio  from  Shakespeare, 
Otway,  and  Morton"  and  the  anonymous  farce  Three  and  the 
Deuce,  assisted  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  Thespian  Society.  During 
the  next  year,  on  June  26,  1818,  the  Register  announced  that 
"We  are  authorized  to  say  that  Mr.  Caldwell  and  a  part  of  his 
Company  are  now  at  Petersburg,  and  when  joined  by  the  re- 
mainder, will  set  off  instantly  for  this  place."  The  notice  con- 
tinued to  the  effect  that  the  group  planned  to  open  with  Charles 
Kemble's  The  Point  of  Honor,  or  School  for  Soldiers  and  J.  T. 
Allingham's  farce  Fortune's  Frolic,  but  with  no  date  for  the 
opening.  Caldwell  was  a  native  of  England  who  had  made  his 
debut  on  the  American  stage  at  the  Charleston  Theater  in 
November,  1816,  and  who  later  became  the  manager  of  theaters 
in  several  southern  cities.15  He  did  not  advertise  the  titles  of 
plays  offered  in  Raleigh  after  the  opening  night  but  probably 
relied  upon  the  distribution  of  daily  handbills.  In  fact,  the 
Register  for  July  17  stated  that  "The  theater  continues  to  be 
numerously  and  fashionably  attended.  The  Patronage  afforded 
it  (in  proportion  to  the  population  of  Raleigh)  it  is  believed, 
has  never  been  surpassed  in  America."  The  length  of  the  engage- 
ment is  uncertain. 

On  the  following  September  11,  Mr.  Handel  opened  at  the 
theater  for  a  few  nights  with  performances  of  "Apparent  Necro- 


12  Proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  1840,   10. 

13  Swain,  Early  Times  in  Raleigh,  "Map  of  Raleigh  for  1847,"  opposite  p.  41;  "Bird's  Eye 
View  of  the  City  of  Raleigh.  North  Carolina,  1872,"  drawn  by  C.  N.  Drie. 

14  Nichols,  History  of  Hiram  Lodge  no.  U0,  16. 

15  T.  Allston  Brown,  History  of  the  American  Stage  ( New  York :  Dick  and  Fitzgerald, 
1870),  61;  N.  M.  Ludlow,  Dramatic  Life  As  I  Found  It  (St.  Louis:  I.  Jones  and  Co.,  1880), 
passim. 


348  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

mancy,  consisting  of  Magical,  Mathematical,  and  Philosophical 
Experiments,  with  a  variety  of  elegant  feats  by  dexterity  of 
hand."16  On  Monday,  November  16,  of  the  same  year  during  the 
session  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  theater  was  opened  by  an 
unidentified  company,17  but  the  weekly  advertisement  appearing 
in  the  Register  on  November  20  indicated  that  the  offering  for 
that  evening  would  be  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Inchbald's  The  Midnight 
Hour  and  Prince  Hoare's  farce  No  Song,  No  Supper,  followed 
on  the  next  evening  by  George  Lillo's  George  Barnwell  and  John 
O'Keefe's  The  Poor  Soldier.  A  week  later,  on  November  27, 
George  Coleman  the  Younger's  The  Mountaineers  was  adver- 
tised as  the  main  play  for  that  evening  and  Charles  Kemble's 
The  Point  of  Honor  for  the  next  night.  These  selected  titles 
indicate  that  the  company  offered  the  most  popular  contem- 
porary English  and  American  plays,  apparently  with  a  nightly 
change  of  program  for  an  engagement  of  at  least  two  weeks. 

There  was  no  further  professional  entertainment  for  more 
than  three  years.  From  September  21  through  November  16, 
1821,  the  theater  was  advertised  in  the  Register  for  rent  at  ten 
dollars  a  night,  "exclusive  of  the  bar,"  and  it  was  suggested  that 
"a  small  but  respectable  Company  of  Comedians"  would  do  well 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Assembly  and  "for  some  time  before 
and  after."  A  note  at  the  end  stated  that  the  advertisement 
was  to  be  inserted  in  the  Charleston  Courier  and  the  Augusta 
Advertiser  once  a  week  for  four  weeks  and  that  letters  of  inquiry 
were  to  be  addressed  to  the  president  of  the  Thespian  Society. 
Although  there  was  no  evidence  for  two  years  of  a  reply  to  the 
advertisement  by  a  full  dramatic  company,  in  the  meantime, 
Mr.  Lewis  and  his  five  children,  "the  oldest  eleven,  the  youngest 
three,"  gave  concerts  at  the  theater  on  January  4  and  5,  1822  ;18 
Mr.  Charles,  a  magician  and  sword  swallower,  appeared  in 
Mrs.  Jeter's  Long  Room  within  the  same  year  on  July  11,  12, 
and  13  ;19  and  Mr.  Potter,  ventriloquist,  opened  at  the  theater 
on  the  following  September  26  for  a  brief  engagement.20 

The  delayed  response  to  the  "for  rent"  advertisement  came 
during  the  session  of  the  Assembly  in  the  fall  of  1823  when 


16  Register,  September  11,  1818. 

17  Register,  November  20,  1818. 

18  Register,  January  4,  1822. 
18  Register,  July  12,  1822. 

20  Register,  September  27,  1822. 


Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater  349 

Messrs.  Herbert  and  Drummond,  "from  the  Theatres  of  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston,"  according  to  their  advertise- 
ment, opened  the  theater  on  November  28  with  John  Home's 
Douglas  and  Coleman  the  Younger's  The  Blue  Devils.  The  man- 
agers were  John  Herbert,  an  English  actor  who  had  made  his 
American  debut  at  the  Chestnut  Street  Theater  in  Philadelphia 
during  1817,  and  W.  C.  Drummond,  also  an  Englishman,  who 
had  first  appeared  in  this  country  at  the  Holiday  Street  Theater 
in  Baltimore  in  1810. 21  Performances  were  announced  for  Mon- 
day, Wednesday,  and  Friday  evenings  only,  tickets  were  to  be 
one  dollar  with  children  half  price,  and  the  theater  bar  was 
to  be  sublet  as  a  concession.  The  company  remained  for  three 
weeks  through  December  19,  offering  such  popular  pieces  as 
John  Howard  Payne's  The  Maid  and  the  Magpie,  a  melodrama, 
on  December  5 ;  James  Kenney's  Matrimony,  sl  comedy,  on 
December  12;  and  The  Forty  Thieves,  an  anonymous  "Grand 
Operatical  Romance,"  according  to  the  advertisement,  on 
December  19. 

During  the  following  spring,  Mr.  Nichols,  a  ventriloquist, 
appeared  on  March  30,  1824,  at  Goneke's  Concert  Hall,  which 
had  been  opened  to  the  public  during  the  preceding  fall  on 
October  17  by  J.  F.  Goneke.  Upon  its  opening,  the  building 
was  advertised  as  a  "Restoratory  and  Concert  Hall"  and  appears 
to  have  been  a  combination  grocery  store,  music  store,  and 
concert  hall  located  on  the  west  side  of  Fayetteville  Street.22 
Nichols  returned  for  another  engagement  at  Goneke's  on  April  8. 
On  the  following  June  15,  John  Herbert  again  announced  him- 
self in  the  Register  as  the  manager  of  the  theater  and  stated 
that  he  had  engaged  Frederick  Brown  of  the  Charleston  Theater 
"for  a  few  nights"  and  would  open  on  June  16  with  perform- 
ances on  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday  evenings.  There  was 
a  delay,  however,  because  the  advertisement  for  June  18  an- 
nounced the  performance  for  that  evening,  Pizarro,  as  Brown's 
first  night  and  added  that  he  had  been  engaged  for  five  nights. 
Brown,  a  native  of  England,  was  doubtless  the  most  talented 
professional  performer  to  appear  in  Raleigh  to  that  date.  He 
had  been  a  member  of  the  excellent  Charleston  Company  since 


21  Brown,  History  of  the  American  Staae,  106  and  171. 

22  Register,  October  17,  1823. 


350  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

1816  and  had  been  acting  manager  of  that  theater  during  the 
season  1823-1824,  which  had  closed  in  Charleston  on  May  26.23 

Pizarro,  the  play  for  the  opening  night  of  Brown's  Raleigh 
engagement,  was  a  very  popular  melodrama  by  the  German 
playwright  August  von  Kotzebue,  and  the  translation  could 
have  been  one  by  William  Dunlap,  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan, 
or  Charles  Smith.  In  this  performance  Brown  took  the  part  of 
Rolla ;  Herbert  played  Pizarro ;  Mr.  Hartwig,  advertised  as  being 
from  the  Boston  Theater,  played  Alonzo;  Mrs.  Hartwig  played 
Elvira ;  and  Mrs.  Johns,  of  the  Montreal  Theater,  took  the  role  of 
Cora.  At  the  end  of  the  play  Brown  delivered  William  Collins's 
famous  "Ode  on  the  Passions,"  accompanied  by  the  "original  and 
appropriate  Music,"  and  the  anonymous  farce  The  Rendezvous 
followed.  Brown's  last  night  was  on  July  2,  when  he  appeared 
in  John  Banim's  Damon  and  Pythias.  After  his  departure  the 
company  offered  one  more  production  on  July  5  in  the  form  of 
M.  M.  Noah's  The  Plains  of  Chippewa,  which  was  advertised  as 
having  been  offered  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States 
"with  uncommon  admiration."24  It  should  be  noted  that  this 
brief  summer  season  of  two  weeks  and  one  day  was  of  special 
significance  in  that  the  Assembly  was  not  in  session,  and  the 
company  was  supported  only  by  the  local  population,  which 
was  2,674  in  1820. 

Herbert  returned  as  manager  during  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  and  opened  the  theater  on  November  12,  1824,  with  Monk 
Lewis's  The  Castle  Spectre  and  the  anonymous  farce  Married 
Yesterday  for  an  engagement  of  five  weeks  through  December 
17,  with  performances  three  times  a  week.  In  a  special  notice  in 
the  Register  for  December  7,  Herbert,  in  connection  with  a  pub- 
lic announcement  of  the  theft  of  $8.74  by  the  ticket  taker  of 
the  theater,  designated  himself  as  "manager  of  the  Theatres  in 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia,"  and  later  he  became  a  member 
of  the  Charleston  Company  from  1826  through  1828  and  during 
the  season  1837-1838.25 

During  Herbert's  extended  engagement  some  of  the  more 
outstanding  offerings  were  William  Barnes's  "Serio,  Comico, 
Musico,  Tragico  Burletta"  Bombastes  Furioso,  which  was  pre- 


23  W.    Stanley    Hoole,     The    Ante-Bellum    Charleston    Theatre     (Tuscaloosa:     University    of 
Alabama  Press,   1946),   88-90  and  209. 
2*  Register,  July  2,  1824. 
25  Hoole,  The  Ante-Bellum  Charleston  Theatre,  214. 


1 


Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater  351 

sented  as  an  afterpiece  on  November  17;  Charles  Macklin's 
Love  a  la  Mode  on  November  26 ;  John  Howard  Payne's  popular 
melodrama  Adeline,  or  the  Victim  of  Seduction  on  December  3 ; 
Samuel  Woodworth's  Lafayette,  or  the  Castle  of  Olmutz  on 
December  8;  and  W.  T.  MoncriefFs  musical  extravaganza  Tom 
and  Jerry  on  the  final  night,  December  17.  As  a  farewell  gesture 
the  citizens  of  Raleigh  gave  Herbert  a  subscription  ball  at 
Goneke's  Hall  on  December  21,26  and  the  Thespian  Society  gave 
a  benefit  performance,  consisting  of  James  Kenney's  melodrama 
Ella  Rosenberg  and  J.  T.  Allingham's  'Tis  All  a  Farce,  on  De- 
cember 25  for  Mrs.  Hartwig.27 

After  Herbert's  company  left,  the  theater  remained  dark  for 
almost  four  years.  It  was  reopened  on  November  27,  1828,  for 
a  two-night  stand  by  Mr.  Holland,  ventriloquist,  on  his  way  to 
Charleston  and  New  Orleans.28  Within  two  weeks,  on  December 
9,  the  Register  announced  that  the  theater  had  already  opened 
for  a  short  season,  probably  on  Monday,  December  8,  and  that 
it  would  be  under  the  management  of  A.  Keyser,  with  per- 
formances on  Monday,  Wednesday,  Friday,  and  Saturday.  The 
offerings  for  December  9  were  David  Garrick's  popular  Catherine 
and  Petruchio  and  William  Macready's  The  Village  Lawyer, 
There  were  no  further  newspaper  notices,  but  Keyser  doubtless 
relied  upon  the  usual  daily  handbills. 

During  the  next  season  Keyser  gave  notice  in  the  Register 
from  September  24  through  October  15,  1829,  that  he  would 
manage  the  theater  again  for  a  short  season  during  the  session 
of  the  Legislature  and  that  he  had  secured  ".  .  .  an  excellent 
Company,  and  trusts  that  his  efforts  to  please  will  be  met  by 
a  corresponding  degree  of  patronage  from  a  liberal  public." 
From  October  19  through  November  2  he  announced  the  group 
engaged  as  that  of  W.  Riddle,  and  the  opening  performance  on 
November  9  consisted  of  John  Tobin's  The  Honey  Moon  and  the 
anonymous  farce  The  Rendezvous.  Performances  were  to  be 
nightly,29  but  there  were  no  further  newspaper  notices  until 
November  30,  when  John  Howard  Payne's  melodrama  Therese, 
or  the  Orphan  of  China  and  the  anonymous  The  Young  Widow 
were   advertised  for  that   evening.   By  that   date  the   nightly 

26  Register,  December  17  and  21,   1824. 

27  Register,  December  24,  1824. 
88  Register,  November  28,  1828. 
29  Register,  November  5,  1829. 


352  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

bills  had  been  changed  to  Monday,  Wednesday,  Friday,  and 
Saturday  offerings. 

The  November  30  issue  of  the  Register  contained  an  interest- 
ing letter  to  the  editor  in  which  the  writer,  who  signed  himself 
"Goldsmith  and  Co.,"  praised  Therese  as  being  "full  of  life  and 
incident,  sound  in  its  moral  tone,  and  from  the  number  of 
interesting  characters,  well  calculated  to  bring  out  the  talent 
of  the  Theatrical  Corps."  He  concluded  his  remarks  by  stating 
that  "The  unwearied  exertions  of  the  Company  now  performing 
here  to  deserve  and  obtain  public  patronage,  cannot  but  be  ap- 
preciated by  all  who  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  Theatre." 
There  were  no  additional  notices  of  this  company,  however, 
and  the  theater  again  remained  dark  for  five  and  a  half  years. 
One  reason  for  the  neglect  during  these  years  was  very  probably 
the  development  after  1825  of  a  strong  antipathy  to  the  drama 
by  the  evangelical  clergy  and  a  certain  portion  of  the  population, 
as  indicated  by  Guion  Johnson.30  In  spite  of  the  opposition, 
however,  the  professional  offerings  did  not  cease  altogether 
since  there  were  sporadic  engagements  of  companies  through 
the  last  months  of  1840.  After  that  date  professional  entertain- 
ment continued  but  not  in  the  form  of  plays,  as  will  be  indicated 
below. 

The  theater  was  possibly  reopened  on  August  18,  1835,  by 
Mr.  Skelline,  ventriloquist,  who  advertised  in  the  Register  for 
that  date  that  he  would  appear  in  Raleigh  "for  a  few  evenings 
only,"  but  he  did  not  give  the  place  of  performance  or  specific 
dates  of  the  engagement.  On  the  following  November  5,  how- 
ever, Henry  W.  Preston  made  the  following  announcement  in 
the  Star: 

Having  become  the  lessee  of  the  principal  Theatres  in  the  State, 
viz.  Raleigh,  Wilmington,  and  Newbern,  he  [Preston]  has  just 
returned  from  the  North,  where  he  has  succeeded  in  engaging, 
from  the  different  Theatres,  a  strong  and  efficient  Corps  Bra- 
matique,  whose  talents  cannot  be  surpassed  by  any  stock  com- 
pany in  the  United  States.  He  has  added  to  his  Company  the 
French  dancer,  Madame  Vincent,  from  the  Royal  Opera,  Paris. 

Another  announcement  by  Preston  followed  in  the  Register  on 
November  9  and  17  to  the  effect  that  the  theater  would  be  opened 


80  Guion    Griffis    Johnson,    Ante-Bellum    North    Carolina,    a    Social    History     (Chapel    Hill: 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1937),  178-179. 


Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater  353 

on  November  16  and  that  'The  House,  of  late  years,  being  so 
neglected  as  to  render  it  almost  unfit  and  uncomfortable  for 
Ladies  to  enter,  is  now  undergoing  a  thorough  repair."  The 
lengthy  notice  presented  details  of  the  ornate  redecorations, 
such  as  "a  warm  painting  of  variegated  colours,  intermingled 
with  gold"  on  the  proscenium  and  fronts  of  the  boxes,  festooned 
draperies  over  the  stage  doors,  and  "figures  of  different  shapes" 
on  the  panel  front  of  the  boxes.31  There  were  no  additional 
notices  concerning  the  opening  production  on  November  16,  but 
on  December  3  Isaac  Pocock's  melodrama  Rob  Roy  MacGregor 
was  announced  for  that  evening,  with  the  anonymous  farce 
The  Spectre  Bridegroom  and  a  highland  fling  by  Madame 
Vincent.32  Then  Preston  again  ceased  to  advertise,  but,  as  noted 
above,  he  submitted  a  letter  to  the  Grand  Lodge  on  December  12 
asking  permission  to  use  the  theater  for  two  additional  weeks 
free  of  rent  because  of  his  expenditures  in  renovating  the 
building,  and  his  request  was  granted  on  December  20.  This 
would  imply  a  total  engagement  of  six  weeks  and  four  days. 

During  the  next  year  there  was  only  one  performance  at  the 
theater,  that  of  Herr  Zaionczek  "for  a  few  nights  only,"  be- 
ginning on  December  26,  1836.33  His  program  was  as  follows: 
Part  I,  Herr  Zaionczek  in  gymnastic  feats ;  Part  II,  Mr.  Maelzel's 
Celebrated  Automaton  Rope  Dancer ;  and  Part  III,  the  Phantas- 
copal  Illusions,  "in  which  will  be  displayed  several  Scriptural, 
Historical,  and  Comic  subjects."  The  theater  then  remained 
closed  for  two  years.  From  September  3  through  October  1, 
1838,  it  was  advertised  for  rent,  and  the  notice,  signed  by  John 
Marshall,  stated  that  an  efficient  manager  might  make  the 
theater  profitable  during  the  session  of  the  Assembly,  ".  .  . 
as  but  a  small  Stock  Company  will  answer,  if  judiciously  se- 
lected, and  the  incidental  expenses  will  be  light."34  The  adver- 
tisement was  to  be  run  in  the  Washington  National  Intelligencer, 
the  Richmond  Compiler,  and  the  New  York  Evening  Star. 

In  response  to  the  advertisement,  the  Chapman  Family 
opened  on  December  25,  1838,  with  T.  Haynes  Bayley's  Per- 
fection, or  the  Maid  of  Munster  and  Arthur  Murphy's  Three 
Weeks  After  Marriage.  This  "family  troupe"  was  followed  by 


31  Account  quoted  at  length  by   Johnson,   Ante-Bellum  North   Carolina,    176. 

32  Star,  December  3,  1835. 

33  Register,  December  27,  1836. 

34  Register,  September  3-October  1,  1838. 


o 


54  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


another,  the  Edward  L.  Davenport  Family,  who  featured  the 
child  prodigy  Fanny  Davenport,  eleven  years  old.  There  was 
no  notice  of  the  opening  performance,  but  January  7,  1839,  was 
designated  as  the  last  night  of  her  appearance,  when  she  played 
the  role  of  Young  Norval  in  Home's  Douglas.35  She  made  such 
a  great  impression  that  the  Register  carried  a  special  news  item : 
' 'Those  who  wish  to  see  a  specimen  of  acting,  such  as,  perhaps, 
they  will  never  again  enjoy  at  this  Theatre,  and  witness  touches 
of  the  histrionic  art  unrivalled,  at  least  within  our  experience, 
should  not  lose  this  opportunity  of  gratifying  their  curiosity 
and  taste.''36  The  Davenports  traveled  on  to  Charleston  where 
Fanny  appeared  during  January  and  February  in  such  difficult 
roles  as  Shylock  and  King  Richard  III.37 

The  theater  was  opened  for  its  final  brief  season  on  October 
3,  1840,  under  the  management  of  H.  B.  Phillips,  who  an- 
nounced that  he  had  engaged  Mr.  Delaroux  "of  the  principal 
Theatres  of  Europe  and  the  United  States."38  The  season  began 
at  this  early  date  because  of  the  State  Whig  Convention  in 
Raleigh  beginning  on  October  5,  and  in  a  special  communication 
the  Register  called  the  attention  of  the  visitors  to  the  Phillips 
Company:  "There  are  some  excellent  performers  among  them; 
and  as  there  will  probably  be  hundreds  here  who  have  never 
been  in  a  regular  Theatre,  a  fine  opportunity  will  be  offered  for 
gratifying  their  curiosity."39  The  company  opened  on  October  3 
with  the  anonymous  Warlock  of  the  Glen  and  Mrs.  Charles 
Kemble's  A  Day  after  the  Wedding,  but  no  further  notices  ap- 
peared until  November  3,  when  a  benefit  for  Mrs.  Phillips  was 
indicated  in  the  Register  for  the  next  evening.  The  final  per- 
formance at  the  theater  during  the  period  covered  by  this  survey 
was  a  benefit  on  January  8,  1841,  for  Mr.  Luckett,  a  member 
of  the  Phillips  Company. 

Although  there  were  no  further  performances  of  plays  in 
Raleigh  during  the  ante-bellum  years,  except  for  one  produc- 
tion in  1860  to  be  noted  below,  professional  entertainment  con- 
tinued in  other  forms:  namely,  variety  shows,  concert  artists 
and  groups,  magicians,  minstrels,  and  panoramas.  Many  of  these 


85  Register,  January  7,  1839. 

36  January  7,  1839. 

37  Hoole,   The  Ante-Bellum  Charleston  Theatre,  108. 

38  Register,  October  2,  1840. 
30  October  2,  1840. 


Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater  355 

entertainments  were  offered  in  the  City  Hall  above  the  City 
Market,  located  on  the  east  side  of  Fayetteville  Street  between 
Martin  and  Hargett  and  erected  in  1840.40  During  the  remaining 
ante-bellum  years,  the  population  of  Raleigh  increased  from 
2,244  in  1840  to  4,780  in  1860. 

The  largest  number  of  performances  were  in  the  fields  of 
variety  entertainment  and  concert  music,  both  of  which  were 
almost  equally  represented.  The  first  of  the  rather  elaborate 
variety  shows  was  J.  Morris's  Celebrated  New  York  Exhibition, 
consisting  of  "Songs,  Glees,  Duetts,  Recitations,  etc./'  on  Decem- 
ber 12,  1840.  The  show  was  presented  in  a  tent  seating  six 
hundred  on  "the  lot  in  the  rear  of  Jones's  Hotel,"41  and  it  re- 
turned to  the  same  location  on  the  following  January  1.  The  first 
variety  performance  at  the  City  Hall  was  Underner's  Swiss  Bell 
Ringers,  who  appeared  on  December  25  and  26,  1844,  and  they 
were  followed  on  about  February  15  of  the  new  year  by  Colonel 
Chaffin,  "the  original  American  Tom  Thumb,"  who  was  nineteen 
years  old,  weighed  twenty-seven  pounds,  and  was  twenty-seven 
inches  tall.  On  February  18  he  was  advertised  as  appearing 
for  two  days  longer,  and  he  returned  in  1846  for  a  three-day 
engagement,  February  16-18,  "in  the  large  Saloon  at  B.  B. 
Smith's  corner."42  This  was  not  the  General  Tom  Thumb 
(Charles  Sherwood  Stratton)  who  became  internationally 
famous  under  the  management  of  P.  T.  Barnum.  On  October 
23  and  24,  1849,  Signor  Spinetto  and  his  One  Hundred  Learned 
Canary  Birds  and  Java  Sparrows  appeared  in  the  City  Hall; 
and  on  January  24  and  25,  1851,  The  Great  Rhigas,  Prince  of 
Equilibrists  from  Paris,  and  Mr.  Merrifield,  comic  vocalist,  per- 
formed in  the  same  place. 

After  an  interval  of  more  than  three  years,  variety  was  again 
offered  on  May  1-4,  1854,  in  the  form  of  Parrow  and  Company's 
Great  Southern  Burlesque  Opera  and  Ballet  Troupe,  which 
played  in  a  tent  at  an  unidentified  location  and  offered  singing 
and  dancing,  though  there  were  apparently  no  complete  bur- 
lesque operas.  On  September  23  of  the  same  year  MacKensie's 
Vaudeville  Troupe  appeared  at  the  City  Hall;  and  on  May  26 


40  Moses  N.  Amis,  Historical  Raleigh  with  Sketches  of  Wake  County  (Raleigh:  Com- 
mercial Printing  Co.,  1913),  94;  Swain,  Early  Times  in  Raleigh,  "Map  of  Raleigh  for  1847," 
opposite  p.  41. 

41  Register,  December  11,  1840. 

42  Register,  February  17,  1846, 


356  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

and  27,  1859,  Everett's  Varieties,  "consisting  of  Magic,  Mirth, 
and  Minstrelsy,"  played  in  a  tent  on  Nash  Square  and  featured 
a  juvenile  ballet.  At  the  beginning  of  the  next  year  the  Joe 
Parker  family  played  at  the  City  Hall  for  two  weeks,  February 
13-25,  1860,  and  during  the  second  week  the  Register  reported 
that  the  company  was  being  "favored  with  crowded  and  fash- 
ionable audiences."43  Next  appeared  the  Blaisdell  Brothers' 
Swiss  Bell  Ringers  on  the  following  May  18  and  19.  In  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  the  Bailey  Varieties  played  for  two  weeks, 
beginning  on  October  1,  in  a  tent  located  in  Baptist  Grove.44 
Since  Fair  Week  began  on  October  8,  the  Parker  Family  returned 
to  play  for  a  week  in  the  City  Hall  contemporaneously  with  the 
Bailey  show.  The  only  notice  of  the  production  of  a  play  during 
these  years  was  a  special  news  item  in  the  Register  for  October 
10,  1860,  to  the  effect  that  the  Bailey  troupe  on  that  evening 
would  offer  Tom  Taylor's  Our  American  Cousin  with  George 
Bailey,  who  "is  considered  by  many  of  our  citizens  one  of  the  best 
comic  actors  they  have  ever  seen."  He  probably  played  the 
leading  role  of  Lord  Dundreary.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the 
Parker  Family  was  again  advertised  from  November  21  through 
December  5  at  the  City  Hall. 

In  the  field  of  concert  entertainment,  the  first  group  was 
Thomas  Hamblin's  Original  Operatic  Serenaders,  who  appeared 
on  January  17  and  18,  1845,  at  the  City  Hall.  Within  a  few 
months,  on  April  4  and  5,  The  Orphean  Family  from  the  Banks 
of  the  Kennebec  offered  a  concert  of  vocal  music.  They  were 
followed  on  March  28,  1846,  by  Mr.  Dempster,  vocalist  and  com- 
poser, who  returned  on  February  20,  1851,  to  appear  in  Yar- 
brough's  Saloon.  On  December  15,  1846,  W.  F.  Ramsay,  a  Scotch 
piper,  presented  a  concert  on  four  different  bagpipes ;  and  on  the 
following  March  30  the  Hughes  Family  presented  a  vocal  and 
instrumental  program,  including  operatic  selections.  An  unusual 
performance  was  that  of  Herr  Stoepel  with  his  renditions  on 
"the  Wood  and  Straw  Instrument"  on  March  9,  1849,  at  the  City 
Hall,  assisted  by  Madame  Lovarny,  who  sang  in  several  langu- 
ages. The  longest  engagement  was  that  of  Old  Joe  Sweeney  and 
J.  A.  Sweeney,  appearing  for  three  nights,  December  19-21,  1850, 
at  the  City  Hall  in  vocal  selections. 


43  February  22,  1860. 

"Register.  October  3  and  10,  1860. 


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Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater  357 

The  most  noted  figure  in  the  entertainment  world  to  visit  ante- 
bellum Raleigh  was  Madame  Anna  Bishop,  English  soprano,  who 
toured  both  the  western  and  eastern  hemispheres  during  her 
career.  She  appeared  at  Yarbrough's  Saloon  on  March  24  and  25, 
1851,  in  a  Grand  Lyric  Concert  in  Costumes,  assisted  by  Signor 
Novelli,  basso,  and  Mr.  Boscha,  pianist.  The  reviewer  for  the 
Register  found  her  to  be  an  "accomplished  and  beautiful  lady" 
as  well  as  "an  inimitable  actress,"  and  he  added  that  ".  .  .  she 
far  surpassed  even,  the  expectations  which  her  high  reputation 
had  excited  in  our  community."45  She  returned  to  Yarbrough's 
on  April  12  and  14,  1853,  and  was  again  well  received.  Another 
famous  artist  was  Madame  Amelia  Siminski,  advertised  as  "The 
Greatest  and  most  wonderful  Flutist  of  the  Age,"  who  appeared 
at  Yarbrough's  on  March  31,  1854,  assisted  by  Herr  Bauer. 

Among  the  earliest  minstrels  to  tour  in  the  South  were  the 
Original  Plantation  Melodists,  who  played  at  the  City  Hall  on 
November  26-28,  1844.  The  next  minstrel  did  not  appear  until 
nine  years  later  when  the  Fakir  of  Siva's  Great  Southern 
Ethiopian  Opera  and  Ballet  Troupe  opened  for  a  three-day 
engagement  at  the  City  Hall  on  November  28,  1853.  After  a  brief 
interval  the  Ned  Davis  Olio  Minstrels  played  in  the  same  hall  on 
the  following  February  1  and  2,  and  within  the  same  year 
Sweeney's  Virginia  Minstrels  appeared  for  a  three-day  engage- 
ment at  the  Odd  Fellows  Hall  on  October  16-18.  The  last  show  of 
this  kind  before  the  war  was  the  Julien  Minstrels  for  one  night 
at  the  City  Hall  on  February  26,  1856. 

The  first  of  the  popular  magicians  was  the  Fakir  of  Ava  with 
his  Splendid  Illusive  Lectures,  assisted  by  Miss  Jane  Wyman,  at 
the  City  Hall  on  January  14-16,  1845.  During  the  next  month, 
Haskell,  magician  and  ventriloquist,  was  advertised  on  Febru- 
ary 14  to  appear  shortly,  an  added  attraction  being  Signor 
Veronia's  marionettes.  During  the  next  season  both  Haskell  and 
the  marionettes  returned  as  a  part  of  the  Emir  of  Ajah's  Grand 
Soiree,  which  played  for  one  night  on  April  6,  1846.  The  last 
magician  was  Everett  and  company  who  performed  on  October 
15  and  16, 1856,  at  the  City  Hall. 

One  popular  type  of  entertainment  which  is  now  obsolete  was 
the  moving  panorama,  a  series  of  pictures  exhibited  one  at  a  time 


45  Register,  March  26,  1851. 


358  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

by  being  unrolled  before  the  audience.  Although  Herr  Zaionczek 
had  offered  his  Phantascopal  Illusions  in  1836,  as  indicated  above, 
the  first  large  panorama  to  visit  Raleigh  was  Pomarede's  Origi- 
nal Panorama  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  Indian  Life,  which 
was  advertised  on  June  26,  1850,  "for  a  few  nights  only"  but 
which  was  still  being  exhibited  at  the  City  Hall  on  July  3.46  Next, 
Rossiter's  New  and  Wonderful  Paintings,  chiefly  biblical,  were 
shown  for  three  days,  October  31-November  2,  1854.  One  of  the 
most  elaborate  exhibitions  that  ever  toured  the  South  opened  in 
Raleigh  with  a  matinee  on  Christmas  Day,  1859,  at  the  City 
Hall  and  stayed  for  three  additional  evening  performances.  The 
attraction  was  Dr.  Beale's  Exhibition  of  India  and  the  Sepoy 
Rebellion,  consisting  of  animated  scenes  with  guns  firing,  battle- 
ships moving,  troops  attacking,  etc.  It  was  advertised  as  "a  study 
for  the  mechanic;  a  school  for  the  artist,  it  being  the  first  and 
only  exhibition  of  the  kind  either  in  the  United  States  or 
Europe"47  This  was  followed  almost  a  year  later  on  December 
19,  1860,  by  the  Moving  Mirror  of  Bunyan  Tableaux,  a  presenta- 
tion of  sixty  scenes  from  Pilgrim's  Progress  with  life-size  figures. 
It  proved  to  be  so  popular  that  it  remained  for  two  weeks  at  the 
City  Hall. 

The  Bunyan  panorama  was  the  last  professional  attraction  in 
Raleigh  during  the  ante-bellum  years.  At  the  time  it  appeared, 
political  tensions  were  growing  rapidly,  and  the  war  clouds  were 
fast  gathering.  There  were  no  further  performances  of  any  kind 
through  December  31,  1861. 


40  North  Carolina  Standard   (Raleigh),  July  3,  1850. 
47  Register,  December  21,  1859. 


NORTH  CAROLINA  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  CONGRESS 

By  Wilfred  B.  Yearns,  Jr. 

When  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  President  of  the 
United  States  provoked  the  secession  of  the  lower  South,  North 
Carolina,  like  the  other  border  states,  considered  such  hasty 
action  inadvisable.  The  right  of  secession  was  unquestioned,  but 
the  state's  subsistence  agriculture  and  growing  industrialism 
made  it  somewhat  like  the  North  and  reluctant  to  act  precipi- 
tately. Opinion  *bn  the  expediency  of  secession  was  sharply 
divided,  with  the  outcome  depending  largely  on  the  policies  of  the 
Lincoln  government.  The  "Unionists"  or  "conservatives"  be- 
longed mainly  to  the  old  Whig  Party  and  until  the  firing  on  Fort 
Sumter  considered  secession  unwise.  The  "secessionists"  or 
"Democrats"  had  resolved  by  1861  that  honor  and  safety  de- 
manded immediate  alliance  with  the  lower  South. 

In  November  and  December,  1860,  the  latter  demanded  a 
plebiscite  on  secession.  The  Unionists,  then  in  a  slight  majority, 
opposed  any  referendum  lest  opinion  be  swayed  by  the  positive 
secessionist  clamor.  But  the  seizure  of  the  forts  below  Wilming- 
ton and  the  secession  of  other  states  abetted  the  disunionists.  By 
mid-January,  1861,  most  Unionists  were  reconciled  to  a  conven- 
tion and  hoped  that  a  defeat  of  secessionism  might  establish  a 
border  state  pattern.  The  legislature  called  for  convention  elec- 
tions on  February  28  with  the  voters  also  to  decide  on  "con- 
vention" or  "no  convention."  After  a  short  and  vigorous 
campaign  the  convention  call  was  defeated  by  a  bare  651  votes. 

Events  quickly  followed,  however,  to  end  this  indecision.  The 
North  Carolinians  at  the  Washington  Peace  Conference  in  Feb- 
ruary reported  the  complete  failure  of  compromise.  Simultane- 
ously a  delegation  to  the  Confederate  Congress  in  Montgomery 
recognized  the  futility  of  seeking  any  settlement  and  advised 
immediate  secession.  Lincoln's  call  for  75,000  volunteers  climaxed 
this  crisis  and  "did  more  than  all  the  secessionists  to  break  up 
the  Union.  .  .  J'1  Governor  John  W.  Ellis's  refusal  to  fulfill  the 
requisition  made  on  North  Carolina  was  generally  approved  by 
conservative  and  secessionist  alike.  In  the  campaign  that  fol- 


1  J.    G.    de   Roulhac    Hamilton    (ed.),    The    Correspondence    of   Jonathan    Worth    (Raleigh, 
1909),  I,  150. 

[359] 


360  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

lowed  the  hurried  call  for  a  state  convention  on  May  20,  few 
opposed  secession  and  no  candidate  succeeded  on  a  platform  of 
staunch  Unionism. 

In  the  brief  campaign  for  convention  delegates  there  were  no 
clearly  denned  parties  or  party  issues.  Conservatives  protested 
the  secessionists'  assuming  the  right  of  leadership,  though  by 
May  political  rivalry  was  usually  based  on  a  contest  for  office  and 
influence.2  But  for  practical  reasons  the  old  political  organiza- 
tions were  retained  as  the  most  convenient  method  of  supporting 
candidates.  The  result  was  that  the  successful  candidate  generally 
represented  his  county's  stand  on  party  and  secession.  The 
presidential  campaign  of  1860  had  given  new  life  to  the  North 
Carolina  Whigs,  who  revealed  surprising  strength  when  the 
convention  was  organized.  This  became  apparent  when  the 
Democrat  Weldon  N.  Edwards,  supported  by  the  secessionists, 
was  narrowly  elected  president  of  the  convention  over  William 
A.  Graham,  a  Whig  conservative.3 

After  adopting  unanimously  an  ordinance  of  secession  the 
convention  ratified  the  Confederate  constitution  and  proceeded 
to  elect  the  allotted  ten  members  to  the  Montgomery  Congress. 
Both  conservatives  and  secessionists  held  caucuses  and  nomi- 
nated unofficial  tickets.  The  former  assembled  at  the  residence 
of  William  W.  Holden,  editor  of  the  Raleigh  Standard,  and  nomi- 
nated a  number  of  strong  conservatives.4  The  secessionists  in 
turn  cleverly  catered  to  a  larger  part  of  the  electorate  by  in- 
cluding on  their  ticket  several  recent  converts.5  The  balloting 
for  each  district  was  sharply  divided  between  the  two  factions. 
Had  the  original  secessionists  voted  together  consistently  they 
could  have  swept  the  elections  with  their  small  majority;  but 
approximately  a  score  of  them  acknowledged  the  need  for  har- 
mony and  combined  with  the  conservatives  often  enough  to  split 
the  delegation.6 


2  "I  have  not  seen  it  as  you  have,  but  I  know  well  enough  the  proscriptive,  unscrupulous 
&  corrupt  policy  of  the  dominant  party  of  which  you  speak."  Edwin  G.  Reade  to  William  A. 
Graham,  July  2,  1861,  William  A.  Graham  Papers,  North  Carolina  Department  of  Archives 
and   History,   Raleigh. 

3  Journal  of  the  Convention  of  the  People  of  North  Carolina,  Held  on  the  20th  Day  of 
May,  A.  D.,  1861,  5,  6. 

*  These  were  Bedford  Brown,  H.  W.  Miller,  George  Green,  W.  N.  H.  Smith,  R.  C.  Pur- 
year,   W.  R.  Myers,   and  A.  T.  Davidson. 

'"'  The  secessionists  nominated  George  Davis,  Thomas  Ruffin,  W.  W.  Avery,  R.  H.  Smith, 
T.  D.  S.  McDowell,  J.  R.  Cunningham,  A.  W.  Venable,  R.  L.  Patterson,  Burton  Ci-aige,  and 
W.  H.  Woodfin. 

6  These  independents  represented  all  sections  of  the  state. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         361 

The  delegation  to  the  Provisional  Congress  included,  in  the 
order  of  their  districts,  William  Nathan  Harrell  Smith,7  Thomas 
Ruffin,8  Thomas  David  Smith  McDowell,9  Abraham  Watkins 
Venable,10  John  Motley  Morehead,11  Richard  Clanselle  Pur- 
year,12  Francis  Burton  Craige,13  and  Allen  Turner  Davidson;14 
William  Waightstill  Avery15  and  George  Davis16  were  elected 
delegates  at  large.  Usually  each  congressman  represented  the 
majority  party  in  his  district.17  Those  with  obviously  superior 
qualifications  won  easily ;  where  the  contestants  were  essentially 
equal  the  balloting  was  close.  Of  the  delegates  at  large,  George 
Davis  was  a  Unionist  Whig  from  the  east  and  W.  W.  Avery  a 
secessionist  Democrat  from  the  west.  The  result  was  a  well- 
balanced  delegation  evenly  divided  between  Whigs  and  Demo- 
crats. In  addition  it  contained  four  Unionists,  four  original 
secessionists,  and  two  secessionists  converted  by  the  failure  of 
the  Washington  Peace  Conference. 

The  Provisional  Congress,  a  temporary  body  of  one  year's 
duration,  had  begun  on  February  4,  but  the  North  Carolina 
delegates  did  not  arrive  until  five  months  later  at  the  third 
session.  By  this  time  the  Congress  had  slipped,  with  some  excep- 
tion, into  the  role  it  was  destined  to  play  for  the  next  four  years. 
Confederate  leaders  originally  were  extremely  eager  to  inaugu- 
rate a  harmonious  and  efficient  government.  Old  rivalries  had 
been  evident  even  in  the  several  secession  conventions  and  their 


7  Smith  graduated  from  Yale  and  was  an  attorney  in  Hertford  County.  He  had  served  in 
the  United  States  Congress  as  a  Whig,  and  he  opposed  secession  until  Lincoln's  call  for 
volunteers. 

8  Ruffin  graduated  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey  and  practiced  law  in  Wayne  County. 
He  had  served  in  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat,  and  in  1861  he  was  president  of  the  North 
Carolina  State  Bank.  He  favored  compromise  until  the  failure  of  the  Washington  Peace 
Conference. 

9  McDowell  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  then  became  a  lawyer  and 
a  planter  of  importance.  He  represented  Bladen  County  in  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat 
and  was  an  early  secessionist. 

10  Venable  studied  law  and  medicine  at  Hampden-Sydney  and  Princeton  respectively,  then 
practiced  law  in  Granville  County.  He  served  in  the  United  States  Congress  as  a  State 
Rights  Democrat  and  was  an  original  secessionist.  He  maintained  a  large  plantation. 

11  Morehead  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  then  read  law  and  practiced 
in  Guilford  County.  He  became  wealthy  through  his  cotton*  mills  and  merchant  houses.  In 
1846  to  1848  he  was  Whig  governor  of  North  Carolina  and  in  1861  was  a  Unionist. 

12  Puryear  was  a  planter  in  Yadkin  County  and  had  served  in  the  United  States  Congress 
as  a  Whig.  He  opposed  secession  until  Lincoln's  call  for  troops. 

13  Craige  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and  became  editor  of  the 
Western  Carolinian  in  Rowan  County.  He  later  read  law  and  practiced,  and  soon  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  Congress.  He  was  a  strong  Democrat  and  an  original  secessionist. 

11  Davidson  studied  law  while  working  in  his  father's  store.  He  became  a  successful  advo- 
cate in  Cherokee  County,  and  in  1860  was  president  of  the  Miners'  and  Planters'  Bank  of 
Mt.  Murphry.  He  had  had  no  legislative  experience  before  1861,  though  he  was  a  Whig  and 
a  strong  opponent  of  secession. 

15  Avery  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and  adopted  his  father's  pro- 
fessions of  planter  and  lawyer.  He  represented  Burke  County  in  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat 
and   advocated   immediate  secession   on   Lincoln's   election. 

16  Davis  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and  commenced  a  successful 
law  practice  in  Wilmington.  He  was  a  strong  Unionist  Whig  in  1861,  but  turned  secessionist 
after  the  failure  of  the  Washington  Peace  Conference. 

17  Craige  of  the  seventh  district  was  the  only  exception. 


362  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

continuation  might  easily  produce  doubts  of  a  lasting  unity. 
Therefore  the  Provisional  Congress  took  every  precaution  to 
avoid  appearances  of  indecision  or  dissention.18  In  addition  it 
recognized  the  weakness  of  a  legislative  body  in  emergencies  and 
during  the  first  heat  of  war  it  avoided  policy  making  whenever 
possible.  To  be  sure,  its  membership  was  exceptionally  experi- 
enced, but  the  fact  that  Congress  was  a  "creature  of  conventions'* 
detracted  from  its  appeal  as  a  popular  body.  Conversely,  Presi- 
dent Jefferson  Davis  embodied  the  new  Confederate  spirit.  Well 
versed  in  political  and  military  life,  he  quickly  captured  the 
imagination  of  the  people  and  thereupon  assumed  a  role  quite 
incommensurate  with  federal  precedent.  During  the  first  year  he 
directly  or  indirectly  controlled  all  major  legislation,  and  Con- 
gress was  faced  with  the  alternative  of  acceding  to  or  opposing 
the  administration.  Actually  the  decision  was  not  difficult,  for  in 
1861  the  Confederacy  was  popular  and  both  branches  of  govern- 
ment were  essentially  in  agreement. 

The  North  Carolina  provisional  congressmen  for  the  most 
part  accepted  this  situation.  Military  affairs  were  satisfactory, 
prices  were  steady,  state  rights  were  respected,  and  popular 
enthusiasm  was  high.  Politics  was  at  a  low  ebb  and  few  criticized 
the  Davis  administration  for  its  Democratic  tinge.  Former 
Unionists  and  secessionists  alike  occupied  responsible  govern- 
ment positions  with  only  the  radicals  meeting  discrimination. 
Nevertheless,  within  these  limits,  the  North  Carolina  delegation 
quickly  revealed  itself  as  no  legislative  cat's-paw.  It  offered  little 
concerted  opposition  to  the  administration  program,  but  oc- 
casionally voiced  ideas  of  federal  conduct  which  seemed  appli- 
cable to  North  Carolina's  relationship  with  the  Confederacy.  The 
usual  technique  was  to  demand  what  modifications  in  the  admin- 
istration program  it  deemed  necessary  and  then,  whether  suc- 
cessful or  not,  accept  the  measure  without  quarrel. 

By  the  summer  of  1861  the  Confederacy's  original  policy  of 
shoestring  finance  had  proved  to  be  inadequate.  Complete  de- 
pendence on  credit  would  create  a  redundant  currency,  so 
taxation  seemed  necessary.  On  August  3  the  Committee  on 
Finance  proposed  the  issue  of  $1,000,000  in  treasury  notes  and 


18  Leadership  of  the  Yancey-Rhett  type  was  avoided,  and  Rhett  himself  was  suspect  by 
many  because  "he  is  so  damned  impracticable,  that  I  am  afraid  he  will  kick  up  hell  .  .  . 
anyhow."  John  R.  Horsey  to  William  P.  Miles,  December  10,  1860,  Miles  Papers,  University 
of  North  Carolina. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         363 

a  war  tax  for  their  redemption  of  .5  per  cent  on  all  taxable 
property.19  During  the  discussion  of  this  and  supplementary  bills, 
North  Carolina,  having  a  high  property  valuation,  was  a  con- 
sistent critic  of  heavy  taxation.  The  majority  of  the  delegation 
first  attempted  to  allocate  the  taxes  raised  to  paying  the  interest 
on  the  public  debt.20  Failing  here,  they  suggested  a  halving  of 
the  tax  rate,  but  were  again  defeated.21  At  other  times  they  voted 
with  the  majority  for  a  $500  property  exemption,  against  the 
forced  funding  of  treasury  notes,  and  against  tax  favoritism  to 
corporations.22  On  a  test  vote  they  opposed  the  war  tax  pro- 
gram,23 but  after  being  defeated  by  a  wide  margin  they  approved 
the  bill  unanimously  on  its  final  passage.24  Avery  and  Craige 
were  consistent  proponents  of  the  tax  program,  while  Venable 
and  Morehead  supported  it  reservedly;  the  others  disliked  it 
roundly  but  accepted  it. 

On  other  economic  matters  the  delegation  proved  quite  ortho- 
dox. In  August,  1861,  they  opposed  a  general  embargo  bill,  and 
in  February,  1862,  helped  defeat  the  free  trade  movement.25  In 
addition  they  approved  keeping  southern  money  crops  from 
northern  hands  and  sanctioned  a  law  prohibiting  the  export  of 
most  staple  crops  except  through  Confederate  ports.26  These 
measures  were  an  integral  part  of  the  administration's  com- 
mercial policy,  and  while  about  a  third  of  the  states  opposed 
them,  there  was  no  consistent  state  alignment.  North  Carolina's 
general  approval  of  them  indicated  a  desire  to  cooperate. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  Confederacy  the  central  govern- 
ment took  several  half-way  measures  to  gain  control  of  the 
nation's  manpower.  The  act  of  March  8,  1861,  authorized  the 
President  to  receive  100,000  volunteers  from  the  several  states' 
militia,  while  those  of  May  8  and  May  11  permitted  independent 
companies,  battalions,  and  regiments  to  volunteer.  When  North 
Carolina  entered  the  Confederacy  there  was  already  some  dis- 
content over  these  latter  acts,  for,  while  retaining  control  over 
its  militia,  the  state  had  no  jurisdiction  over  those  organizations 


19  A  Bill  to  be  entitled  An  Act  to  authorize  the  issue   of  Treasury  Notes,   and  to  provide 
a  War  Tax  for  their  redemption. 

20  Journal  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,   1861-1865    (Washington, 
1904),  I,  334,  335.  Hereinafter  cited  as  Journal  of  Congress. 

21  Journal  of  Congress,  I,  335. 

22  Journal  of  Congress,  I,  330-332,  577. 

23  Journal  of  Congress,  I.  336. 
2i  Journal  of  Congress,  I,  359. 

25  Journal  of  Congress,  I,  428,  820,  821. 

26  Journal  of  Congress,  I,  308. 


364  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

raised  independently.  Yet  Craige  and  Venable  were  the  only 
consistent  opponents  of  granting  the  administration  almost  full 
control  over  all  volunteers.27  The  delegation  as  a  whole  approved 
the  filling  of  vacancies  by  independent  volunteering  and  per- 
mitted the  President  to  appoint  recruiting  officers  in  each  state 
and  to  receive  state  militia  for  terms  of  three  years.28  The  only 
major  rebuff  it  suffered  was  the  failure  to  repeal  the  act  of 
August  21  authorizing  the  President  to  accept  for  local  defense 
and  special  service  an  unspecified  number  of  volunteers  to  defend 
exposed  places.29 

The  Provisional  Congress  handled  other  important  legislation,: 
but  the  Davis  administration  initiated  most  measures  and  saw 
them  through  without  impairment.  Legislation  was  usually 
routine,  with  state  differences  only  occasionally  cropping  out. 
The  North  Carolina  delegation  accepted  this  condition  and 
showed  marked  opposition  to  the  administration  only  on  the  dis- 
position of  volunteer  troops.  From  tabulations  of  the  voting  on 
the  major  issues  before  Congress,  Ruffin,  Davidson,  and  Craige 
opposed  a  majority  of  the  administration's  measures.  The  others 
maintained  an  independence  of  thought  which  frequently  pro- 
vided a  divided  vote,  but  generally  accepted  the  administration 
program.  Another  aid  to  harmony  was  the  disposition  of  the 
Provisional  Congress  "to  turn  over  important  matters  to  the 
next  Congress,"  which  would  better  represent  the  people.30 

This  Congress  lasted  only  one  year,  and  the  North  Carolina 
legislature  named  the  first  Wednesday  in  November,  1861,  as 
election  day  for  the  ten  representatives  to  the  Permanent  Con- 
gress.31 The  anomaly  of  a  regular  campaign  in  wartime  forced 
candidates  into  rather  subtler  tactics  than  usual.  During  mid- 
summer they  and  their  supporters  began  discussing  campaign 
strategy.  They  realized  that  "the  minds  of  the  people  seem  to  be 
engrossed  in  military  matters  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  every- 
thing else,"32  and  that  a  canvass  might  appear  unpatriotic.  Candi- 
dates, therefore,  arranged  to  be  "drafted"  by  "spontaneous"  local 


27  Journal  of  Conoress,  I,  667,  669,  673,  675. 

28  Journal  of  Congress,  I,  667-669,  673-675. 

20  This  act  extended  the  President  unusual  latitude,  for  he  was  expected  to  use  it  infre- 
quently. As  the  problem  of  local  defense  became  more  urgent,  Davis's  persistent  use  of  the 
act  caused  intermittent  quarrels  between  state  and  Confederate  governments.  North  Carolina 
voted  5-3  for  its  repeal,  but  was  defeated  7-5.  Journal  of  Congress,  I,   765,   771,   772. 

30  R.   C.   Puryear  to  William   A.   Graham,    February   5,   1862,   Graham   Papers. 

111  Public  Laws  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  Passed  by  the  General  Assembly,  at  its 
Second  Extra  Session,  1861,  5. 

'M  A.  J.  Galloway  to  T.  D.  S.  McDowell,  September  30,  1861,  McDowell  Papers,  University 
of  North  Carolina. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         365 

convention,  and  indicated  acceptance  by  publishing  short  "cards" 
in  the  newspapers,  swearing  by  Confederate  principles,  and 
promising  a  "vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  to  a  successful 
conclusion"  if  elected.  Meanwhile  they  lined  up  men  of  good 
standing  to  direct  their  campaign. 

About  two  weeks  before  election  day  the  candidates  began 
speaking  tours  of  their  districts,  attempting  to  appear  at  least 
once  in  each  county.  Rivals  in  the  Fifth  District  staged  joint  de- 
bates, but  elsewhere  they  warily  avoided  appearances  of  dis- 
harmony or  ambition.  Moreover  there  was  little  on  which  to 
electioneer.  The  Confederacy  was  still  popular  and  government 
policies  had  not  yet  crystalized  enough  to  attract  much  criticism. 
The  secrecy  maintained  within  the  Provisional  Congress  had 
concealed  any  disagreements  and  national  problems  did  not  in- 
fluence the  first  election.  Secessionists  and  Democrats  claimed 
that  those  "who  were  most  zealous  for  the  war  ought  to  conduct 
it."33  Former  Unionists  and  Whigs  denounced  this  proscription  on 
the  grounds  that  "old  Union  men  have  gone  to  war"  and  deserved 
representation  "to  look  after  their  interests."34 

The  electorate  paid  scant  heed  even  to  this  subdued  cam- 
paigning, and  as  the  loyalty  of  each  candidate  was  unquestioned 
the  determining  factor  was  the  candidate's  prior  political  affilia- 
tion. The  delegation  to  the  First  Congress  included,  in  the  order 
of  their  districts,  W.  N.  H.  Smith,  Robert  Rufus  Bridgers,35 
Owen  Rand  Kenan,36  T.  D.  S.  McDowell,  Archibald  Hunter 
Arrington,37  James  Robert  McLean,38  Thomas  Samuel  Ashe,39 
William  Lander,40  Burgess  Sidney  Gaither,41  and  A.  T.  Davidson. 
These  men  usually  represented  the  majority  party  in  their  dis- 
tricts   immediately    before    secession.    An    equal    number    of 


33  E.  G.  Reade  to  William  A.  Graham,  July  2,  1861,  Graham  Papers. 
ZiHillsboro  Recorder,   October  30,   1861. 

35  After  graduating  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  Bridgers  was  at  one  time  or 
another  a  planter,  bank  president,  railroad  president,  and  lawyer.  He  represented  Edge- 
combe County  in  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat  and  was  an  original  secessionist. 

36  Kenan  studied  law,  then  became  planter  and  lawyer.  He  represented  Duplin  County  in 
the  legislature  as  a  Democrat  and  was  an  original  secessionist. 

37  Arrington  attended  Louisburg  College  and  became  a  successful  lawyer  and  planter  in 
Nash  County.  He  served  in  the  United  States  Congress  as  a  Democrat  and  was  a  condi- 
tional secessionist. 

38  McLean  received  an  academic  education,  read  law,  and  became  a  successful  advocate. 
He  had  represented  Guilford  County  in  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat  and  was  an  original 
secessionist. 

39  Ashe  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  studied  law  under  Thomas 
Ruffin,  and  commenced  practice  in  Anson  County.  He  served  in  the  legislature  as  a  Whig 
and  opposed  secession  until  Lincoln's  call  for  volunteers. 

40  Lander  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  came  to  North  Carolina  as  a  boy  and  settled  in  Lincoln 
County.  After  an  academic  education  he  read  law  and  commenced  practice.  He  served  in  the 
legislature  as  a  Democrat   and  was  an   original  secessionist. 

41  Gaither  attended  the  University  of  Georgia  for  a  time  and  then  read  law  and  practiced 
in  Burke  County.  He  served  in  the  legislature  as  a  Whig,  and  was  a  Unionist  in  1861. 


366  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Unionist- Whig  and  secessionist-Democrat  districts  chose  men  of 
corresponding  political  antecedents.  In  the  Unionist-Whig  fifth 
and  sixth  districts,  two  secession-Democrats  profited  from  the 
war  spirit,  but  they  were  moderates  of  long  standing  and  won 
over  extremists  of  both  sides. 

The  Democrats  held  a  majority  in  the  legislature,  but  a  strong 
Whig  minority  combined  with  indecision  among  the  Democrats 
to  secure  a  compromise  Senate  delegation.  After  twelve  ballots 
W.  W.  Avery  and  Thomas  Lanier  Clingman,  two  western  Demo- 
crats, cast  their  support  for  George  Davis,  expecting  the 
other  senator  to  be  a  western  Democrat.42  Had  Avery  or  Cling- 
man or  both  then  withdrawn  this  would  have  been  the  case.  But 
upon  their  continuing,  all  Whig  candidates  withdrew  and  suc- 
cessfully backed  William  Theophiius  Dortch,43  a  moderate  seces- 
sion Democrat  also  from  the  east.44  In  the  Senate  Davis  drew  only 
a  two-year  term ;  he  sought  re-election  in  mid-1862,  but  a  Whig 
legislature  chose  on  the  first  ballot  a  leading  conservative,  Wil- 
liam Alexander  Graham.45  Davis  resigned  shortly  before  his  term 
ended  to  become  Confederate  Attorney-General,  and  Governor 
Zebulon  B.  Vance  offered  the  unexpired  term  first  to  Graham  and 
then  to  David  L.  Swain.46  They  refused  and  it  was  accepted  by  a 
staunch  conservative,  Edwin  Godwin  Reade.47  Dortch  had  drawn 
a  four-year  term  and  in  December,  1864,  the  legislature  again 
had  to  fill  this  important  post.  Dortch's  strong  support  of  the 
Davis  administration  had  alienated  even  the  Democrats,  and  in 
order  to  defeat  the  Holdenite  candidate,  E.  G.  Reade,  they  com- 
bined with  the  Vance  conservatives  to  elect  Thomas  S.  Ashe.48 
The  war  ended  before  Ashe's  term  began. 


42  Raleigh  Standard,  September  18,  1861;  Sketch  of  Avery's  life  in  Walser  Papers,  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  The  shifting  votes  can  be  seen  in  Journal  of  the  Senate,  Second 
Extra  Session,  1861,  123-152  passim:  and  Journal  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Second  Extra 
Session,  1861,  153-194  passim. 

43  Despite  a  limited  education,  Dortch  read  law  and  became  a  successful  advocate  in 
Wayne  County.  He  served  in  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat  and  became  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  He  was  a  secessionist,  though  he  incurred  his  party's  disfavor  by  for- 
getting politics  after  secession. 

44  Journal  of  the  Senate,  Second  Extra  Session,  1861,  152,  153;  Journal  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  Second  Extra  Session,  1861,  152,  153;  Journal  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Second 
Extra  Session,  1861,  194,  195. 

^Journal  of  the  Senate,  1862,  52,  53;  Journal  of  the  House  of  Commons,  1862,  46,  47. 
Graham  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and  began  a  career  of  law  and 
politics  in  Orange  County.  He  became  Whig  senator  in  the  United  States  Congress  and  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  under  Fillmore.  He  opposed  secession  in  1861. 

46  Z.  B.  Vance  to  William  A.  Graham,  January  4,  1864,  Graham  Papers;  Z.  B.  Vance  to 
David  L.  Swain,  January  11,  1864,  Zebulon  B.  Vance  Papers,  North  Carolina  Department 
of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh. 

47  Z.  B.  Vance  to  Edwin  G.  Reade,  January  14,  1864,  Vance's  Letter  Books,  IX,  2,  Con- 
federate Archives,  Washington,  D.  C.  Reade  received  an  academic  education,  then  read  law 
and  commenced  practice  in  Person  County.  He  was  a  Whig  and  later  served  in  the  United 
States  Congress  as  an  American.  He  strongly  opposed  secession. 

48  Journal  of  the  Senate,  186U-65,  45-74  passim;  Journal  of  the  House  of  Commons,  186^-1865, 
74-112,  passim. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         367 

Soon  after  the  First  Permanent  Congress  convened  it  faced  its 
most  controversial  task.  Volunteering  had  proved  inadequate  and 
by  1862  there  was  concern  lest  even  the  volunteers  refuse  to 
re-enlist.  At  the  request  of  President  Davis,  Congress,  with  only 
two  dissenting  North  Carolinians,  passed  the  act  of  April  16, 
1862,  drafting  all  men  between  eighteen  and  thirty-five.49  But  the 
press  of  danger  soon  abated  and  the  delegation  became  much  less 
tolerant  of  conscription.  Besides  doubting  its  constitutionality, 
they  claimed  that  it  interfered  with  state  functions  and  officials 
and  weakened  the  state  militia.50  When  efforts  were  made  in  the 
fall  of  1862  to  extend  the  draft  age  the  opposition  countered  with 
proposals  to  requisition  several  hundred  thousand  men  from  the 
states.  The  North  Carolina  representatives  favored  this  plan, 
but  both  senators  doubted  its  effectiveness  and  the  substitute 
failed.51  The  age  limit  was  then  extended  to  forty-five,  but  with 
the  approval  of  only  two  North  Carolina  representatives.52  Other 
discussions  of  conscription  found  North  Carolina  in  opposition 
when  state  prerogatives  were  threatened.  They  approved  a  draft 
of  foreigners  and  citizens  from  occupied  areas;53  but  they  op- 
posed rushing  all  draftees  into  service  immediately,  the  drafting 
of  state  militiamen  on  active  duty,  and  any  further  extension  of 
the  draft  age.54  The  Senate  delegation  was  moderately  pro- 
conscription,  but  the  representatives  were  hostile  to  the  very 
principle  of  conscription. 

But  lest  the  draft  endanger  the  home  front,  Congress  was 
forced  to  devise  means  of  deferring  necessary  civilians.  Its  origi- 
nal system  was  to  exempt  men  in  certain  classes  of  occupations. 
Congressmen  opposing  conscription  always  favored  generous 
exemptions,  and  North  Carolina  consistently  strove  to  increase 
the  number  of  class  exemptions.  The  bitterest  controversy  was  on 
drafting  state  employees,55  and  the  delegation  succeeded  in 
exempting  all  officials  deferred  by  state  laws.56  Its  only  opposi- 

49  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  154;  V,  228.  Unless  stated,  the  votes  given  will  include  both 
House  and  Senate  votes. 

50  Gaither  said,  "I  do  not  believe  that  we  have  the  constitutional  power  to  pass  such  a 
law;  and  if  we  had,  I  would  not  surrender  the  authority  which  the  Constitution  gives  the 
several  States  over  their  militia  to  the  Executive  Department  of  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment." Richmond  Enquirer,  September  25,  1862. 

^Journal  of  Congress,   II,   153,   154,   260.   261;   V,   344,   345,   396. 

52  Journal  of  Congress,  V,  442,  443. 

53  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  241;  III,  340;  VI,  442,  443. 

5*  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  241;  III,  546,  547,  554;  V,   388,  397,   705;  VI,   756. 

55  The  legislature  claimed  that  this  "reduces  the  State  governments  to  mere  provincial  ad- 
ministrations" and  would  "convert  the  Confederate  government  into  a  consolidated  military 
despotism."  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  Adjourned  Session,   1864,  24. 

ee  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  285;  III,  78;  V,  436,  438.  North  Carolina  had  22,807  men 
exempted  on  December  17,  1863.  Communication  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  December  17, 
1863,  relating  to  exemptions. 


368  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

tion  to  liberal  exemptions  was  that  to  the  bill  exempting  planta- 
tion overseers.57  They  denounced  this  as  class  legislation,  and 
though  unsuccessful  they  received  the  commendation  of  their 
state.  At  times  administration  spokesmen  attempted  to  substi- 
tute for  exemptions  a  system  whereby  the  executive  could  detail 
soldiers  to  civilian  duties,  but  North  Carolina  protested  this 
grant  of  legislative  power  to  the  President  and  assisted  in  defeat- 
ing it.58 

After  a  cautious  beginning  the  Davis  administration  in  the 
spring  of  1863  urged  heavy  taxation  to  finance  the  war  and  to 
prevent  inflation.  Congress  acknowledged  the  need,  but  was 
divided  on  the  rate  and  nature  of  the  taxes.  States  with  high 
property  valuation  were  most  vulnerable  and  North  Carolina  con- 
gressmen were  consistently  at  odds  with  border  state  and  western 
enthusiasts.  The  eight  North  Carolina  tax  opponents  moderated 
the  original  measures  when  possible,  but  accepted  the  amended 
bills  on  the  final  vote.  They  opposed  a  graduated  profit  tax,  a  2% 
per  cent  sales  tax,  a  tax  in  kind,  a  small  tax  oil  land,  slaves,  and 
Confederate  bonds,  and  several  others.59  In  addition  they  wished 
to  assess  taxes  on  an  1860  valuation  rather  than  on  market 
values,  since  inflation  had  driven  the  latter  rates  much  higher.60 
The  delegation  preferred  that  the  existing  state  tax  systems  be 
used  to  collect  Confederate  taxes,  and  though  defeated  they 
were  unanimous.61 

The  South  lacked  specie  and  the  popular  dislike  for  heavy 
taxation  necessitated  large  and  repeated  issues  of  fiat  money. 
By  1863  there  were  $410,000,000  in  treasury  notes  outstanding,62 
and  since  funding  was  proceeding  laggardly  Congress  undertook 
to  add  a  degree  of  compulsion  to  funding.  The  act  of  March  23, 
1863,  withdrew  the  right  of  funding  notes  into  bonds  after  a 
certain  date,  but  as  people  continued  to  prefer  the  more  usable 
notes  President  Davis  and  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Christopher 
G.  Memminger  urged  stronger  measures  to  curb  inflation.  In 
December,  1863,  Congress  began  studying  plans  for  compulsory 
funding.  North  Carolina  considered  this  a  violation  of  contract 


57  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  294-296,  311;  III,  82,  305,  572;  VI,  437,  438,  857-861.  See  the 
state's  protest  against  overseer  exemption  in  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  1862-1863, 
49,  50. 

58  Journal  of  Congress,  VI,  36-38,  94,   754-756. 

so  Journal  of  Congress,  III,  260,  722,  723;  VI,  213,  214,  232,  631,  668,  669,  671. 

00  Journal  of  Congress,  III,  738;  VI,  236,  409. 

«i  Journal  of  Congress,  VI,  222,  238,  255,  256. 

62  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  January  10,  1868. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         369 

and  fought  it  to  the  end.  About  half  the  delegation  would  have 
consented  to  making  notes  legal  tender,  but  Congress  considered 
this  inadequate.63  The  act  of  February  17,  1864,  allowed  notes  to 
be  funded  until  January  1,  1865,  after  which  date  they  were  to 
be  taxed  out  of  existence.  Only  Senator  Dortch  sanctioned  this 
program,  the  others  being  in  outright  opposition.64  The  delega- 
tion was  much  more  cooperative  on  other  economic  matters.  A 
majority  agreed  that  hoarding  and  speculation  should  be 
checked,65  but  Congress  never  passed  an  effective  law  against 
either.  They  granted  the  executive  surprising  latitude  in  negoti- 
ating the  Erlanger  Loan  and  the  purchase  abroad  of  vessels  of 
war.66  They  approved  the  produce  loan  program,67  and  had  much 
cotton  and  tobacco  reached  Europe  it  would  have  netted  the  Con- 
federacy valuable  foreign  exchange.  But  to  counteract  the  block- 
ade the  North  Carolina  congressmen  agreed  to  an  austerity  pro- 
gram whereby  the  importation  of  luxuries  was  prohibited,  plant- 
ers were  urged  to  emphasize  foodstuffs,  and  property  was  to  be 
destroyed  if  in  danger  of  capture.68  Obviously  the  administration 
measures  fared  best  with  North  Carolina  when  they  did  not 
involve  a  conflict  of  state  with  national  authority. 

Early  in  1862  the  threatened  disintegration  of  the  army69  and 
the  occasional  civil  disturbances  caused  Congress  to  permit  the 
President  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  certain  in- 
stances. Under  the  circumstances  this  act  received  no  opposition, 
but  subsequent  attempts  at  re-enactment  provoked  heated  oppo- 
sition. The  rights  of  states  and  individuals  were  thoroughly 
debated,  and  as  opinion  depended  largely  on  theories  of  govern- 
ment rather  than  conditions  at  home,  North  Carolina's  delega- 
tion was  evenly  divided  on  suspension.  The  First  Congress 
enacted  two  other  habeas  corpus  laws  and  North  Carolina  was 
divided  on  both.70  Opponents  brooked  no  compromise  and,  win  or 
lose,  contested  it  doggedly. 

During  1863  an  active  peace  movement  developed  in  the  South. 
While  some  wished  peace  on  any  terms,  most  believed  that  the 
North  would  concede  southern  independence  if  only  the  South 


63  Journal  of  Congress,  III,   322;  VI,  632. 

«*  Journal  of  Congress,  III,  625-627,  644,  648-653,  656,  763;  VI,  599,  616-618,  623,  624,  644. 

65  Journal  of  Congress,  III,  254;  VI,  667. 

69  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  167,  168;  V,  33-35. 

67  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  454-456;  V,  265. 

68  Journal  of  Congress.  II,  57;  V,  62;  VI,  679. 

69  See  p.  367,  above. 

to  Journal  of  Congress,  III,  693,  702-704,  709,  712;  V,  517,  518;  VI,  764. 


370  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

would  open  negotiations.  The  North  Carolina  delegation  urged 
this  step  upon  President  Davis,71  but  he  was  convinced  that  it 
would  be  a  useless  and  dishonorable  gesture.72  Peace  advocates 
worked  for  a  resolution  requesting  him  to  make  the  overtures, 
but  the  majority  refused  to  coerce  the  President  in  what  was 
conceded  to  be  his  own  domain.  The  North  Carolina  delegation 
favored  a  conference  between  Congress  and  the  executive  on 
peace,  but  only  Arrington,  McDowell,  and  Smith  would  force  his 
hand  or  let  Congress  act  instead.73 

By  the  end  of  1863  there  had  arisen  against  the  Davis  adminis- 
tration a  strong  congressional  opposition  which,  though  a  minor- 
ity, was  an  important  influence  on  legislation.  A  tabulation  of 
votes  on  ten  subjects  reveals  that  Davis,  Dortch,  Kenan,  Lander, 
and  McLean  were  administration  supporters.  Each  of  the  others 
opposed  over  two-thirds  of  the  ten  measures.74  This  division  to  a 
large  extent  followed  earlier  political  alignments.  The  conserva- 
tives did  not  monopolize  the  opposition,  but  were  about  four  to 
one  against  the  administration  ;75  the  secessionists  and  Democrats 
were  almost  equally  divided.76  This  would  indicate  that  the  ad- 
ministration fared  best  with  those  most  responsible  for  the  war. 
But  the  North  Carolina  opposition  was  based  less  on  politics  than 
on  the  state's  mounting  dissatisfaction  with  the  conduct  of  the 
Confederate  government.  The  state  government  and  a  majority 
of  its  citizens  felt  neglected,  abused,  endangered,  unappreciated, 
and  outmaneuvered. 

The  loss  of  Roanoke  Island  late  in  1861  rudely  awakened  the 
people  to  their  vulnerability.77  Their  congressmen  began  request- 
ing without  success  that  out-of-state  militia  be  returned  and  that 
the  state  be  made  a  separate  military  department.78  Governor 
Vance  even  sought  the  return  of  firearms  given  to  the  Confed- 
eracy and  competed  with  it  for  supplies  in  domestic  and  foreign 


71  The  North  Carolina  representatives  to  Governor  Vance,  January  25,  1864,  Vance's 
Letter  Books,  IX,  2,   Confederate  Archives. 

72  Jefferson  Davis  to  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  January  8,  1864,  Vance  Papers. 

73  Journal  of  Congress,  V,  385,  386;  VI,  350,  638. 

71  These  ten  key  matters  were  conscription,  state  control  over  its  militia  and  draftees, 
exemption,  taxation,  compulsory  funding,  sundry  economic  matters,  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  peace  negotiations,   criticism   of  cabinet  members,   and   overriding   vetoes. 

75  Unionists  and  Whigs  were  divided  6-1  and  5-2  respectively  against  the  administration 
policies. 

76  Secessionists  and  Democrats  supported  these  policies  by  a  ratio  of  2-4  and  3-3  respectively. 

77  A  congressional  committee,  headed  by  B.  S.  Gaither,  placed  blame  for  the  defeat  squarely 
on  Secretary  of  War  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  one  of  President  Davis's  "pets."  Report  of  the 
Roanoke   Island   Investigating    Committee. 

78  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  A  Compilation  of  the  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Con- 
federate Armies  (Washington,  1880-1901),  Ser.  I,  Vol.  IX,  434-436;  Ser.  I,  Vol.  LI,  pt.  2, 
627,  628. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         371 

markets.  Another  problem  concerned  the  appointment  of  Con- 
federate officers.  Congressmen  repeatedly  protested  that  North 
Carolinians  were  being  commanded  by  officers  from  other 
states.79  They  also  felt  that  the  large  number  of  enlisted  men 
from  North  Carolina  merited  the  state  a  greater  number  of  high 
commands  than  President  Davis  had  allotted  it.  Vance  insisted  on 
the  right  to  appoint  officers  to  all  vacancies  occuring  in  the  state 
militia  in  Confederate  service,  and  wrangled  with  the  War  De- 
partment until  the  war  was  nearly  over. 

Vance  also  did  everything  possible  to  control  conscription  in 
the  state.  He  declared  all  public  officials  exempt,  and  under  his 
care  over  14,000  men  escaped  service.80  When  the  War  Depart- 
ment denied  conscripts  the  right  of  habeas  corpus  in  order  to 
avoid  protracted  legal  suits,  the  state  supreme  court  sustained 
the  authority  of  a  judge  to  release  men  thus  held.  From  time  to 
time  congressmen  requested  the  suspension  of  conscription  in 
certain  districts  to  maintain  local  defenses  or  agricultural  pro- 
duction, but  were  always  unsuccessful.  Even  after  conscription 
was  thoroughly  imprinted  on  the  state  they  secured  the  right  of 
enlisted  men  to  join  companies  from  their  own  state  if  they  de- 
sired.81 They  wished  to  allow  regiments  and  battalions  almost 
full  powers  in  electing  their  officers,  but  were  only  partly  suc- 
cessful82 

These  and  other  measures  caused  the  state  to  suspect  an  ex- 
panding national  authority.  Newspapers  deplored  the  "usurpa- 
tions" and  "military  despotism"  being  perpetrated.  The  state  was 
relatively  free  from  invasion  and  national  laws  were  easier  to 
apply  than  in  most  areas.  One-fourth  of  all  conscripts  were  from 
North  Carolina,83  and  the  War  Department's  efforts  to  draft  men 
serving  in  local  defense  units  were  especially  objectionable.  The 
tax  in  kind  bore  heavily  on  small  farmers,  impressment  laws 
were  costly,  and  the  spiralling  inflation  threw  finances  into  con- 
fusion. R.  R.  Bridgers  feared  that  the  state  was  "doomed  to  play 


79  The  War  Department  earnestly  tried  to  remedy  these  faux  pas,  particularly  the  con- 
script and  quartermaster  officers,  but  George  Davis  inaccurately  contended  that  "our  recom- 
mendations for  high  military  appointments  are  ignored.  .  .  ."  Davis  to  Governor  Vance, 
April  16,  1863,  Vance  Papers. 

80  Conscription  and  several  other  administration  measures  were  opposed  by  a  majority  of 
the  congressmen  from  eastern  states,  and  passed  only  with  the  almost  solid  support  of  the 
western  and  occupied  states. 

81  Journal  of  Congress,  IIT,  337;  VI,  78,  79. 

82  Journal  of  Congress,  II,  147;  VI,  684.  They  conceded,  however,  the  President's  right  to 
appoint  field  officers.  Jotirnal  of  Congress,  V,  222. 

83  J.  G.  de  Roulhac  Hamilton,  "The  North  Carolina  Courts  and  the  Confederacy,"  North 
Carolina  Historical  Review,  IV   (October,  1927),  366. 


372  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

a  second  part  in  the  new  .  .  .  Government"  to  the  cotton  states,84 
and  B.  S.  Gaither  reported  that  North  Carolina  had  been  "snub- 
bed and  insulted"  until  it  was  intolerable.85  Congressmen  gener- 
ally felt  that  President  Davis  did  things  "pretty  much  in  his  own 
way,"86  and  they  rarely  had  a  successful  interview  with  him. 

A  result  of  these  real  and  fancied  grievances  was  a  growing 
defeatism.  Thousands  deserted  from  the  army,  and  the  people  at 
home  wrote  numerous  letters  encouraging  them  to  do  so.87  Public 
meetings  began  suggesting  peace  negotiations  based  on  Con- 
federate independence ;  when  Congress  and  the  President  took  no 
action  an  agitative  minority  led  by  W.  W.  Holden  proposed  a 
state  convention.  They  avoided  explaining  what  the  convention 
should  do,  but  Governor  Vance  and  his  friends  suspected  that 
separate  state  action  was  intended.  Vance  refused  to  countenance 
the  movement,  and  swore  he  would  see  the  conservative  party 
"blown  into  a  thousand  atoms  and  Holden  .  .  .  into  Hell"  before 
dishonoring  the  Confederacy.88  Late  in  1863  he  declared  mildly 
but  firmly  against  a  convention,  knowing  that  the  issue  would 
dominate  the  approaching  elections.89 

News  of  this  dissention  spread  to  other  states  and  the  North 
Carolina  delegation  began  to  meet  charges  of  disloyalty  at  every 
turn.  Senator  Reade  reported  "the  most  mortifying  distrust"  of 
the  state  and  warned  that  "extreme  measures  will  be  resorted  to 
against  her  citizens."90  He  explained  to  the  Senate  that  the  dis- 
satisfaction indicated  "an  excess  of  loyalty  to  the  State,  without 
any  abatement  toward  the  Confederacy" ;  but  he  deplored  Con- 
federate policies  and  hinted  approval  of  the  aforementioned 
convention.91  In  the  House  Gaither  admitted  that  the  state  was 
divided  politically  but  was  united  in  support  of  the  Confederacy.92 
He  read  a  resolution  of  the  legislature  condemning  the  "slander- 
ous reports"  of  disloyalty  and  pledging  its  "men  and  money"  to 
independence.93  The  entire  delegation  held  a  heated  interview 


84  Bridgers  to  Thomas  Ruffin,   February   17,   1862,    J.   G.   de  Roulhac   Hamilton    (ed.),    The 
Papers  of  Thomas  Ruffin    (Raleigh,   1920),   III,   216. 

85  Gaither  to  Zebulon   B.  Vance,   April  24,   1868,    Vance   Papers. 

8fl  Gaither  to  Thomas  Ruffin,  April  1,   1862,   Hamilton,  Pavers  of   Thomas  Ruffin,   III,  227. 

87  Richard   E.   Yates,   "Zebulon   B.   Vance  as   War   Governor   of   North   Carolina,   1862-1865," 
Journal  of  Southern  History,  III    (February,  1937),  68. 

88  Vance  to  William   A.   Graham,   January    1,    1864,    Graham    Papers. 

89  Yates,   "Vance  as  War  Governor,"   15. 

90  Reade  to  William  A.  Graham,   February   4,   1864,   Graham  Papers. 

91  Memoirs  of  W.   W.  Holden    (Durham,  1911),  39,  40. 

92  Hillsboro  Recorder,  March  4,   1863. 

93  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  Adjourned  Session,  1862-1863,  80,  81. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         373 

with  President  Davis  in  February,  1864,  and  warned  him  "to 
trust  North  Carolina  &  let  her  alone."9* 

Although  elections  for  the  Second  Congress  were  in  November, 
1863,  the  campaign  began  a  year  earlier.  The  former  Democrats 
and  "destructives"  were  stigmatized  by  the  war  difficulties, 
though  by  no  means  had  all  supported  the  Davis  program.  The 
conservatives  narrowly  escaped  division  over  the  question  of 
peace.  The  Holden  faction  condemned  Confederate  policies  and 
demanded  that  the  election  turn  on  whether  Congress  must  initi- 
ate peace  negotiations.95  The  Vance  conservatives  differed  only 
in  regard  to  negotiations,  which  they  considered  an  executive 
matter.  Except  when  success  was  assured,  the  conservatives  re- 
fused to  split  their  party,  though  their  candidates  were  usually 
the  favorites  of  one  or  the  other  faction. 

In  the  campaign  both  parties  condemned  Confederate  policies 
and  made  peace  the  main  issue.  The  Democrats  contended  that 
its  agitation  would  only  demoralize  the  nation  and  that  victory 
must  be  won  in  the  field.  All  conservatives  wished  the  support 
of  Governor  Vance,  and  in  some  districts  his  favor  may  have  been 
decisive.  He  worried  lest  some  candidates  advocate  separate  state 
action  for  peace,  but  the  state's  sincere  loyalty  to  the  Confederacy 
would  have  made  this  very  poor  politics.96  Even  the  Holdenites 
maintained  that  a  convention  would  serve  only  as  an  emergency 
body  and  not  for  peace  action.  All  but  the  sixth  district  were 
hotly  contested  with  candidates  participating  in  speaking  tours 
and  joint  debates.  Conservative  newspapers  emphasized  the 
willingness  of  the  United  States  for  peace,97  while  the  opposition 
harped  on  the  reconstructionist  program  of  the  "croaking  peace 
men."98 

The  delegates  to  the  Second  Congress  in  the  order  of  their 
districts  were  W.  N.  H.  Smith,  R.  R.  Bridgers,  James  Thomas 
Leach,99  Thomas  Charles  Fuller,100  Josiah  Turner,101  John  Adams 


94  Edwin  G.  Reade  to  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  February  10,  1864,  Vance  Papers. 

^Raleigh  Standard,  July  22,  1863.  They  wisely  refused  to  make  a  state  peace  convention 
the  major  issue. 

86  At  a  peace  meeting  in  the  tenth  district  George  W.  Logan  was  nominated,  but  all  other 
nominations  were  made  through  newspapers.  Raleigh  Standard,   October   14,    1863. 

97  See  particularly  the  Raleigh  Standard  and  the  Hillsboro  Recorder. 

98  See  the   Wilmington  Journal. 

99  J.  T.  Leach  of  Johnston  County  had  been  a  practicing  physician  and  planter  for  fifty 
years.  He  was  a  Unionist  Whig  and  had  become  a  peace  man  by  1864. 

ioo  Fuller  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  then  studied  law,  and  com- 
menced practicing  in  Cumberland  County.  He  was  a  Unionist  Whig  and  had  become  a  peace 
man  by  1864. 

101  Turner  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  then  practiced  law,  edited 
the  Hillsboro  Recorder,  and  managed  his  father's  plantation.  He  had  represented  Orange 
County  in  the  legislature,  was  a  Unionist  Whig  in  1861,  and  a  peace  man  in  1864. 


374  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Gilmer,102  Samuel  H.  Christian,103  James  Graham  Ramsey,104 
B.  S.  Gaither,  and  George  Washington  Logan.105  Christian  died 
before  taking  office  and  James  Madison  Leach  won  a  run-off  to 
replace  him.106  The  delegation  was  a  rebuke  to  the  secessionists, 
for  only  Bridgers  had  favored  secession  and  in  the  First  Congress 
he  had  allied  with  the  anti-Davis  faction.  All  save  Bridgers  and 
Gaither  urged  peace  negotiations  in  one  way  or  another,  and 
almost  half  were  Holdenites.  Dissatisfaction  with  Confederate 
policies  this  time  had  proved  stronger  than  past  political  ties. 

The  North  Carolina  delegation  to  the  Second  Congress,  which 
began  in  May,  1864,  very  accurately  represented  the  state's  atti- 
tude toward  Confederate  policies.  It  was  neither  disloyal  nor 
obstructionist,  but  it  undoubtedly  had  little  confidence  in  these 
policies  and  intended  to  restrain  them.  William  A.  Graham  re- 
ported that  "The  Government  has  lost  much  of  the  confidence  of 
the  country/'107  and  that  there  was  a  "general  opinion"  in  Con- 
gress that  President  Davis  was  "unfit  for  the  present  duties  of 
his  position. . .  ."108  The  majority  of  the  delegation  felt  that  there 
was  a  "disposition  to  clothe  the  Executive,  with  still  stronger 
powers."109  James  M.  Leach  believed  that  this  would  produce 
"anarchy  despotism,  &  confusion  &  utter  ruin,"110  and  warned  of 
"brass  button  and  bayonet  rule.  .  .  ."m  James  T.  Leach  an- 
nounced in  Congress  that  he  was  "entirely  opposed  to  the  tram- 
pling down  of  States  rights  .  . ."  and  predicted  that  soon  he  would 
be  "hung"  with  other  moderates.112  In  confidence  some  congress- 
men almost  despaired  of  independence.  Graham  as  early  as 
August,  1864,  saw  "no  prospect  of  the  termination  of  the  war,"113 
and  Josiah  Turner  wrote  that  "there  is  nothing  that  Congress 
can  do  to  save  us,  it  is  all  with  the  Lord  and  General  Lee."114 


102  Gilmer  was  born  in  1805.  After  teaching  school,  he  read  law  and  gained  a  large  practice 
in  Guilford  County.  He  served  in  the  United  States  Congress  and  was  a  Unionist  Whig  in 
1860.  He  desired  peace  negotiations  in   1864,   but  considered  it  an   executive  matter. 

103  Christian  opposed  secession  and  was  a  peace  man  in  1864. 

104  After  graduating  from  Davidson  College,  Ramsey  attended  Jefferson  Medical  College 
and  then  practiced  for  fifty  years.  He  had  represented  Rowan  County  in  the  state  legislature, 
was  a  Unionist  Whig  in  1861,  and  a  peace  man  in  1864. 

105  Logan  was  born  in  Rutherford  County  in  1815.  He  was  superior  court  clerk  and  a 
tavern  keeper.  He  read  law  and  was  building  up  a  good  practice  when  the  state  seceded.  He 
was  a  Unionist  Whig  in  1861  and  a  peace  man   in  1864. 

106  J.  M.  Leach  was  born  in  1815.  After  graduating  from  the  United  States  Military  Academy 
he  read  law  and  practiced  in  Davidson  County.  He  served  in  the  United  States  Congress  as 
a  Whig,  was  a  Unionist  in  1861,  and  a  peace  man  in  1864. 

107  Graham  to  David  L.  Swain,  December  17,  1864,  Graham  Papers. 

108  Graham  to  David  L.  Swain,  February  12,  1865,  Graham  Papers. 
108  Graham  to  David  L.  Swain,  November  26,  1864,  Graham  Papers. 

110  J.  M.  Leach  to  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  March  5,   1864,  Vance  Papers. 

111  Hilhboro  Recorder,  February  8,  1865. 

112  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  11,  1864. 

"3  Graham  to  David  L.  Swain,  August  15,  1864,  Graham  Papers. 

114  Turner  to  his  wife,  May  5,   1864,  Turner  Papers,   University  of  North  Carolina. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  I  Congress 


m5 


In  matters  of  legislation  the  delegation  worked  more  as  a  unit, 
showed  considerably  more  initiative,  and  was  less  prone  to 
compromise  than  the  preceding  one. 

Despite  the  critical  shape  of  Confederate  finances  by  1864,  the 
delegation  almost  to  a  man  opposed  strong  remedial  measures. 
The  Second  Congress  increased  the  scope  and  rates  of  taxes,  but 
with  the  approval  only  of  Senator  Dortch  from  North  Caro- 
lina.115 Senator  Graham  favored  a  heavy  corporation  tax,  and 
most  of  the  representatives  consented  to  a  tax  penalizing  specu- 
lators,116 but  these  were  only  random  instances  of  cooperation. 
The  First  Congress  had  also  devised  a  valuable  tax  in  the  form 
of  a  ten  per  cent  tithe  on  all  agricultural  products;  when  the 
Second  Congress  attempted  to  double  the  tithe  the  North  Caro- 
linians voted  wholeheartedly  against  what  they  considered  dis- 
criminatory legislation.117  When  taxation  failed  to  curb  inflation 
Congress  sought  to  force  the  funding  of  currency  into  high 
interest  bonds.  Despite  several  laws  to  this  effect,  it  was  soon 
evident  that  the  lure  of  immediate  profits  made  treasury  notes 
preferred  to  these  bonds,  and  Congress,  in  a  desperate  effort  to 
induce  funding,  declared  most  notes  invalid  after  a  certain  date. 
Many  considered  this  a  breach  of  contract  and  a  penalty  on 
loyalty,  and  only  Gaither  and  Dortch  sanctioned  any  form  of 
repudiation.118 

On  other  economic  matters  the  delegation  attempted  to  block 
legislation  which  they  considered  harmful  or  discriminatory.  By 
1864  most  measures  were  extreme  and  to  many  this  tended  to 
concentrate  a  dangerous  amount  of  power  in  the  administration. 
The  House  delegation  refused  to  allow  old  treasury  notes  to  be- 
come legal  tender  or  to  let  the  President  impress  gold;  but  it 
agreed  that  he  could  permit  the  exportation  of  gold  whenever  he 
wished.119  Both  Senate  and  House  delegations  almost  unani- 
mously wished  to  permit  states  and  certain  individuals  the  right 
to  sell  staple  crops  abroad;120  in  addition  they  sought  to  repeal 
the  law  allotting  the  Confederate  government  half  the  storage 
space  on  all  ships.121  They  were  usually  outvoted  on  these  and 

««  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  228,  229,  646,  647;  VII,  142,  203,  204,  216-218. 

116  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,   190;   VII,   140,   141. 

117  Journal  of  Congress,  VII,  183,  184,  629,  686. 

118  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  47,  152,  192;  VII,  160,  161.  Turner  called  any  repudiation 
"false  in  its  general  principles,  and  ruinous  in  its  details."  Richmond  Examiner,  December 
15,   1864. 

™  Journal  of  Congress,  VII,  22,  765,  767. 
>*>  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  286;  VII,  695. 
i21  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  74,  75;  VII,  152. 


37*5;         The:  NoRTfy  Carolina  Historical  Review 

other  economic  measures,  but  apparently  had  accepted  their  role 
as  leader  of  the  opposition. 

Impressment  of  property  and  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  continued  in  the  Second  Congress  to  be  important 
issues.122  The  practice  of  impressment  had  proved  very  valuable, 
but  it  was  frequently  abused  by  overzealous  or  unauthorized 
men.  The  delegation  attempted  to  limit  these  abuses  by  restrict- 
ing impressment  only  to  licensed  agents,  and  they  worked  suc- 
cessfully to  guarantee  prompt  settlement  of  claims  for  goods  in 
any  way  illegally  taken.123  In  addition  they  unanimously  refused 
to  grant  the  President  or  the  Secretary  of  War  the  right  to  im- 
press railroads.124  The  same  degree  of  caution  was  shown  regard- 
ing suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  Early  in  the  session 
President  Davis  requested  another  suspension,  but  the  state 
rights  element  was  now  less  compromising.  All  North  Caro- 
linians except  Dortch  opposed  suspension  on  every  count  and 
urged  state  judges  to  guard  against  martial  law  or  attempts  at 
suspension.  125 

Meanwhile  the  need  for  soldiers  was  becoming  increasingly 
pressing  as  Federal  troops  massed  to  the  northward.  The  con- 
scription age  already  included  those  from  seventeen  to  fifty,  so 
Congress  hoped  to  increase  the  army  by  reducing  the  number  of 
men  exempt  from  military  service.  The  North  Carolina  legisla- 
ture denounced  this  as  ruinous  to  its  industry  and  demoralizing 
to  its  government  personnel,126  and  Senator  Graham  warned  Con- 
gress that  it  would  "make  a  draft  on  society  that  it  can  not  stand 
even  temporarily/'127  When  Congress  began  paring  the  number 
of  exemptions,  the  delegation  made  every  effort  to  retain  all 
classes  heretofore  allowed.  With  the  exception  of  Dortch,  its  vote 
was  exceptionally  uniform  and  at  times  constituted  almost  one- 
third  of  the  opposition.128 

While  exemptions  were  being  reduced,  Congress,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  President,  was  contemplating  better  uses  for  the 
large  Negro  population.  The  First  Congress  had  authorized  him 


122  The  legislature  complained  of  both.  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  Adjourned  Session, 
1863,  30,  31;  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  Adjourned  Session,  1865,  35,  36,  39,  40. 

123  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  132,  150;  VII,  224,  225.  Only  Dortch  opposed  these  precautions. 
12*  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  219;  VII.  584-587. 

125  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  387,  721;  VII,  80,  336,  337,  348,  350,  771;  Richmond  Examiner, 
May  25,   1864;  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  17,   1864. 

126  public  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  Adjourned  Session,   186^,  23,   24. 

127  Richmond  Enquirer,   February   11,    1865. 

w*  Journal  of  Congress,   IV,   544,   561,   562;   VII,   447-449,   473-475,   480,   486,   487.   The   only 
class  of  exemptions  they  opposed  was  that  exempting  overseers. 


North  Carolina  in  Confederate  Congress         377 

to  impress  a  limited  amount  of  slave  labor  for  a  short  time,  but 
on  November  7,  1864,  he  advised  that  this  law  was  now  com- 
pletely inadequate.129  Shortly  afterward  Congress  removed  all 
limitations  on  the  impressment  of  slaves  for  labor,  though  all  the 
North  Carolinians  except  Gaither  and  Dortch  opposed  on  grounds 
that  it  would  lead  to  arming  them.130  They  were  correct  and  both 
President  Davis  and  General  Robert  E.  Lee  strongly  recom- 
mended the  drafting  and  arming  of  slaves  and  free  Negroes. 
Graham  considered  the  proposal  "as  equivalent  to  a  dissolution 
of  the  Confederacy,"131  and  Turner  postponed  his  trip  home  to 
fight  the  measure.132  In  the  course  of  the  discussion,  Congress 
considered  arming  all  slaves,  arming  only  300,000  of  them, 
promising  them  freedom  in  return  for  their  service,  and  other 
variations.  Dortch  supported  the  idea  wholeheartedly ;  the  others 
opposed  it  desperately,  but  to  no  avail.133 

While  these  matters  raged,  some  members  were  drawing 
together  into  an  unofficial  "peace  party/ '  President  Davis  main- 
tained that  when  the  United  States  wanted  peace  "there  will  be 
no  difficulty  in  finding  means"  to  obtain  it,  but  it  had  evidenced 
no  such  desire.134  Several  from  each  house,  however,  disagreed 
with  him  thoroughly,  and  James  T.  Leach  in  May,  1864,  and  Gil- 
mer and  Turner  that  winter  requested  him  to  attempt  peace 
feelers.135  Such  resolutions  typed  their  authors  and  supporters 
as  "reconstructionists"  in  the  opinion  of  the  majority,  but,  what- 
ever their  private  beliefs,  either  caution  or  conviction  made  the 
peace  men  always  include  complete  independence  as  a  sine  qua 
non.136  When  some  congressmen  early  in  1865  seemed  determined 
to  force  the  President's  hand,137  he  forestalled  them  by  agreeing 
to  meet  representatives  of  the  United  States  at  Hampton  Roads, 
Virginia.  Congress  temporarily  halted  its  peace  agitation,  but 
the  story  of  the  Hampton  Roads  disappointment  is  a  familiar 


129  Journal  of  Congress,  VII,  254,  255. 

130  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  670;  VII,  505,  666,  667,  719;  Richmond  Examiner,  November 
29,  1864;  Raleigh  Standard,  November  9,  1864. 

131  Graham  to  his  wife,  February  26,  1865,  Graham  Papers. 

132  Turner  to  his  wife,  February  11,  1865,  Turner  Papers. 

i™  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  528,  671,  672;  VII,  507,  508,  542,  543,  609,  610,  612,  613. 

134  Journal  of  Congress,  VII,  256. 

135  Journal  of  Congress,  VII,  44,  84,  85,  360-364.  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  5,  1864.  All 
representatives  except  Gaither  favored  requesting  the  President  to  take  this  step.  On  a 
similar  motion  in  the  Senate  Graham  favored  the  idea,  while  Dortch  opposed  it.  None  sug- 
gested publicly  that  Congress  take  the  lead,  but  this  restraint  was  due  to  the  certainty  that 
it  would  have  been  defeated;  the  same  may  be  said  of  separate  state  action. 

136  Most  North  Carolinians  were  at  one  time  or  another  accused  of  being  reconstructionists. 

137  Graham  was  a  ringleader  in  this  plot.  Hiram  P.  Bell,  Men  and  Things  (Atlanta,  1907), 
100,  101;  Reminiscences  of  Jehu  A.  Orr,  (typed  copy  in  the  State  Department  of  Archives 
and  History,  Jackson,  Miss.),  5,  6. 


378  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

one  in  Confederate  history.  After  Lincoln's  uncompromising  con- 
ditions were  revealed,  the  House,  with  the  dissenting  vote  only 
of  James  T.  Leach,  resolved  to  continue  the  war  unabatedly.138 
When  Congress  adjourned  sine  die  most  North  Carolinians  sug- 
gested that  the  state  legislature  remain  in  session  in  order  to  take 
state  action  for  peace  at  the  first  opportunity. 

The  delegation  to  the  Second  Congress  thus  won  for  itself  the 
distinction — or  the  notoriety— of  being  chief  critic  of  the  man- 
agement of  the  Confederacy.  Senator  Dortch  was  the  only  con- 
sistent supporter  of  national  policies,  while  Representative 
Gaither  favored  them  about  half  the  time;  the  others  seldom 
approved  any  of  them.  This  opposition  was  based  almost  entirely 
on  the  conviction  that  poor  leadership  had  foisted  a  despotic 
and  ruinous  regime  on  the  people  and  the  states.  The  delegation 
as  a  whole  never  wavered  in  its  loyalty  to  Confederate  objectives, 
but  criticized  the  methods  used  to  obtain  these  objectives.  This 
opinion  was  so  strong  during  1864  and  1865  that  most  of  the 
congressmen  showed  a  readiness  to  indict  the  President,  his 
"pets,"  or  his  policies  at  a  moment's  notice.139  Unfortunately  this 
criticism  was  largely  negative  and  the  delegation  seldom  offered 
alternatives  to  the  administration  program.  Their  greatest  error 
was  in  supposing  that  a  full-scale  war  could  be  conducted  with- 
out some  of  the  treasured  aspects  of  state  rights  being  abused. 


138  Journal  of  Congress,  VII,   646,   647. 

139  For  instance,  they  agree  almost  unanimously  on  the  appointment  of  a  general-in-chief 
with  plenary  military  powers,  that  Secretaries  Benjamin  and  Memminger  were  incompetent, 
and  that  the  President  had  exceeded  his  appointment  powers.  Journal  of  Congress,  IV,  166, 
457,  458,  552,  553;  VII,  110,  462,  658. 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY  EXTENSION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

AND  THE  WPA 

By  Elaine  von  Oesen 

When  in  1927  the  North  Carolina  Citizens'  Library  Movement 
started  its  campaign  "to  cut  through  ignorance,  indifference, 
inertia,  and  inequality  until  every  person  has  an  equal  public 
access  to  books  in  .  .  .  North  Carolina,"  only  thirty-five  per  cent 
of  the  population  lived  in  areas  served  by  public  libraries.  Eight 
years  later  the  percentage  of  citizens  served  had  risen  only  to 
thirty-eight;  but  in  the  following  seven  years  library  service 
became  available  to  eighty-five  per  cent  of  North  Carolinians. 
Reasons  for  the  startling  differences  in  development  during 
these  chronologically  comparable  periods  are,  of  course,  complex 
as  are  causes  of  most  expansions. 

The  depression  of  the  nineteen  thirties  had  a  dual  effect  upon 
public  libraries.  Support  of  libraries  was  curtailed  as  a  part  of 
the  general  reduction  in  public  expenditures,  and  at  the  same 
time  greater  demands  were  made  upon  the  services  of  public 
libraries.  The  financial  effect  of  the  depression  is  graphically 
shown  in  the  per  capita  income  of  public  libraries,  which  doubled 
from  four  to  eight  cents  between  1927  and  1929,  largely  through 
the  work  of  the  Citizens'  Library  Movement,  and  then  dropped 
back  to  six  cents  until  1936  when,  with  general  economic  recov- 
ery, it  slowly  began  to  climb,  reaching  twelve  cents  by  1942.  With 
a  greater  demand  and  increased  use  of  library  books  it  would 
be  reasonable  to  expect  the  number  of  books  per  capita  to  de- 
crease as  they  wore  out.  For  with  no  increase  of  funds  from  1930 
to  1935  they  could  not  be  repaired  or  replaced  in  sufficient  num- 
ber. Yet  the  opposite  was  true.  In  the  decade  of  the  thirties  the 
number  of  volumes  per  capita  in  North  Carolina's  public  libraries 
increased  from  .15  to  .26.  How  could  the  service  area  of  the 
state's  public  libraries  be  widened  to  include  824,882  more  people 
and  book  stock  be  increased  from  .21  to  .27  volumes  per  capita 
with  an  increase  of  only  six  cents  per  capita  income  between 
1935  and  1942?  There  was  obviously  some  aid  not  shown  on 
annual  reports  made  to  the  North  Carolina  Library  Commission 

[379] 


380  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

by  the  public  libraries  of  the  state.1  That  aid  came  from  the 
United  States  government  through  a  series  of  agencies  designed 
to  relieve  the  unemployment  situation.  Although  assistance  to 
libraries  was  not  a  primary  function  of  the  relief  administra- 
tions, definite  and  ascertainable  assistance  did  result.  The  gen- 
eral aim  of  the  government  was  to  provide  work  for  unemployed 
men  and  women  on  public  projects  where  there  would  be  no 
competition  with  commercial  enterprises.  Public  libraries  fitted 
easily  into  this  category,  and,  as  librarians  realized  this  and 
asked  for  personnel,  they  began  to  receive  federal  aid.  Cards 
from  the  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  to  the  public 
librarians  of  the  state  urging  them  to  request  workers  from  local 
administration  offices  attested  to  the  alertness  of  the  Commission, 
which  enabled  the  public  libraries  of  the  state  to  benefit  from  the 
earliest  days  of  the  program.2 

Beginning  in  1932  the  United  States  government  aided  library 
service  and  extension  by  furnishing  clerks  and  bookmenders 
through  the  Federal  Emergency  Relief  Administration  and  Civil 
Works  Service;  and  indirectly,  by  construction  work,  through 
the  Federal  Emergency  Administration  of  Civil  Workers,  later 
called  the  Public  Works  Administration.3 

Under  the  Emergency  Relief  Appropriation  Act  of  1935,4  the 
President  created  an  entirely  new  agency,  the  Works  Progress 
Administration  (later  called  the  Work  Projects  Administration, 
and  herein  referred  to  as  the  WPA) ,  which  was  given  the  power 
to  "recommend  and  carry  on  small  useful  projects  designed  to 
assure  a  maximum  of  employment  in  all  localities."5 

At  first  employment  in  library  activities  was  carried  on,  as 
in  earlier  agencies,  only  on  the  local  level.  As  the  WPA  developed, 
however,  long-range  planning  of  a  semipermanent  nature  was 
seen  to  be  the  most  efficient  way  of  expending  the  public  funds 
to  produce  more  lasting  benefits.6  The  primary  purpose  of  WPA, 
as  of  its  predecessors,  was  to  increase  employment ;  but  the  work 


1  Figures  are  based  on  statistics  published  by  the  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  in 
the  following:  North  Carolina  Library  Bulletin,  VI-VII  (September,  1926-September,  1930); 
North  Carolina  Libraries  (1931-1937);  Statistics  of  North  Carolina  Public  Libraries,  College 
and  University  Libraries   (1938-1942). 

2  Form  card  in  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  files. 

3  Edward  Barrett  Stanford,  Library  Extension  Under  the  WPA  (Chicago:  The  University 
of  Chicago  Press,  1944),  12-32. 

*  Public  Resolution  No.  11,  491  U.  S.  Statutes,  115,  c.  48.  Approved  April  8,  1935. 
5U.  S.  President,  Executive  Order  703k,  May  6,  1935    (Washington:    Government  Printing 
Office,  1935),  3. 
6  Stanford,  Library  Extension,  35. 


Public  Library  Extension  381 

paid  for  out  of  federal  funds  resulted  in  material  and  social 
benefit.7  The  suitability  of  library  projects  for  the  employment 
of  white-collar  workers  and  women  was  early  seen,  and  the 
American  Library  Association  gave  assistance  and  advice  in  the 
form  of  suggested  standards  for  library  extension.8  "A  Plan 
for  Library  Development  in  North  Carolina/'  adopted  by  the 
North  Carolina  Library  Association  in  1935,  expressed  the  be- 
lief of  that  organization  in  two  modes  of  public  library  extension, 
demonstration  and  regional  libraries.  There  was  already  some 
evidence  that  the  demonstration  of  library  service  in  areas  with- 
out public  access  to  books  would  result  in  the  voting  of  financial 
support  to  continue  the  service.  The  regional  idea  was  based  on 
the  theory  that  an  area  served  by  a  library  unit  should  include 
sufficient  population  and  wealth  to  support  adequate  service.  The 
Association  felt  that  the  establishment  of  additional  "small, 
emaciated  libraries"  was  to  be  discouraged.9  The  state-wide  WPA 
Library  Project  successfully  used  both  expedients  after  1937, 
until  which  time  WPA  projects  continued  separate  and  local. 
Some  of  them  were  excellent  and  later  became  part  of  the  larger 
project.  For  example,  in  Granville  County  the  whole  library 
program  "including  branches  and  book  truck  service"  was  "main- 
tained as  a  W.  P.  A.  project."  The  Library  Commission  sponsored 
projects  where  there  were  no  libraries  and  held  training  con- 
ferences for  WPA  workers  in  the  Commission  office  and  in  other 
convenient  centers.10 

By  1936  there  were  some  fifty  projects  in  operation  over  the 
state  under  supervision  of  the  Library  Commission  and  the 
State  Department  of  Public  Instruction.11  During  the  fiscal  year, 
July,  1934,  to  June,  1935,  salaries  in  ten  of  the  sixty-six  public 
libraries  in  the  state  were  paid  from  federal  funds ;  in  1935-1936 
salaries  in  sixteen  of  seventy-four  libraries  and  in  1936-1937 
salaries  in  twenty-four  of  eighty  libraries  were  paid  by  WPA.12 
It  is  noteworthy  that  in  this  period  the  increase  by  fourteen  in 


7  Donald  S.  Howard,  The  WPA  and  Federal  Relief  Policy  (New  York:  Russell  Sage 
Foundation,  1943),  125. 

8  American  Library  Association,  "Proposed  Work  Relief  Projects  for  Individual  Libraries 
or  on  a  State-Wide  Basis"  (Chicago:  American  Library  Association,  June,  1935,  mimeo- 
graphed.) 

9  "A  plan  for  Library  Development  in  North  Carolina,  Adopted  by  the  North  Carolina 
Library  Association,  October  13,  1935,"  6.  Mimeographed  copy  at  School  of  Library  Science, 
University  of  North  Carolina. 

10  Fourteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  (1934-1936),  11. 
^Gaylord's  Triangle,  XV   (July,  1936),  no  paging. 

12  North  Carolina  Libraries   (1934-1937),  no  paging. 


382  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

the  number  of  libraries  is  balanced  by  the  increase  of  the  same 
number  where  salaries  were  provided  by  federal  funds. 

Evaluation  of  the  progress  made  under  the  WPA  program  of 
local  projects  (1935-1937)  is  difficult  because  statistics  published 
by  the  state  administrator  covering  the  two-year  period  are  not 
comparable  with  the  annual  statistics  compiled  by  the  Library 
Commission.  The  WPA  official  reported  that  in  1935  only  thirty- 
four  counties  had  county  and  city  library  service,  twenty-five 
counties  had  partial  service,  and  forty-one  counties  were  without 
library  service  of  any  kind.  By  1937,  he  continued,  ninety-two 
counties  had  service  through  403  school  libraries,  seventy-six 
branch  libraries,  108  public  libraries,  and  seven  booktrucks,13 
leaving  only  eight  counties  without  library  service.  His  report 
was  based  on  school  library  service  as  well  as  public  library 
service  and  the  former  outnumbered  the  latter  more  than  two  to 
one.  The  report  also  listed  branch  libraries  separately,  while  the 
Library  Commission  total  of  sixty-six  public  libraries  in  1935 
and  eighty  in  1937  counted  a  library  as  a  single  unit  regardless 
of  the  number  of  branches.  The  WPA  statement  that  ninety-two 
counties  had  library  service  is  somewhat  misleading  because  the 
existence  of  one  or  more  school  libraries  in  a  county  meant  that 
some  people  in  the  county  (mostly  children)  had  access  to  a 
library,  but  not  that  the  entire  county  had  library  service.  How- 
ever, taking  the  two  reports  separately,  rather  than  compara- 
tively, progress  is  indicated  in  both.  Thirty-three  more  counties 
had  some  library  service,  public  or  school,  in  1937  than  in  1935 ; 
and  there  were  fourteen  new  public  library  units  established  in 
the  same  period. 

On  June  8,  1937,  the  North  Carolina  WPA  Library  Project 
was  set  up  on  a  state-wide  basis  as  a  part  of  the  Community 
Service  Program  of  the  WPA.14  Julius  Amis,  librarian  of  the 
Stanly  County  Library  in  Albemarle,  was  appointed  State  Li- 
brary Supervisor.  As  the  program  was  organized  there  were  six 
district  supervisors  and  a  supervisor  for  each  county  having  one 
or  more  WPA  library  units.15 


13  George  W.  Coan,  Jr.,  North  Carolina  WPA,  Its  Story    (Raleigh:   North  Carolina  Works 
Progress  Administration,  Information  Service,  1937),  II,   17. 

14  Julius    Amis,     "Library    Project,     Annual    Report,     1937-1941"     (North    Carolina    Work 
Projects  Administration,  mimeographed). 

16  Fifteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1936-1938),  10. 


Public  Library  Extension  383 

Although  none  of  the  first  area  supervisors  was  a  profession- 
ally trained  librarian,  and  only  one  had  any  library  experience, 
the  supervisors  were  described  as  "capable  and  industrious"  and 
as  having  vision  and  a  sense  of  responsibility.  Two  of  the  fifty- 
three  county  supervisors  were  library  school  graduates,  and  the 
others  were  "the  best  local  people  who  could  be  secured."16  The 
lack  of  available  professional  librarians  in  the  state  was  reflected 
in  the  fact  that  only  three,  the  state  supervisor  and  two  county 
supervisors,  were  in  that  category.  By  the  last  full  year  of  the 
program,  1940-1941,  eleven  supervisors  were  professionally 
trained.17 

Not  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  personnel  of  any  WPA 
project  could  be  non-relief  persons,  and  in  North  Carolina  ninety- 
five  per  cent  were  certified  for  relief.18  These  workers  were  with- 
out experience ;  and  they  were  trained  on  the  job  to  do  whatever 
they  had  ability  to  do,  mend  books,  file  cards,  make  posters,  and 
sometimes  to  do  organizational  work.  Often  after  a  worker  had 
been  trained  he  was  transferred  to  another  project,  or  his  certi- 
fication was  cancelled.  The  Director  of  the  Division  of  Commu- 
nity Service  said  that  one  of  the  major  problems  in  establishing 
library  projects  in  the  state  was  the  mandatory  release  of  certi- 
fied workers  after  eighteen  months  of  continuous  employment. 
The  other  problem  she  cited  was  that  of  securing  natives  of  the 
state  with  the  training,  experience,  and  personality  necessary 
for  supervisory  positions.19  Despite  the  hardships  imposed  by  the 
employment  restrictions  of  WPA,  workers  paid  from  WPA 
funds  undeniably  contributed  to  public  library  service  in  the 
state.  "At  one  period  two  thirds  of  the  Public  Libraries  in  North 
Carolina  were  totally  manned  by  WPA."20  In  1937-1938  North 
Carolina  had  1,385  WPA  library  employees ;  in  1938-1939,  1,450 ; 
in  1939-1940,  1,090;  and  in  1940-1941,  1,266.21  Only  four  states22 
had  more  people  employed  on  WPA  library  projects  than  North 
Carolina,  and  North  Carolina  had  a  larger  percentage  of  WPA 
employees  engaged  in  library  work  than  any  other  state.23  The 


16  Marjorie  Beal,   "North   Carolina  WPA    Library    Projects   Sponsored  by   the   North   Caro- 
lina Library  Commission,"  March  1,   1938.  Unpublished  MS  in  files  of  the  Commission. 

17  Amis,  "Library  Project,  Annual  Report,   1937-1941." 

18  Sixteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1938-1940),  9. 

19  Mrs.  May  E.  Campbell  to  League  of  Library  Commissions,  April  5,  1941.  Copy  of  letter 
in  Library  Commission  files. 

20  MS  description  of  project,  1941.  In  files  of  the  Commission. 

21  Amis,   "Library  Project,  Annual  Report,   1937-1941." 

22  Texas,  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  California. 

33  Stanford,  Library  Extension,  table  4,  53-54. 


384  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

relative  emphasis  given  to  the  library  program  in  the  state  was 
largely  due  to  the  enthusiastic  work  of  the  state  supervisor  and 
the  sponsors  of  the  project. 

The  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  and  the  North  Caro- 
lina Department  of  Public  Instruction,  as  the  official  state 
agencies,  were  the  sponsors  of  the  North  Carolina  WPA  Library 
Project  to  "initiate  and  develop  library  services  for  public 
libraries  and  school  libraries"  in  the  state.24  The  office  of  the  state 
WPA  supervisor  was  located  in  that  of  the  North  Carolina 
Library  Commission  and  so  close  was  the  cooperation  that  the 
two  functioned,  within  the  limitations  of  the  federal  program,  as 
a  single  unit.  Governing  bodies  or  library  boards  in  local  com- 
munities served  as  co-sponsors  of  the  units  in  their  counties  or 
cities.  The  price  of  co-sponsorship  was  a  contribution  of  twenty- 
five  per  cent  of  the  sum  appropriated  by  WPA.  The  local  group 
furnished  quarters  with  light,  heat,  furniture  and  shelving;  a 
collection  of  five  hundred  books  the  titles  of  which  had  to  be  ap- 
proved by  the  Commission ;  and  funds  from  which  new  books  and 
supplies  could  be  purchased.  This  fund  plus  assigned  values  for 
the  other  requirements  constituted  the  "sponsor's  contribution." 
The  sponsor  also  agreed  "to  work  for  the  development  of  perma- 
nent county  or  regional  library  service."  WPA  furnished  the 
workers  and  supervision  of  them.25  The  average  monthly  amount 
contributed  by  sponsors  in  North  Carolina  during  the  period  of 
the  state-wide  program  increased  rapidly  indicating  the  success 
of  the  library  demonstrations.  During  the  first  six  months  (July, 
1937,  to  January,  1938)  the  average  total  contributed  each  month 
was  $4,491 ;  in  the  first  six  months  of  1941  the  average  monthly 
contribution  totalled  $88,456.26 

A  nation-wide  survey  of  the  effect  of  WPA  library  projects 
on  the  extension  of  library  service  shows  that  sponsor  contribu- 
tions for  all  types  of  libraries  in  North  Carolina  in  1940-41 
totalled  $1,122,424  (or  58.7  per  cent  of  the  total  cost  of  the 
projects)  and  were  larger  than  in  any  other  state.27  The  survey 


24  MS  description  of  project  in  Commission  files. 

25  MS  description  of  project  in  Commission  files;  mimeographed  form  of  sponsor's  contract 
in    Commission   files. 

29  Amis,  "Library  Project,  Annual  Report,  1937-1941." 

27  Stanford,  Library  Extension,  table  6,  62-68.  These  figures  were  based  on  "Data  obtained 
from  WPA's  Division  of  Statistics  in  Washington."  They  include  college,  university,  and 
school  as  well  as  public  library  expenditures  and  are  the  best  available  comparative  sta- 
tistics. The  amount  pledged  for  that  year  for  public  and  school  library  projects,  as  shown  on 
the  project  proposal,  was  $434,392;  the  income  for  public  libraries  was  $389,362. 


Public  Library  Extension  385 

also  found  that  WPA  allotments  to  states  generally  followed 
population  figures,  probably  because  of  the  employment  purpose 
of  the  program,  although  the  proportion  of  the  population  with- 
out library  service  may  have  influenced  allotments  to  a  lesser 
extent.28  The  study  cited  as  factors  in  determining  the  relative 
importance  given  to  library  projects  within  the  different  states 

.  .  .  the  existence  of  a  strong  and  active  state  library  agency, 
ready  to  plan  and  supervise  a  sound  library  assistance  program, 
and  a  popular  and  articulate  citizen  interest  in  the  state-wide 
extension  of  tax-supported  public  library  service.  States  in  which 
these  factors  were  present  naturally  tended  to  benefit  propor- 
tionately more  from  the  program  than  others  lacking  in  active, 
organized  professional  and  lay  leadership.29 

In  1936-1937  the  state-wide  library  project  requested  $410,714 
from  WPA  on  the  basis  of  $20,500  pledged  as  sponsors'  contri- 
butions. The  last  year  of  the  project,  1941-1942,  the  request  was 
for  $1,008,775  with  $475,432  pledged  by  the  sponsors.30  These 
amounts  include  school  as  well  as  public  libraries.  The  actual 
income  of  public  libraries  from  local  sources  for  these  years  was 
$258,495.90  and  $385,032.28  respectively.31 

Within  its  limitations  as  an  employment  agency  the  national 
director  described  the  chief  aim  of  the  Library  Section  of  WPA 
as  reducing  "the  number  of  people  in  the  United  States  without 
library  service.,,  WPA  endeavored  to  make  library  service  to 
rural  Americans  more  nearly  equal  to  that  available  to  residents 
of  cities.  It  had 

.  .  .  the  professional  aim  of  demonstrating  accepted  plans  for 
the  logical  development  of  state-wide  library  service  and  of 
developing  practical  operators  in  the  so  far  relatively  neglected 
and  important  field  of  rural  library  extension.32 

Avoiding  all  risks  of  competition  with  local  efforts,  WPA  was 
an  assistance  program  to  expand  library  services  both  as  to 
quality  of  service  offered  by  existing  libraries  and  extension  of 
service  to  the  hitherto  unserved  populace.  There  was  little  im- 


28  Stanford,  Library  Extension,  tables  8  and  9,  73-74,  79. 

29  Stanford,  Library  Extension,  257. 

30  Copies   of   the   official   "Project   Proposals"    for   these   years    in   the   files    of   the    Library 
Commission. 

31  Statistics  of  North  Carolina  Public  Libraries  .  .  .    (1936-1942). 

32  Edward  A.   Chapman,    "W.    P.   A.   Library   Demonstrations    Serve   Millions   of   Readers," 
ALA  Bulletin,  XXXIV   (April,  1940),  225. 


386  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

provement  of  quality,  but  WPA  provided  limited  laboratory 
facilities  for  proposed  extension  of  library  service. 

In  North  Carolina  the  stated  objectives  of  the  program  re- 
lating to  public  libraries  were : 

1.  Strengthen  existing  library  agencies,  following  standards 
set  up  by  the  North  Carolina  Library  Commission.  .  .  . 

2.  Help  establish  permanent  service  on  [a]  county  or  regional 
basis ;  to  integrate  existing  units.  .  .  .33 

More  specifically  the  activities  of  the  project  included: 

.  .  .  county-wide  planning  for  library  service;  cataloging  and 
indexing  books;  typing  and  filing  cards;  maintaining  reading 
rooms  for  the  public;  conducting  story  hours  for  children  of 
different  age  levels ;  preserving  and  repairing  library  materials ; 
checking  and  arranging  accumulated  materials  and  duplicates; 
checking  collections  against  shelf  list  records;  preparing  pam- 
phlet, picture,  clipping,  and  photograph  collections;  operating 
bookmobiles  or  assisting  with  the  operation  of  bookmobiles; 
circulating  books  and  magazines;  extending  library  service  to 
communities  where  no  library  service  existed  through  bookmo- 
biles, library  branches  or  small  collections  of  books;  repairing 
books  not  normally  sent  to  a  commercial  bindery,  exclusive  of 
text  books.34 

In  commenting  to  the  press  on  the  state-wide  program  the  direc- 
tor of  the  Commission  called  it  "the  biggest  thing  [that]  ever 
happened  to  libraries  in  the  State."35 

One  of  the  greatest  problems  of  the  WPA  Library  Project  was 
the  training  of  its  workers,  most  of  whom  had  no  library  experi- 
ence and  very  few  of  whom  had  even  a  vague  conception  of 
library  service.  Direct  training  was  given  in  classes,  and  indirect 
help  was  available  through  material  prepared  at  headquarters 
in  the  Library  Commission  and  sent  out  to  all  units.  Definite 
periods  of  group  training  were  designated  for  each  level  of  WPA 
personnel.36 

At  first  WPA  made  no  provision  for  the  purchase  of  books 
from  federal  funds.  But  it  became  evident  that  books  available 
from  the  Commission  and  those  furnished  out  of  a  portion  of 
the  twenty-five  per  cent  sponsor's  contribution  were  too  few  to 

33  Project  proposal,  September  5,   1940.  Copy  in  files  of  Library  Commission. 
84  MS  description   of  project   in   Library   Commission   files. 

35  Marjorie  Beal,  as  quoted  in   The  News  and  Observer    (Raleigh),  May  8,   1937. 
38  MS   description    of    project;    supervisor's    conference    programs.    In    files    of    the    Library 
Commission. 


Public  Library  Extension  387 

demonstrate  library  service  in  ever  widening  areas.  Beginning 
in  December,  1939,  some  WPA  funds  were  allocated  to  buy- 
books,  and  by  August,  1942,  there  were  56,408  project-owned 
books  in  the  state.37  In  selection  of  adult  books  emphasis  was 
placed  on  such  practical  topics  as  farming  methods  and  home 
economics  as  well  as  the  more  general  informative  reading  ma- 
terial of  biography,  travel,  history,  and  works  on  current  politi- 
cal and  social  trends.38 

The  amount  of  federal  funds  allocated  for  book  purchases 
was  very  small,  and  selection  and  use  of  the  books  were  circum- 
scribed. They  could  be  used  only  in  new  areas  for  the  purpose 
of  "creating  a  demand  for  adequate  permanent  locally  supported 
library  serivce,"  but  not  as  supplementary  bookstock  for  ex- 
isting libraries.39  Selective  limitations  were  that  the  proportion 
of  children's  books  in  the  collection  could  total  not  more  than 
thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  whole,  adult  fiction  could  not  exceed 
forty  per  cent  of  adult  titles,  and  not  more  than  five  copies  of 
any  single  title  could  be  bought.40  Two  of  these  restrictions  were 
criticized  by  the  director  of  the  Library  Commission  as  particu- 
larly unsuited  to  southern  libraries.  "The  ruling  which  limits 
book  purchases  to  five  copies  of  any  one  title,  works  a  hardship 
on  the  sections  where  separate  service  must  be  provided  for  the 
whites  and  negroes,"  she  wrote.  And  she  pointed  out  that  limit- 
ing the  number  of  children's  books  to  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the 
total  disregarded  the  higher  proportion  of  children  in  the 
South.41  The  North  Carolina  project  successfully  ignored  the 
latter  limitation  and  bought  more  books  for  children  than  for 
adults.42  Although  the  WPA  made  some  effort  to  supply  books, 
it  was  a  minor  part  of  the  program,  and  the  number  of  books 
available  in  the  public  libraries  of  the  state  was  far  below  the 
need  at  the  end  of  the  federal  program.  Recognition  of  this 


37 BOOKS  PURCHASED   BY  WPA,  DECEMBER,   1939— AUGUST,   1942* 

Adult Juvenile Total 

Non-fiction     14,560  8,934  23,494 

Fiction     13,284  19,630  32,914 

Total    27,844 28,564 56,408 

*  Taken  from  MS  record  of  book  stock  in  files  of  the  Commission. 

38  MS  record  of  book  stock  in  Commission  files. 

39  "Selection  and  Administration  of  Project-Owned  Books"  (Washington:  Federal  Works 
Agency,  Work  Projects  Administration,  Division  of  Community  Service  Programs,  February 
18,  1941,  mimeographed),  section  1,  1. 

40  "Selection  and  Administration   of  Project-Owned  Books,"  section  2,   1-2. 

41  Marjorie  Beal  to  Grace  W.  Estes,  August  14,  1940.  Copy  of  letter  in  Library  Commission 
files. 

42  See  table,  footnote  37. 


388  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

condition  led  to  the  recommendation  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  first  state  funds  available  in  1941  be  used  to  buy  books.43 

In  a  predominantly  rural  state,  such  as  North  Carolina,  li- 
brary service  must  be  taken  to  the  people.  An  early  effort  to 
serve  the  scattered  population  was  made  through  the  "rural 
libraries"  placed  in  the  schools  beginning  in  1901.44  Later  (in 
1913)  the  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  set  up  a  system 
of  "traveling  libraries"  which  were  collections  of  from  forty  to 
fifty  books  packed  in  wooden  cases  which  doubled  as  book 
shelves  when  opened.  Traveling  libraries  were  lent  to  groups 
throughout  the  state  for  three-month  periods.45  However,  the 
best  method  of  extending  library  service  to  rural  sections  was 
found  to  be  the  bookmobile.  The  first  library  on  wheels  in  North 
Carolina  was  put  into  operation  in  Durham  County  on  October 
17,  1923.46  During  the  summer  of  1925  the  Durham  bookmobile 
was  lent  to  the  Library  Commission  for  North  Carolina's 
first  bookmobile  demonstration  in  Randolph,  Montgomery,  and 
Chatham  counties.47  In  1929  the  North  Carolina  Library  Asso- 
ciation collected  funds  to  buy  a  bookmobile  for  the  Library 
Commission  to  continue  demonstrations.  Purchase  of  the  book 
truck  was  delayed  until  1936  because  funds  for  its  operation 
were  not  included  in  the  legislative  appropriation.48  Within  a 
year  it  had  been  used  in  nine  counties  with  success  "far  beyond 
expectations."49 

The  bookmobile  program  of  the  WPA,  begun  in  May,  1938, 
after  the  Library  Commission  bookmobile  had  been  in  operation 
for  two  years,  was  actually  an  expansion  of  a  successful  demon- 
stration. The  Commission's  bookmobile  had  been  lent  to  twenty- 
two  counties  for  one-month  periods ;  and  in  those  two  years  five 
public  libraries  purchased  their  own  bookmobiles,  bringing  the 
total  number  of  library-owned  trucks  to  eight.50 

43  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1940-1942),   7. 

^Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1901),  c.  662.  The  act  provided  that  if  a  school  raised 
$10  the  county  and  state  would  each  match  the  amount  to  buy  a  $30  library.  Titles  had  to  be 
approved  by  the  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction. 

45  Descriptions  of  this  service  may  be  found  in  issues  of  the  North  Carolina  Library 
Bulletin,  I-VIII    (September,   1912-December,   1931). 

*«  Clara  M.  Crawford,  "County  Library  Service  in  Durham,  North  Carolina,"  North  Caro- 
lina Library  Bulletin,  V   (June,  1924),  204-206. 

47  Anne  F.  Petty,  "An  Experimental  Journey,"  North  Carolina  Library  Bulletin,  VI  (De- 
cember, 1925),  111-114. 

48  "News  Notes  of  North  Carolina  Libraries,"  June  9,  1936.  Mimeographed  newsletter 
distributed  at  various  intervals  by  the  North  Carolina  Library  Commission. 

49  "News  Notes  of  North  Carolina  Libraries,"  July  1,  1937. 

^Fifteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  (1936-1938),  12.  In  reporting 
this  fact  the  Commission  commented  that  North  Carolina  needed  at  least  eighty  bookmobiles 
to  serve  all  the  people  of  the  state.  The  eightieth  bookmobile  in  North  Carolina  was  de- 
livered to  Chatham  County  in  1949. 


Public  Library  Extension  389 

Rules  governing  the  loan  of  the  WPA  bookmobile  were  similar 
to  those  for  obtaining  other  WPA  assistance.  The  sponsor  agreed 
to  make  available  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  total  cost  to  cover 
the  expense  of  operation,  to  pay  for  or  replace  lost  and  damaged 
books,  and  to  supply  stationery  necessary  for  the  operation  of 
bookmobile  schedules.51 

Where  there  was  a  local  librarian,  plans  and  schedules  were 
worked  out  by  the  librarian  and  the  WPA  supervisor.  In  counties 
without  a  library,  the  supervisor  planned  the  service  with  the 
group  or  committee  sponsoring  the  demonstration.  Plans  in- 
cluded the  daily  route,  stations  such  as  schools,  stores,  and 
homes  where  collections  of  books  would  be  left,  and  posters 
and  other  publicity  advertising  the  demonstration.52 

Within  a  year  four  more  bookmobiles  were  provided  by  WPA 
and  in  June,  1940,  twelve  were  in  operation.53  They  were  usually 
lent  for  a  period  varying  from  one  to  four  months,  either  to  a 
single  county  or  to  a  combination  of  two  or  three  counties.  Until 
the  end  of  1939  the  period  was  usually  two  months;  then,  as 
more  counties  secured  their  own  bookmobiles,  the  remaining 
counties  were  allowed  to  keep  the  WPA  trucks  for  longer 
periods.54 

By  the  end  of  the  program  in  1942  eighty-five  of  the  one 
hundred  counties  had  had  WPA  bookmobile  demonstrations.55 
Of  the  remaining  fifteen  counties,  six  owned  their  own  book- 
mobiles, so  actually  only  nine  counties  failed  to  take  advantage 
of  a  demonstration.56 

The  bookmobile  phase  of  WPA  aid  probably  contributed 
most  to  library  extension  in  North  Carolina,  although  its  success 
was  naturally  to  a  degree  dependent  upon  the  rest  of  the  pro- 
gram. For  the  first  time  many  rural  residents  were  able  to 
select,  from  around  two  thousand  books  which  varied  on  every 
visit,  their  informational  and  recreational  reading  needs.  With 
the  books  came  a  "librarian"  who  was  interested  in  supplying 
such  needs,  and  although  she  was  usually  professionally  un- 
trained she  had  received  enough  instruction  to  know  that  she 
could  get  professional  help  from  her  supervisor  or  the  Library 


61  Mimeographed  form  of  contract  agreement  in  files  of  Library  Commission. 

52  Julius  Amis,  "Works  Progress  Administration  Library  Handbook,"  revised  edition    (Ra- 
leigh:  Works  Progress  Administration,  June,  1938,  mimeographed),  13. 

53  Amis,  "Library  Project,  Annual  Report,  1937-1941." 

64  MS  working  schedule  for  WPA  bookmobiles,  in  files  of  Library  Commission. 
66  MS  list  in  Commission  files. 

68  These  nine  counties  were  Alexander,  Ashe,  Dare,  Henderson,  Jackson,  Madison,  Sampson, 
Stanly,  and  Vance. 


390  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Commission  for  difficult  problems.  Bookmobile  demonstrations 
were  uniformly  successful  and  the  results  were  apparent.  By 
December,  1941,  when  six  outstanding  orders  for  bookmobiles 
were  "frozen  for  the  duration,"  thirty-five  counties  were  operat- 
ing thirty-three  bookmobiles.57 

The  other  two  activities  of  WPA  in  the  library  field,  book- 
mending  and  building  construction,  had  less  effect  on  the  de- 
velopment of  library  service  than  on  the  employment  of  the 
state,  although  the  bookmending  projects  did  prolong  the  use- 
fulness of  book  stock  in  a  time  of  scarcity. 

One  of  the  first  jobs  assigned  to  library  workers  paid  from 
federal  funds  was  that  of  mending  books.  It  was  comparatively 
easy  to  demonstrate  mending  procedures  to  persons  with  no 
knowledge  of  library  routines  or  technical  processes.  Also,  be- 
cause reduced  budgets  curtailed  spending  for  rebinding,  every 
library  had  many  books  no  longer  in  condition  for  circulation. 
Since  library  projects  before  1937  were  only  on  a  local  level 
there  are  no  records  available  showing  how  many  libraries 
received  help  in  this  way.  However,  all  existing  libraries  could 
request  menders  from  the  local  Employment  Relief  Administra- 
tion office,  and  it  is  probable  that  most  of  them  did.  The  small 
bookmending  projects  of  one  or  two  workers  each  were  continued 
until  October,  1939,  under  the  state-wide  program.58  By  the 
middle  of  1938  forty-five  per  cent  of  all  WPA  library  employees 
in  the  United  States  were  engaged  in  book  repair;59  and  there 
were  289  bookmending  units  in  North  Carolina.  After  1938 
restrictions  were  put  on  book  repairs  and  binding  because  of 
the  increasing  likelihood  of  competition  with  commercial  book- 
binders.60 In  October,  1939,  central  mending  units  were  set  up 
in  North  Carolina,  resulting  in  better  training,  supervision,  and 
more  efficient  operation.61  The  number  of  units  varied  from 
twelve  to  fifteen.  Each  repaired  books  for  libraries  in  one  or 
more  counties,  and  district  supervisors  worked  out  schedules  to 
maintain  a  constant  flow  of  books  through  the  repairing  unit.62 


57  MS  list  in  Commission  files;  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission 
(1940-1942),  12-13. 
^Amis,   "Library  Project,  Annual  Report,  1937-1941." 

59  Stanford,  Library  Extension,  50. 

60  No  magazines  published  after  January,  1935,  were  bound  by  the  WPA.  Amis,  "Works 
Progress  Administration  Library  Handbook,"  66. 

91  Amis,   "Library  Project,   Annual   Report,   1937-1941." 

62  Marjorie  Beal  in  a  form  letter  to  "the  Public  Librarians,"  November  24,  1939.  Copy  in 
"Central  Bookmending  on  N.  C.  WPA  Library  Project,"  March,  1941,  7.  (Mimeographed 
booklet.) 


Public  Library  Extension  391 

Libraries  were  responsible  for  transportation  of  their  books  and 
often  delivered  and  picked  them  up  in  the  bookmobile.  The 
central  units  accepted  surplus  mending  materials  from  libraries 
where  smaller  units  had  operated  and  credited  the  value  of  the 
materials  toward  costs  of  repairs  for  that  library.  Libraries 
were  charged  only  the  cost  of  materials  which  were  bought  in 
quantity  through  the  state  purchasing  agent,  and  the  cost  per 
volume  was  about  thirteen  cents.63  In  1940-1941,  with  fifteen 
units  operating  and  191  workers  employed,  110,491  books  were 
mended  in  North  Carolina  by  the  WPA.64 

Some  public  library  buildings  were  constructed  with  federal 
assistance,  but  available  data  regarding  this  phase  of  WPA  in 
the  state  are  incomplete.  The  library  construction  activities  of 
WPA  and  its  predecessors  were  the  result  of  the  necessity  to 
provide  work  for  a  large  labor  force,  rather  than  as  a  planned 
part  of  library  extension. 

Three  new  buildings  were  partially  financed  by  WPA  funds 
at  Hillsboro,  Rowland,  and  Warrenton.  The  Warren  County 
Memorial  Library,  on  the  courthouse  square  in  Warrenton, 
was  one  of  the  first  libraries  to  be  completed  as  a  PWA  project 
and  was  opened  on  July  30,  1934.65  In  1935  the  New  Bern 
Library  Association,  Inc.,  bought  the  old  Stanly  home  which 
was  remodeled  as  a  free  public  library  with  WPA  funds.66  At 
Scotland  Neck,  Clinton,  and  Mount  Olive  community  houses 
built  with  WPA  aid  contained  library  quarters,67  and  there 
were  probably  other  instances  of  public  buildings  constructed 
by  WPA  which  included  space  for  the  public  library.  The  Rock- 
ingham County  Library  at  Leaksville,  opened  in  January,  1937, 
and  the  Hamlet  Public  Library,  opened  in  September,  1938, 
were  built  with  WPA  assistance.68  In  1939  library  buildings  at 
Wilson,  Southern  Pines,  and  Statesville  were  financed  by  local 
and  WPA  funds,69  and  in  1940  the  same  cooperation  resulted 
in  libraries  at  Madison  and  Vanceboro.70  Both  the  WPA  and 


63  "Central  Bookmending   on   N.   C.   WPA   Library   Project,"    13-14.   The   cost   of   having   a 
book  rebound  commercially  at  that  time  was  about  eighty  cents, 
e*  Amis,   "Library  Project,   Annual  Report,   1937-1941." 

65  Thirteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1932-1934),   11. 

66  Fourteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1934-1936),  9. 

67  Fourteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1934-1936),   9. 

68  Fifteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1936-1938),  11. 

69  Sixteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1938-1940),  15. 

70  "N.  C.  Libraries,"  May,   1940.  Mimeographed  successor  to  "News  Notes  of  North  Caro- 
lina Libraries." 


392  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

NYA  helped  with  construction  of  a  library  building  for  Negroes 
in  Hertford  County  completed  in  1941.71 

As  Nazi  aggression  in  Europe  flamed  into  warfare  the  United 
States  turned  to  defense,  and  libraries  and  the  North  Carolina 
WPA  Library  Project  endeavored  to  fit  into  the  defense  program. 
Victory  Books  were  collected  and  almost  every  library  became 
a  War  Information  Center  for  the  people  it  served.  There  were 
148  centers  in  79  counties  in  North  Carolina.72  In  varying  degree 
they  provided  war  information  service:  compiled  directories  of 
all  agencies  related  to  defense  in  the  area,  maintained  bulletin 
boards  with  the  latest  war  information  and  maps,  and  displayed 
technical  books  about  skills  required  of  defense  workers.  The 
North  Carolina  WPA  office  sent  out  a  "War  Information  Center 
Bulletin''73  with  suggestions  for  possible  services. 

By  December,  1941,  the  more  urgent  need  of  federal  funds 
for  military  preparations  and  the  increase  of  employment  by 
expanding  industry  made  the  closing  out  of  WPA  projects 
imminent.  Emphasis  was  given  to  services  in  defense  areas  of 
the  eastern  and  southern  parts  of  the  state  where  programs 
were  continued  into  1942.  But  in  March  of  that  year  the  state 
administrator  announced  that  the  state- wide  library  project 
would  close  on  May  31,  1942.74  The  bookmobiles  were  turned 
over  to  libraries  in  the  defense  areas  where  they  were  used  for 
some  time  before  the  government  requested  payment  for  them. 
Then  the  price  was  reduced  in  proportion  to  mileage,  general 
condition,  and  the  sums  for  tires  and  repairs  which  had  been 
contributed  by  the  libraries.  "The  most  any  county  paid  was 
$275."7r>  Some  of  the  WPA  books  were  turned  over  to  the  Com- 
mission and  others  were  sent  to  various  small  libraries  in  the 
state.76 

The  North  Carolina  WPA  Library  Project  was  a  part  of  a 
national  program  to  relieve  unemployment.  However,  largely 
due  to  the  alertness  and  imagination  of  the  North  Carolina 
Library  Commission's  director  and  the  cooperation  of  the  state 
WPA   library  supervisor,   public  libraries   in   North   Carolina 


71  Seventeenth  Report   of  North   Carolina   Library   Commission    (1940-1942),    16. 

72  MS  list  in  Library  Commission  files. 

73  "War    Information    Center    Bulletin"     (North    Carolina    Work    Projects    Administration, 
1942,  mimeographed). 

71  C.  C.  McGinnis  to  librarians   of  the  state,   March   31,    1942.   Form  letter   in   files  of  the 
Library  Commission. 

76  Marjorie  Beal  to  author,  April  11,  1950. 

76  Copies  of  receipts  in  Library  Commission  files. 


Public  Library  Extension  393 

benefited  from  a  form  of  federal  aid.  Extension  of  public  library 
service  during  the  period  of  the  WPA  program,  a  period  of 
economic  stringency,  is  apparent. 

In  1935  only  thirty-eight  per  cent  of  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  were  in  areas  served  by  public  libraries;  in  1942 
eighty-five  per  cent  were  within  service  boundaries.  Free  books 
were  available  to  824,882  more  people  at  the  end  of  the  federal 
relief  program  than  at  its  beginning.77  Only  nine  counties, 
Davie,  Jones,  Madison,  Mitchell,  Pamlico,  Polk,  Stokes,  Yadkin, 
and  Yancey,  were  without  a  public  library  within  their  borders ; 
although  eleven  others,  Brunswick,  Cabarrus,  Columbus,  Hay- 
wood, Henderson,  Montgomery,  Moore,  Richmond,  Robeson, 
Surry,  and  Transylvania,  did  not  have  service  for  all  residents.78 
The  other  eighty  counties  had  library  service  of  varying  quality. 
From  1937  to  1942  WPA  workers  operated  seventy  public  li- 
braries;79 hence  it  is  evident  that  much  of  the  expansion  of 
service  was  due  to  federal  aid. 

WPA  assistance  advanced  the  development  of  cooperation 
between  smaller  or  poorer  counties  in  the  state.  Among  the 
barriers  to  setting  up  inter-county  library  service  have  been 
local  pride,  fear  of  loss  of  control,  and  the  long-established 
county  political  unit.  Under  the  WPA  library  program  county 
lines  were  often  disregarded,  especially  in  assigning  bookmobiles 
to  previously  unserved  areas.  This  practice  served  the  immed- 
iate purpose  of  making  the  available  trucks  serve  a  larger  area 
and  the  broader  purpose  of  demonstrating  that  cooperation  was 
practicable.  As  the  secretary  and  director  of  the  North  Carolina 
Library  Commission  pointed  out,  counties  were  willing  to  ex- 
periment because  the  demonstrations  apparently  were  not 
necessarily  permanent.80  The  experiment  proved  so  successful 
that  some  counties  have  entered  into  cooperative  agreements  to 
form  regional  libraries  since  the  period  of  WPA  assistance. 
The  greatest  opposition  to  regional  contracts  has  come  from 
counties  with  established  library  systems  and  those  which  have 
been  unwilling  to  take  in  poorer  neighbors. 

Two  regional  libraries  were  set  up  before  WPA  assistance 
was  discontinued.  One,  in  the  extreme  western  tip  of  the  state, 

77  North  Carolina  Libraries   (1935-1937);  Statistics  of  North  Carolina  Public  Libraries  .  .  . 
(1938-1942). 

78  Statistics  of  North  Carolina  Public  Libraries  .  .  .    (1941-1942). 

79  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1940-1942),   11. 
^Marjorie  Beal  to  Grace  W.  Estes,  August  4,  1940.  In  files  of  the  Library  Commission. 


394  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

was  developed  through  an  agreement  between  the  Tennessee 
Valley  Authority  and  the  library  board  at  Murphy.  The  WPA 
lent  a  bookmobile  and  2,200  books  Jor  the  experiment,  which 
served  the  three  counties  of  Cherokee,  Clay,  and  Graham  and 
became  the  Nantahala  Regional  Library.81  Although  this  library 
was  financed  primarily  by  TVA,  the  use  of  a  WPA  bookmobile 
demonstrated  the  value  of  this  mode  of  distribution,  and  by 
1942  the  region  had  purchased  its  own  bookmobile.82  The  other 
regional  library  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  state  was  a  direct 
outgrowth  of  WPA  demonstrations.  In  1941  six  towns  in  Beau- 
fort, Hyde,  and  Martin  counties  had  small  libraries  sponsored 
by  clubs  and  operated  by  WPA  workers.  The  only  service  to 
rural  residents  had  been  a  six-month  WPA  bookmobile  demon- 
stration in  each  county.  The  demonstrations  were  enthusiastically 
received  and  when  state  funds  became  available  the  B  H  M 
Regional  Library  was  established.  Funds  of  the  three  counties 
were  pooled,  a  trained  librarian  employed,  and  a  bookmobile 
obtained.  The  continuance  of  WPA  personnel,  except  for  the 
Librarian,  for  the  first  year  made  possible  the  use  of  a  larger 
portion  of  income  for  books  and  essential  equipment.  The  WPA 
also  joined  the  Library  Commission  in  lending  large  collections 
of  books  to  initiate  the  program.83 

Other  counties  cooperated  to  a  limited  extent.  Chatham,  Per- 
son, and  Orange  counties,  and  Duplin,  Onslow,  and  Sampson 
counties,  arranged  two  "tri-county"  agreements  whereby  each 
county  continued  as  a  separate  unit  with  its  own  library  board, 
books,  and  bookmobile,  but  each  group  of  three  shared  the 
services  and  salary  of  a  trained  librarian.84  This  arrangement 
proved  unsatisfactory,  however,  and  only  lasted  for  a  short 
time.  After  state  aid  was  voted  Caswell  County  cooperated  with 
Person,  and  later  Orange  County,  and  formed  the  present  Hy- 
coneechee  Regional  Library.  By  1949  there  were  nine  regional 
libraries  of  two  or  three  counties  each,  serving  nineteen  coun- 
ties. State  aid  provided  the  greatest  motivation  towards  regional 
cooperation,  but  WPA  demonstrated  the  possibilities. 


81  Sixteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1938-1940),   8-9. 

R2  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission  (1940-1942),  13.  In  1944  TVA 
contracted  with  Jackson,  Macon,  and  Swain  counties  to  form  the  Fontana  Regional  Library. 
Eighteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1942-1944),  10. 

83  Mrs.  Ford  S.  Worthy  and  Elizabeth  House,  "Regional  Library  Service  in  North  Caro- 
lina." North  Carolina  Libraries,  II    (January,  1943),  5-6. 

^Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1940-1942),  6. 


Public  Library  Extension  395 

Little  WPA  assistance  was  given  to  increasing  the  book  stock 
of  public  libraries  in  the  state.  This  was  one  of  the  weakest 
parts  of  the  WPA  program.  If  greater  demands  in  book  stock 
had  been  made  on  the  local  sponsors  some  areas  might  have 
complied;  but  others  undoubtedly  would  not  have  sponsored 
WPA  library  units.  The  primary  aim  of  WPA,  employment, 
took  precedence  over  library  extension  policies,  and  the  number 
of  books  per  capita  increased  only  slightly  during  the  period  of 
federal  aid.  In  1935  there  were  twenty-one  books  for  every  100 
citizens  in  North  Carolina ;  in  1942  there  were  still  only  twenty- 
seven.  The  minimum  recommended  by  the  American  Library 
Association  was  two  books  per  capita;  the  national  average 
was  not  quite  one  and  a  half ;  North  Carolina  had  only  slightly 
over  a  fourth  of  a  book  per  person.85 

The  necessary  twenty-five  per  cent  contribution  required  of 
its  sponsors  by  WPA  was  partially  responsible  for  an  increase 
in  the  income  of  public  libraries.  Only  a  part  of  the  sponsor's 
contribution  was  cash,  hence  recognized  as  income  in  the  yearly 
reports  to  the  Library  Commission,  so  that  income  of  the  state's 
public  libraries  increased  only  from  six  to  ten  cents  per  capita. 
Federal  funds  used  for  salaries  were  not  included  in  this  rate 
as  they  would  be  in  normal  library  operational  costs.  This  fact 
explains  the  seeming  phenomenon  of  extending  library  service 
to  an  additional  forty-seven  per  cent  of  the  population  on  an 
additional  income  of  only  four  cents  per  capita.  Total  public 
library  income  in  the  state,  exclusive  of  federal  aid,  was  $200,- 
955.72  in  1935 ;  it  had  increased  to  $389,362.44  in  1941.86 

With  the  withdrawal  of  federal  assistance  it  was  evident  that 
if  North  Carolina  public  libraries  were  not  to  lose  the  ground 
already  gained  some  other  aid  would  be  necessary.  Although 
both  local  and  county  appropriations  were  being  increased,  they 
were  not  sufficient  to  maintain  the  status  without  WPA  aid, 
and  certainly  inadequate  to  improve  it.  The  American  Library 
Association  declared: 

For  libraries,  as  for  schools,  the  state  should  accept  respon- 
sibility for  the  provision  of  adequate  service  for  all  inhabitants. 
It  should  encourage  the  continuation  and  increase  of  local 
support,  and  should  assume  a  part  of  the  cost  of  local  libraries, 

85  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1940-1942),  17. 

86  Statistics  of  North  Carolina  Public  Libraries  .  .  .    (1934-1935,  1940-1941). 


396  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

through  state  appropriations  to  supplement  local  funds,  or  to 
provide  a  minimum  program.87 

Interested  North  Carolinians  under  the  leadership  of  the  North 
Carolina  Library  Commission  and  its  energetic  director,  Mar- 
jorie  Beal,  made  repeated  efforts  to  persuade  the  General  As- 
sembly to  vote  additional  funds.  The  1937  session  passed  a  bill 
authorizing  state  aid  for  public  libraries,  but  struck  out  the 
clauses  authorizing  appropriations.  During  the  1939  session 
the  Budget  Commission  and  the  Joint  Appropriations  Commit- 
tee held  hearings,  but  failed  to  make  recommendations.88  Then 
in  1941  the  General  Assembly  voted  $100,000  as  aid  to  public 
libraries  for  each  year  of  the  biennium,  1941-1943.89  It  was  not 
mere  coincidence  that  this  action  was  taken  as  WPA  aid  was 
being  withdrawn. 

The  state  aid  appropriation  was  made  "to  improve,  stimulate, 
increase  and  equalize  public  library  service  to  the  people  of  the 
whole  state."  It  was  to  be  administered  by  the  state  Library 
Commission  which  could  allocate  it  among  the  counties  "taking 
into  consideration  local  needs,  area  and  population  to  be  served, 
local  interest  and  such  other  factors  as  may  effect  the  state 
program  of  public  library  service."90 

In  setting  up  a  fair  method  of  distributing  the  state  money, 
the  Library  Commission  summed  up  the  situation  in  the  state 
as  follows: 

Public  library  service  had  developed  along  no  set  pattern  and 
each  of  the  one  hundred  counties  presented  an  individual 
problem.  No  public  library  had  enough  books.  Some  libraries 
were  fairly  good  with  trained  librarians,  active  trustees,  regular 
incomes,  attractive  quarters,  bookmobiles,  county  branches  and 
stations,  service  for  negroes,  intelligent,  and  eager  borrowers. 
Other  libraries  had  .  .  .  low  income,  no  publicity,  inert  trus- 
tees.91 

An  equal  share  of  the  money  was  offered  each  county  in  the 
state  with  the  provision  that  the  county  endeavor  to  provide 
service  for  all  of  its  citizens.  No  minimum  amount  of  county 


87  '  A  National  Plan  for  Libraries"    (revised  and  adopted  by  the  Council  of  the  American 
Library  Association,  December,   1938,  mimeographed). 

88  Sixteenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1938-1940),  7. 
80  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1941),  chapter  93. 

00  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina   (1941),  chapter  93. 

n  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1940-1942),  5.  Italics  mine. 


Public  Library  Extension  397 

appropriation  was  required  because  of  the  varying  financial 
conditions  in  the  counties.  The  amount  of  $900  for  the  first  year 
was  set  aside  for  each  county  and  those  which  presented  accept- 
able plans  for  county-wide  service  received  their  shares. 

State  aid  funds  could  be  used  for  the  purchase  of  books, 
supplies  to  process  those  books,  the  purchase  and  running  ex- 
penses of  a  bookmobile,  the  salary  of  a  trained  librarian  and 
the  extension  of  library  service.  State  aid  funds  could  not  be 
used  for  furniture  or  equipment  for  a  library,  or  to  pay  an 
untrained  library  worker.92 

It  was  also  understood  that  the  funds  would  be  spent  under  the 
supervision  of  a  trained  librarian.  Sometimes  a  member  of  the 
Library  Commission  staff  helped  a  county  to  compile  book 
orders ;  other  counties  borrowed  the  services  of  a  librarian  in  a 
neighboring  county.93 

Seventy-six  counties  met  the  requirements  for  the  initial  $900 
allotment  the  first  year.  Two  months  before  the  end  of  the  fiscal 
year  the  unclaimed  twenty-four  shares  were  divided  among  the 
cooperating  counties  giving  each  an  additional  $389.35  with 
which  to  buy  books.94 

State  appropriations  have  been  increased  at  each  session 
of  the  legislature  since  1941.  In  1943,  $125,000;  in  1945, 
$175,000;  in  1947,  $275,000;  in  1949,  $350,436;  and  in  1951, 
$370,000  was  appropriated  for  each  year  of  the  biennium.95 

In  1950  ninety-three  counties  provided  service  for  all  resi- 
dents and  received  $3,625.06  each  from  state  funds.  Brunswick, 
Robeson,  Polk,  and  Montgomery  counties  contained  one  or  more 
libraries,  but  failed  to  provide  county-wide  service.  Alexander, 
Jones,  and  Madison  counties  had  no  library  service.96 

Unquestionably  state  aid  provided  the  greatest  impetus  to 
public  library  development  in  North  Carolina.  Income  per  capita 
rose  from  ten  cents  in  1941  to  thirty-six  cents  in  1950;  service 
was  extended  to  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  population  during 
the  same  period;  and  book  stock  rose  from  a  fourth  to  a  half 
book  per  capita.97  More  progress  was  made  in  the  nine  years 


02  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1940-1942),  6. 

93  The  writer  was  released  for  four  days  a  month  during  1941-1942  from  the  Rockingham 
County  Library  to  Caswell  County  to  spend  the  state  funds  for  books,  to  set  up  the  minimum 
processing  techniques,  and  to  direct  distribution  of  the  new  books  to  deposit  stations 
throughout  the  county. 

94  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1940-1942),  6. 

95  Session  Laws  of  North  Carolina  (1943),  chapter  530;  (1945),  chapter  279;  (1947), 
chapter  500;    (1949),  chapter  1249. 

96  Twenty-first  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission   (1948-1950),  map. 

97  Twenty-first  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1948-1950),  10. 


398  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

than  in  the  preceding  forty.  State  aid  contributed  more  to  public 
library  development  than  the  federal  aid  given  under  WPA,  but 
it  is  evident  that  WPA  paved  the  way  for,  and  helped  to  bring 
about,  state  aid. 

There  were  many  contributing  forces  which  induced  the 
North  Carolina  General  Assembly  to  aid  public  libraries. 
Charles  Whedbee  of  Hertford,  the  legislative  chairman  of  the 
North  Carolina  Library  Association,  visited  almost  every  legis- 
lator prior  to  the  1941  session  and  discussed  the  need  for  state 
aid  in  the  representative's  own  county.98  The  Library  Association 
and  the  Library  Commission  worked  steadfastly  toward  the 
goal  of  supplementary  state  funds,  and  action  was  urged  by 
clubs  and  by  individual  members  of  the  Citizens'  Library  Move- 
ment which  continued  to  form  the  backbone  of  citizen  support. 
The  value  of  these  contributions  is  incalculable,  but  the  evidence 
indicates  that  state  aid  came  partially  because  of  WPA  assistance 
to  public  library  service  in  the  state.  Because  of  WPA,  library 
service  became  available  to  a  larger  percentage  of  the  people 
during  an  economic  depression.  New  libraries  were  established, 
and  some  older  ones  remained  open  because  WPA  provided 
personnel.  When  withdrawal  of  federal  funds  was  ordered, 
library  service  faced  serious  curtailment  without  additional 
funds  to  supplement  local  support.  However  poor  the  service 
may  have  been,  there  had  been  some  access  to  books  which 
people  were  unwilling  to  give  up.  The  demonstration  was  a 
success  and  a  contributing  factor  in  obtaining  state  aid.  Signi- 
ficantly, many  of  the  counties  which  did  not  show  enough  interest 
in  library  service  to  meet  state  aid  requirements  were  the  very 
ones  which  did  not  have  WPA  bookmobile  demonstrations." 

The  WPA  program  of  assistance  to  library  service  in  North 
Carolina  was  beneficial  despite  some  shortcomings.  The  national 
objectives  of  extending  library  service  to  rural  areas  was  well 
suited  to  the  needs  in  North  Carolina.  A  strong  Library  Com- 
mission, previous  planning  by  the  North  Carolina  Library  Asso- 
ciation, and  excellent  citizen  support  made  possible  the  maximum 
utilization  of  WPA  services.  The  greatest  contribution  of  WPA 
was  in  widening  the  area  in  which  there  was  access  to  free 


08  Seventeenth  Report  of  North  Carolina  Library  Commission    (1940-1942),  5. 
on  Marjorie   Beal,   editor,   Libraries  in  North   Carolina;  A   Survey,    19U6-19W    (Raleigh:    The 
North  Carolina  Library  Associations,   1948),  5. 


Public  Library  Extension  399 

library  books.  The  project  paid  the  salaries  of  the  additional 
personnel  required,  and  provided  bookmobiles  for  service  dem- 
onstrations. As  a  temporary  program  WPA  successfully  dis- 
regarded formerly  sacred  county  lines  and  proved  the  practi- 
cality of  regional  libraries.  The  withdrawal  of  federal  funds 
provided  the  crisis  which  made  the  need  of  state  aid  apparent 
to  all.  The  major  weaknesses  of  the  WPA  as  a  form  of  federal 
aid  to  libraries  were  that  as  a  relief  organization  it  employed 
many  unsuitable  library  workers  instead  of  well  qualified  peo- 
ple, and  that  it  failed  to  provide  the  additional  book  stock  neces- 
sary for  the  expanded  program. 

State  aid  had  been  the  means  of  the  greatest  expansion  in 
public  library  service  in  the  state.  But  it  was  a  result  of  the 
cumulated  efforts  of  other  factors,  including  those  mentioned 
above.  Marjorie  Beal,  secretary  and  director  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Library  Commission,  probably  worked  harder,  longer,  and 
more  effectively  than  any  other  individual,  although  Charles 
Whedbee's  visits  to  the  legislators  were  an  important  factor. 
Without  the  vocal  support  of  many  citizens,  legislative  action 
could  not  have  been  attained.  And  it  seems  evident  that  the 
extension  of  service  by  WPA  and  the  general  despair  at  its 
withdrawal  at  least  stimulated  action  by  the  General  Assembly 
to  provide  funds  for  state-wide  public  library  service. 


LETTERS   FROM   NORTH    CAROLINA   TO 
ANDREW  JOHNSON 

Edited  By  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

[Continued'] 

From  John  Kerr109 

Greensboro,  Octo.  21st  1867. 
(Copy) 
His  Excellency,  Gov.r  Worth 

Sir:-  On  Friday  last  Jesse  C.  Griffith,  the  sheriff  of  Cas- 
well County-a  man  of  true  heart  and  steadfast  principles-who 
never  was  classed,  by  those  who  knew  him,  with  the  advocates  of 
secession,  was  arrested  by  order  of  the  Military  Authorities,  and 
carried  to  Charleston  to  answer  charges  preferred  against  him 
by  one  William  Johnson,  lately  convicted  of  burglary  in  the  Su- 
perior Court  of  Caswell,  [County],  who  owes  his  opportunity  to 
prefer  such  charges  to  the  mistaken  view  of  the  claims  of  mercy 
entertained  by  you,  and  myself  and  others.  On  request  of  myself 
and  others,  you  were  pleased  to  grant  him  a  gracious  pardon- 
he  promised  to  leave  the  state,  but  has  violated  this  promise.  We, 
who  ask  you  to  extend  clemency  to  him,  were  misled  by  his  pro- 
fession of  penitence,  and  gave  undue  weight  to  the  circumstances 
of  his  youth,  and  the  disordered  state  of  the  country,  at  the  time 
the  crime  was  perpetrated.  We  were  influenced  by  feelings  but 
too  easily  excited  in  favor  of  convicted  criminals-7/o^  were  in- 
fluenced in  some  degree,  at  least,  by  our  request;  and  the  result 
is  that  a  felon,  deserving  death,  still  lives  to  disturb  good  men  and 
endanger  the  peace  and  safety  of  society.  Aided  by  one  Tourgee 
and  another  individual  by  the  name  of  O'Connell,  he  has  succeeded 
in  having  Mr.  Griffith  arrested,  carried  away  from  his  family,  and 
subjected  to  vexations  and  expensive  military  trial,  for  no  other 
crime  than  that  of  having  kept  him  safely  in  jail  according  to  the 
judgment  of  the  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  between  the  time 
of  his  conviction  and  the  time  when  your  pardon  reached  him. 

You  have  already  been  made  acquainted  with  the  facts  of  his 
case.  I  write  now  to  ask  and  to  urge  you  to  interpose  immediately 
with  your  personal  and  official  influence  in  favor  of  Mr.  Griffith, 
and  make  known  to  the  Military  authorities,  at  Charleston,  the 
true  character  of  Johnson,  and  invoke  the  immediate  discharge 
of  Griffith.  The  trial  of  Griffith  is  set  for  this  day.  I  beg  you  to 
act  promptly. 

Mr.  Settle  is  here  in  discharge  of  his  public  duties.  He  ad- 
dressed the  court  to-day  in  reference  to  the  arrest  of  Griffith, 
and  in  unqualified  terms,  as  I  am  informed,  gave  the  character 

100  John   Kerr  was  a  lawyer  in  Yanceyville  and  defended   William  Johnson.   Hamilton,   Cor- 
respondence of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  1056,  1102,  1124. 

[400] 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  401 

of  Johnson,  and  stated  it  to  be  infamous,  and  the  action  against 

Griffith  cruel  and  oppressive. 

Very  respectfully, 
Your  obt.  Servant 


From  Jonathan  Worth 

State  of  North  Carolina 
Executive  Department 
Raleigh  Oct  22n(1-  1867. 
Copy 

Maj.  Genl.  E.  R.  S.  Canby. 
Mil  Comdr.  2nd  Dist. 

Charleston  S.  C. 
General. 

Yours  of  the  19th  inst.  covering  copy  of  the  report  of 
Carney  Spears  is  received. 

You  say  "the  real  merits  of  the  case  are  very  much  confused, 
but  it  appears  to  have  been  the  intention  of  Capt  Denny  to 
terminate  a  service  on  the  part  of  Spears  that  was  indefinite  in 
period  and  in  consideration.  With  this  understanding  and  to  this 
extent  his  action  has  been  approved  and  is  limited." 

Judge  Merrimon  being  here,  I  sent  him  your  communication 
requesting  his  remarks  which  I  enclose,  and  which  frees  this 
matter  from  all  obscurity.110 

It  is  not  pretended  that  Spears  was  improperly  convicted  of 
assault  and  battery  and  of  horse  stealing  in  two  cases. 

Upon  the  suggestion  of  the  Judge,  the  Solicitor  mercifully  con- 
sented not  to  pray  judgement  against  him,  if  he  will  secure  the 
costs.  He  induced  a  responsible  man  to  confess  judgement  for  the 
costs  and  is  therefore  discharged.  The  Court  could  not  look  into 
the  inducement  by  which  he  procured  security.  Under  the  guardi- 
anship of  the  Freedmens  Bureau,  over  the  Freedmen,  if  his 
security  took  any  undue  advantage  over  the  negro,  it  would  have 
been  proper  for  the  Officers  of  the  Bureau,  to  interpose  as  between 
the  contracting  parties,  but  there  was  no  colorable  ground  for 
annulling  the  judgement  of  the  Court. 

I  trust  you  will  order  Capt.  Denny  to  go  to  the  records  and 
erase  his  entry  on  it.  There  is  no  pretext  for  his  interference 
between  the  judgement  of  the  Court  and  Atkinson. 

You  will  perceive  that  judgment  was  suspended  on  condition 
of  the  securing  of  the  costs  and  punishment.  Captain  Denny  by 
annulling  the  judgement  relieves  the  convict,  both  from  cost  and 
punishment.  If  Captain  Denny's  entry  on  the  record,  enjoining 
the  issue  of  execution  against  Atkinson,  be  continued  on  the 
Docket  that  the  costs  must  be  lost  and  the  convict  go  unpunished : 
and  the  Court  at  its  next  term  will  issue  a  capias  for  the  de- 
fendant and  judgement  will  be  prayed  against  him  for  the  high 

110  For  the  comments   of  Judge  Aagustus   S.  Merrimon   on   the  case  of  Carney   Spears   see 
The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review,  XXVIII    (October,   1951),  510-11. 


/ 

402  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

crime  of  which  he  stands  convicted  by  confession,  the  Court  would 
probably  have  sentenced  him  to  be  put  to  hard  labor  for  a  much 
longer  period  than  he  would  have  to  labor  at  fair  wages  to  pay 
the  costs.  If  Atkinson  cheated  him  it  is  a  strange  conclusion  of 
Capt.  Denny  that  he  must  interfere  to  release  Atkinson  from  a 
judgement  he  had  voluntarily  confessed.  As  to  Denny's  inter- 
ference between  Spears  and  Atkinson  I  have  nothing  to  say.  If 
he  be  required  to  annul,  the  injunction  relieving  Atkinson  from 
the  payment  of  judgement,  I  have  nothing  to  say.  I  know  and  the 
Court  could  know  nothing  as  to  the  contract  between  Spears  and 
Atkinson. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Yours  Very  Respectfully 
Governor  of  N.  C. 


From  Jonathan  Worth 

State  of  North  Carolina 
Executive  Department, 
Raleigh  Oct.  23rd-  1867 
To  Andrew  Johnson 

Pres-dt  of  the  United  States 
Dear  Sir. 

I  do  not  Know  whether  you  interfere  in  any  way  with 
the  action  of  Military  Commandants.  If  not,  this  Communication 
will  be  useless  except  as  a  matter  of  personal  information. 

A  practice  has  pervailed  in  this  State  and  still  prevails,  of 
having  citizens  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  Military  authority 
upon  the  charges  often  made  by  persons  of  bad  character,  the 
charges  and  the  names  of  the  persons  preferring  them,  being  con- 
cealed from  the  party  arrested. 

General  arrests  have  been  made  in  this  State  and  the  accused 
transported  to  distant  places  of  confinement,  and  detained  as 
prisoners  for  months  without  preliminary  trial,  or  notice  of  the 
cause  of  imprisonment.  I  have  earnestly  remonstrated  against 
the  iniquity  of  such  proceedings  to  Genl.  Sickles  and  Genl.  Canby. 
To  day  I  am  informed  that  the  Sheriff  of  Caswell  Mr.  Jesse  C 
Griffith,  a  man  of  exemplary  character,  personal  and  political  has 
been  arrested  and  carried  a  prisoner  to  Charleston,  for  some 
unknown  charge  preferred  by  one  Wm  Johnson,  and  one  Tourgee, 
both  of  them  men  of  the  most  detestable  character. 

No  form  of  Military  despotism  can  be  more  terrible  to  the 
orderly  Citizens  than  these  summary  arrests  and  imprisonments 
in  Forts,  distant  from  the  homes  of  the  parties  arrested  without 
preliminary  trial.  It  gives  mean  partizan  malevolence  a  feast, 
without  fear  of  molestation. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Yours,  Very  Respectfully 
Governor  of  N.  C. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  403 

From  David  L.  Swain 

University  of  North  Carolina 

Chapel  Hill,  1  Nov.  1867 
My  Dear  Sir 

Supposing  that  a  copy  of  Maj.  Tucker  pamphlet  entitled  "Early 
Times  in  Raleigh"  may  be  acceptable,  I  send  on  herewith.111  It 
will  afford  me  pleasure  to  supply  copies  for  each  of  your  children 
if  they  shall  desire  it,  and  you  will  give  me  their  address. 

I  remain  very  sincerely  &  truly, 
Your  friend  &  Servt. 
His  Excellency 
President  Johnson 


From  Daniel  G.  Fowle 

Copy 

Raleigh  Nov.  28th  1867. 
Hon  Jonathan  Worth 
Governor  of  N.  C. 
Sir. 

A  few  days  since  I  received  from  General  Canby  a  copy  of  a 
letter,  directed  to  your  Excellency,  dated  9th.  Nov.  1867,  in  which 
the  Major  General  Commanding  orders,  that  certain  persons  not 
possessing  the  qualifications  required  by  the  law  of  N.  C.  shall 
have  their  names  placed  on  the  jury  list  and  shall  be  drawn  as 
jurors,  and  the  intimation  is  very  clear,  that  no  Judge  will  be 
allowed  to  hold  a  Court  until  this  order  is  Complied  with. 

Military  orders  have  heretofore  been  issued  restraining  the 
Courts  from  doing  certain  things,  which  the  law  commanded,  but 
this  is  the  first  order  requiring  the  Courts  to  be  participators  in 
over-riding  the  law  of  the  State. 

In  the  first  class  of  cases  I  submitted  to  the  interference  of  the 
Military  authority  as  I  should  have  done  to  that  of  any  un- 
authorized power  which  the  Courts  had  not  the  physical  force 
successfully  to  resist  and  having  done  all  I  could  to  carry  out  the 
law,  in  its  letter  and  spirit,  I  felt  that  it  was  no  default  of  mine, 
that  an  over  powering  force  prevented  the  law  from  being  fully 
executed.  To  aid  in  carrying  into  effect  this  last  order  would  in 
my  judgement  make  me  guilty  of  an  infraction  of  those  laws 
which  it  is  my  solemn  duty  as  a  Judge  to  maintain  and  uphold. 

To  refuse  to  do  so  and  yet  remain  on  the  Bench  would  in  all 
probability  produce  a  conflict  of  authority  which  would  be  detri- 
mental to  the  best  interest  of  the  State. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  respectfully  tender  to  your  Ex- 
cellency my  resignation  as  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Law 
and  Equity  for  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Very  Respectfully  Sir 
Your  Obt  Servant 


U1  A  description  of  the  contents  of  Early  Times  in  Raleigh    (1867)    appears  in   The  North 
Carolina  Historical  Review,  XXIX    (January,  1952),  118. 


404  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  Jonathan  Worth 

[Copy] 

State  of  North  Carolina 
Executive  Department 
Raleigh  Nov.  30th  1867. 
Maj.  Genl.  E.  R.  S.  Canby112 
Mil.  Comdt.  2nd  District 
Charleston  S.  C. 
General. 

I  wish  most  unqualifiedly  to  disclaim  that  I  intended  by  my 
letter  of  the  23ult.  to  the  President  to  impute  to  you  any  dis- 
position to  exercise  your  powers  oppressively  or  unjustly.113  I 

112  Governor  Worth  felt  that  in  exchanging  "Canhy  for  Sickles,  the  Prest.  swapped  a 
devil  for  a  witch."  Hamilton,  Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  1095. 

113  In  order  to  vindicate  himself  concerning  the  highhanded  manner  in  which  he  had  at- 
tempted to  enforce  military  rule  in  North  Carolina,  Canby  wrote  to  General  Grant,  who  was 
Chief  of  Staff,  as  follows: 

Headquarters,  2nd  Mil.  District, 
Charleston  S.  C.  Novemb[er]  14',  1867 
The  Chief  of  Staff, 
Headquarters   of  the  Army, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Sir: 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  communication  from  Governor  Worth  of 
North  Carolina  to  his  Excellency  the  President,  dated  October  23d  ulto.  and  referred  to  me 
for  report,  and  to  report: 

That  the  complaint  is  special  &  general  in  its  character,—  special  as  it  relates  to  the  case 
of  Mr.  Griffith,  the  Sheriff  of  Caswell  County,—  and  general,  in  the  allegation  that  "a  practice 
has  prevailed  in  this  State  (North  Carolina)  and  still  prevails  of  having  citizens  arrested 
and  imprisoned  by  military  authority  upon  charges  often  made  by  persons  of  bad  character, 
the  charges  and  the  names  of  the  persons  preferring  them  being  concealed  from  the  party 
arrested.  Several  arrests  have  been  made  in  this  State  and  the  accused  transported  to 
distant  places  of  confinement  and  detained  as  prisoners  for  months  without  preliminary  trial 
or  notice  of  the  cause  of  imprisonment.  I  have  earnestly  remonstrated  against  the  iniquity 
of  such  proceedings  to  Genl.  Sickles  and  Genl.  Canby." 

The  history  of  the  case  in  which  the  Sheriff  is  implicated  is  given  in  the  complaint  made 
by  Capt.  Tourgee  (A),  the  report  made  by  Lieut.  O'Connell,  (B)  to  whom  the  complaint 
was  referred  for  investigation;  the  report  of  the  Provost  Marshal  General  (C)  and  the 
report  of  the  Judge  Advocate,  (D).  These  reports  were  fully  supported  by  affidavits  and 
corroborated  in  material  points  by  the  records  of  the  Civil  Courts  of  North  Carolina, 
transcripts  from  which  formed  a  part  of  the  record  of  this  case.  Upon  these  facts  I  ordered 
the  arrest  and  trial  of  the  Sheriff  as  one  of  the  agents  of  the  injustice  and  oppression  that 
had  been  practiced  upon  Johnson,  not  as  punishment  for  any  crime  committed  by  him  as 
ostensibly  charged,  but  in  reality  on  account  of  his  Union  sentiment  and  his  services  in  the 
Union  Army. 

The  Sheriff  was  arrested  &  brought  to  this  City  (not  thirty  six  hours  from  his  home) 
because  a  Military  Commission  was  then  in  session  at  this  place  and  a  speedy  trial  could 
more  readily  be  secured  to  him  here  than  elsewhere.  Not  being  ready  for  trial,  he  was 
released  on  his  own  recognizance  to  appear  for  trial  at  a  day  set  and  was  allowed  to  return 
to  his  home.  Subsequently  the  trial  was  again  postponed  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the 
public  duties  of  one  of  his  witnesses,  (the  Solicitor  of  Caswell  County)  and  when  the  trial 
was  concluded,  he  was  discharged  and  allowed  to  return  home  to  await  the  result.  This  is  the 
sum  of  the  iniquity,  so  far  a3  the  Sheriff  is  concerned  unless  it  be  an  iniquity  to  bring  any 
one  to  trial  who  is  charged  with  crime  or  misconduct. 

But  the  history  of  this  case  in  its  own  merits  and  in  its  relation  to  kindred  cases  in  North 
Carolina  and  the  Governor's  complaint  deserves  a  more  extended  notice.  By  the  act  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  ratified  on  the  22d  of  December  1866,  a  general  amnesty 
and  pardon  for  offences  against  the  criminal  laws  of  the  State,  committed  by  persons  in  the 
civil  or  military  service  of  the  State  "of  the  late  Confederate  States,  or  as  officers  &  soldiers 
of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,"  was  granted.  The  provisions  of  the  law  are  compre- 
hensive and  the  protection  ample  in  the  case  of  all  organizations  or  associations  regular  or 
irregular,  public  or  private  in  aid  of  the  rebellion,  and  it  covers  the  case  of  officers  & 
soldiers  in  regular  organizations  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  but  it  does  not  cover 
the  cases  of  loyal  North  Carolinians,  and  there  were  many  such,  who  were  in  our  service 
as  scouts,  spies,  guides,  &c  &c—  or  who  either  singly  or  in  parties  resisted  rebellion,  deserted 
from  the  rebel  army  or  fled  from  rebel  conscription  and  in  so  doing,  committed  acts  of  war,  — 
legitimate  under  the  laws  of  War,  but  criminal  under  the  laws  of  peace.  By  ingenious 
omissions—  and  ingenious  constructions  of  the  vital  sections  of  the  law—  the  justification  of 
such  persons,  both  in  criminal  &  civil  prosecutions  depends  upon  the  laws  "of  the  State 
or  late  Confederate  States  Government"  and  not  upon  the  laws  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment— Sections  1  &  4  or  upon  the  fact  that  persons  in  the  civil  or  military  service  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  offence  was  committed  were  officers  or  privates  in 
"either  of  the  above  named"  (Confederate  &  State  organizations)  Sec.  2.— or  unless  they 
were  associated  together  for  the  preservation  of  law  and  order  (under  Confederate  or  State 
law).  The  citizen  who  remained  loyal  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  who  resisted 
rebellion,   who  recognized  a  higher  allegiance  than   State  allegiance  &  obeyed  a  higher   law 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  405 

regarded  however,  the  arrest  of  a  citizen  and  his  transportation 
to  Charleston  for  trial  before  notice  of  the  charge  against  him 
and  an  opportunity  to  confront  his  accuser  and  to  offer  counter 
evidence  in  a  preliminary  trial  as  very  oppressive.  This,  I  am 

than  State  or  Confederate  law—  is  not  protected  by  the  provisions  of  the  Act.  The  sentiment 
of  the  community  has  no  doubt  prevented  many  prosecutions  but  they  have  occurred  and  do 
still  occur  in  such  frequency  as  to  require  such  action  as  will  preserve  the  faith  &  maintain 
the  dignity  of  the  Government. 

The  case  of  Johnson  is  of  this  class,  but  since  the  arrest  of  the  Sheriff,  it  is  alleged  that 
he  is  a  bastard,  a  man  of  notoriously  bad  character  &  a  terror  to  the  community  in  which 
he  lived,  and  that  the  crime  for  which  he  was  tried  was  only  one  of  a  serie[s]  of  burglaries 
and  larcenies  which  he  and  his  associates  (Lea  and  a  younger  Johnson)  had  committed  for 
the  sake  of  plunder,  and  that  the  complaint  upon  which  he  was  arrested  was  made  by  his 
own  father.  This  may  all  be  true,  but  the  bastardy  is  not  his  sin  nor  does  his  alleged  bad 
character  justify  the  illegal  ruling  of  the.  Court  by  which  evidence  of  his  desertion  from  the 
Rebel  and  his  service  in  the  Union  Army  was  admitted.  The  facts  proven  are;  that  Johnson 
was  a  deserter  from  the  Rebel  Army,  that  he  did  make  his  way  to  the  Union  lines  and  enter 
the  Union  Army;  that  he  was  appointed  a  Recruiting  officer  for  the  10th  Tennessee  Vol. 
Cavalry,  that  he  served  faithfully  to  the  end  of  the  war,  and  that  he  was  specially  useful 
(from  his  Knowledge  of  the  Country)  as  a  guide  to  the  Union  troops  in  their  operations 
in  North  Carolina.  Johnson  claims  that  while  endeavoring  to  make  his  escape  from  the 
"conscript  hunters"  he  and  his  associates  entered  a  house  and  without  doing  violence  to  any 
one  took  therefrom  articles  of  food  and  35  in  confederate  money,  (to  the  value  in  all  of  $25.) 
necessary  to  enable  him  to  reach  the  Union  lines.  The  counter  allegation  is  that  he  was  a 
common  plunderer  and  only  fled  to  the  Union  lines  to  escape  punishment  for  his  crimes. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Johnson's  associates  (Lea  and  the  younger  Johnson)  who  were 
arrested  and  tried  during  the  Rebellion— were  convicted  of  larceny  only  and  were  pardoned 
on  the  condition  of  entering  the  Rebel  Army.  While  Johnson  after  an  honorable  Service  in 
the  United  States  Army,  was  tried  for  the  same  offence  and  under  the  old  indictment  and 
was  sentenced  to  death  for  a  constructive  burglary.  The  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
North  Carolina  upon  Johnson's  appeal  as  to  the  question  of  law  is  transmitted  herewith 
(marked  E.) 

As  a  question  of  Public  law  and  under  the  President's  proclamation  of  the  29th  of  April 
1865,  the  old  indictment  was  a  nullity.  It  was  found  by  the  grand  jury  of  a  Court  whose 
process  ran  in  the  name  of  a  hostile  Government  or  pretended  Government,  and  which 
passed  out  of  existence  with  the  overthrow  of  the  Government  under  which  it  was  organized. 
If  tried  at  all,  the  prisoner  was  entitled  to  be  tried  under  a  new  presentmnt  or  indictment 
by  a  grand  jury  of  the  present,  and  not  of  the  displaced  Rebel  Government  of  North  Caro- 
lina. All  proceedings  under  the  old  indictment  were  illegal  and  void—  the  imprisonment  was 
a  false  imprisonment  and  if  the  sentence  had  been  executed   it  would  have  been   murder. 

The  conclusion  reached  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  evidence  in  this  case  that  Johnson 
was  tried  —  not  for  the  offence  for  which  he  was  indicted  and  ostensibly  tried  but  in  reality 
for  being  "a  deserter  from  the  Rebel  Army,"  for  having  "guided  Stoneman  in  his  raid  into 
North  Carolina  and  for  his  open  and  avowed  hostility  to  the  Secessionists,  and  that  he  was 
convicted  because  he  was  a  deserter  and  a  traitor  to  the  Confederate  cause  and  "ought  to 
be  hung  any-how."  This  conviction  is  not  distuibed  by  any  new  fact  presented  by  the 
Governor. 

In  this  connection  I  submit  four  cases  coming  up  from  North  Carolina  within  the  last 
ten  days,  in  which  I  have  enjoined  further  proceedings,    (marked    (F).) 

The  first,  is  the  complaint  of  a  father  in  relation  to  the  killing  of  his  three  sons  who  had 
deserted  from  — -  or  had  evaded  the  Rebel  service.  They  were  killed  by  members  of  the  Home 
Guard,  and  the  murderers  are  protected  by  the  amnesty  Act  of  Dec.  22,  1866  (F-l).  The  second 
is  the  case  of  John  Metcalf,  late  a  private  of  company  K  3rd  N.  C.  Mted  Infy.  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States.  He  is  not  protected  by  the  amnesty  Act   (F.  2.). 

The  third  is  the  case  of  a  homicide  commited  in  1861,  growing  out  of  the  political  excite- 
ment at  the  election  of  delegates  for  the  Secession  Convention  that  took  North  Carolina  out 
of  the  Union,    (F.  3.). 

The  fourth  is  the  case  of  a  recruiting  agent  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  and  his 
case  is  so  clearly  stated  by  his  attorney  an  ex-rebel  officer  of  rank  and  distinction  that  I 
transmit  an  extract  from  his  application.  He  is  not  protected  by  the  Amnesty  Act.  (F.  4). 
I  also  transmit  a  copy  of  this  Act  (G.)  and  of  the  General  Orders  (H.)  which  I  have 
found  it  necessary  to  issue  in  order  to  give  it  an  impartial  application. 

I  have  uniformly,  to  the  extent  of  my  influence  and  authority  both  in  the  South  West  and 
here,  stayed  all  civil  and  criminal  prosecutions  growing  out  of  the  personal  or  political 
animosities  engendered  by  the  years  of  civil  strife  through  which  we  have  passed,  and  if  in 
order  to  secure  this  end— it  be  necessary  to  bring  some  offenders  to  justice,  it  will  be  done, 
although  the  course  may  be  regarded  by  the  Governor  of  North  Carolina  as  oppressive  and 
iniquitous. 

The  "one  Tourgee"  of  the  Governor's  correspondent  and  who  is  denounced  by  the  Governor 
himself  as  "of  the  most  detestable  moral  character,"  as  a  Captain  of  the  105, th—  Ohio  Vol. 
Infantry,  and  Judge  Advocate  of  the  14th  Army  Corps,  and  was  the  person  to  whom 
Johnson  in  his  extremity  would  naturally  appeal  for  assistance.  His  connection  with  the 
case  so  far  as  my  own  action  is  concerned  commenced  and  ended  with  his  application  of 
April  11th,  1865  (A),  in  Johnson's  behalf.  The  Governor's  definition  of  his  character  is 
not  accepted. 

The  other  "individual  named  O'Connell"  was  and  is  an  officer  of  the  8th  Infantry.  His 
connection  with  the  case  is  confined  to  the  official  report"  (B)  of  an  investigation  which 
he  was  ordered  by  the  District  Commander  to  make.— 

The  general  breach  of  the  Governor's  complaint  as  to  the  effect  that  "several  arrests  have 
been  made  in  this  State  (North  Carolina)  and  the  accused  transferred  to  distant  places  of 
confinement   and    detained   as   prisoners    for    months    without    preliminary    trial   or    notice    of 


406  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

informed,  is  in  conformity  with  Military  law  and  usage.  It  is 
natural  that  each  of  us  should  have  his  partiality  for  the  rules  of 
administering  justice  to  which  we  have  been  accustomed.-Your 
practice  having  been  in  the  Military-mine  in  the  Civil  Courts  of 

cause  of  imprisonment.  I  have  earnestly  remonstrated  against  the  iniquity  of  such  proceed- 
ings both  to  Genl.  Sickles  and  Genl.  Canby." 

The  Governor  of  North  Carolina  has  made  two  remonstrances  on  this  subject  to  me. 
The  first,  was  dated  on  the  11th  of  Sept.  1867,  and  the  second,  on  the  25th  day  of  October 
1867,  and  is  upon  the  same  subject  as  his  complaint— two  days  earlier  to  his  Excellency  the 
President.  As  this  remonstrance  is  fully  reported  upon  in  this  communication,  I  will  confine 
my  remarks  to  the  first,  a  copy  of  which  marked  (I)  is  transmitted  herewith.  It  will  be 
seen  that  it  refers  to  two  cases.  The  first  relates  to  the  arrest  of  the  members  of  an  armed 
band  who  broke  into  the  jail  at  Edenton  N.  C.  and  rescued  therefrom  a  person  in  the 
custody  of  the  civil  authorities  of  North  Carolina  upon  the  charge  .of  murder.  The  arrests 
were  made  upon  the  application  of  the  Sheriff  of  Chowan  County,  based  upon  the  affidavits 
of  the  jailor  and  his  wife  to  the  forcible  rescue.  The  prisoners  were  sent  to  Fort  Macon 
for  safe-keeping  until  the  civil  authorities  were  prepared  to  try  them  and  the  Commanding 
officer  of  that  Post  was  directed  to  admit  them  to  bail  if  suitable  bail  was  offered  A  copy  of 
my  answer  to  this  complaint  is  transmitted  herewith  marked  (K).  I  have  more  than  once 
in  years  long  past  and  before  there  was  any  serious  question  of  Rebellion—  committed  the 
same  act  of  military  despotism.  As  the  commander  of  a  military  post  and  at  the  request  of 
the  civil  authorities,  I  have  secured  the  arrest  of  criminals  and  as  an  act  of  comity  and  of 
public  duty— held  them  in  my  guard  house  until  the  proper  civil  authorities  were  prepared 
to  take  charge  of  them. 

The  second  part  of  this  remonstrance  relates  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Duncan  G.  McRae.  This 
gentleman  was  arrested  for  an  alleged  complicity  in  the  murder  of  Archibald  Beebe— but  the 
charge  not  being  sustained,  he  was  released  on  the  29th  day  of  July  1867.  This  case  has 
heretofore  been  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  General  of  the  Army  and  it  is  only  necessary  to 
recall  its  features  by  transmitting  a  copy  (L.)  of  the  report  of  the  preliminary  investigation 
which  led  to  the  arrest,  and  of  the  report  (M)  of  the  Judge  Advocate  of  the  commission— of 
the  reasons  why  he  should  not  be  released  without  trial.  The  graveness  of  the  Governor's 
complaint  in  this  case,  lies  in  the  alleged  fact  that  Mr.  McRae  was  arrested  upon  the 
affidavit  of  a  woman  of  ill  fame.  As  this  case  was  concluded  a  month  before  I  was  assigned 
to  this  command.  I  did  not  consider  it  proper  to  reopen  it  or  to  inquire  into  the  character 
of  the  woman,  but  if  the  allegation  be  true  it  touches  the  credibility,  not  the  competency 
of  the  witness,  and  if  no  arrests  are  to  be  made  unless  the  witness  are  of  good  moral 
character,  much  of  the  crime  of  this  world  will  pass  unpunished. 

It  is  always  to  be  regretted  that  innocent  persons  should  be  arrested  or  subjected  to  any 
restraint  or  inconvenience  from  false  accusation  or  unfounded  suspicion  but  this  is  an 
incident  of  civil  as  well  as  of  military  arrests.  I  have  before  me  now  a  considerable  report 
of  "crimes  committed"  in  this  District  in  the  period  commencing  January  l.st  and  ending 
Sept.  30  1867,  as  reported  by  the  sheriffs  of  counties  in  North  Carolina,  and  of  Districts, 
in  South  Carolina,  From  this,  I  select  the  following  statistics.  The  number  of  murders 
committed  by  whites  was  56,  by  blacks  44— total— 100,  and  the  number  of  arrests  for  murder 
in  the  same  period  was:  whites  95,  blacks   85—  total—  180— 

2.nd  of  assault  &  battery  there  were  committed  by  whites  171,  by  blacks  176,  total  347  and 
the  number  of  arrests  for  these  offences  in  the  same  period  was  whites  114  and  blacks  226— 
total   340  — 

3rd  the  number  of  larcenies  committed  by  white  was  188  and  by  blacks  724—  totals— 912 
the  number  of  arrests  for  this  offence  in  the  same  period  was  whites  234,  of  blacks  1469— 
total— 1703.  Assuming  that  the  number  of  arrests  for  crimes  &  offences  committed  prior 
to  January  1— st  is  not  greater  than  the  number  that  have  escaped  arrest  for  crimes  com- 
mitted since,  the  number  of  arrests  made  by  the  civil  authorities,  under  these  three  items, 
upon  false  or  insufficient  testimony  is  864— or  more  than  60  per  cent  in  excess  of  the  crimes 
committed.  The  same  comparative   relation   applies  to  the  other   items   of  this   report. 

Charges  of  military  despotism  are  easily  made,  and  if  they  are  accompanied  by  specific 
allegation  of  facts  are  as  easily  disproved  but  to  a  charge  so  vague  and  indefinite  as  that 
now  made  by  the  Governor,  I  can  only  state  that  military  arrests  are  not  made  without 
previous  investigation  or  without  strong  evidence  of  guilt;  that  prisoners  are  not  "trans- 
ported to  distant  places  of  confinement  and  detained  for  months  without  preliminary  trail 
or  notice  of  the  cause  of  imprisonment."  If  a  speedy  trial  has  not  always  been 
secured,  it  has  been  delayed  in  the  interests  of  the  accused,  and  that  when  trials  have  been 
protracted—  it  has  resulted  from  the  unusual  latitude  allowed  the  prisoners  in  conducting 
their  defence.  The  records  of  the  District  are  a  constant  denial  of  the  Governor's  charge. 

So  far  as  this  complaint  applies  to  me,  the  Governor's  statement  to  the  President  is  not 
an  ingenious  statement.  At  the  date  of  this  statement  the  Governor  had  made  but  one 
remonstrance  to  me  on  this  subject  and  he  knew  by  my  letter  of  Septemb.  17'  1867  that  in 
one  of  the  cases  cited  in  that  remonstrance—  the  arrests  were  made  at  the  request  of  his 
own  agents  and  in  aid  of  the  civil  authorities  and  in  the  other  case,  that  it  was  concluded 
long  before  I  came  to  this  Command  and  was  beyond  my  control,  except  upon  charges  that 
the  prosecution  was  malicious,  and  no  such  charge  can  be  made  or  sustained. 

As  a  general  rule  these  complaints  are  disingenuous  also  in  the  use  that  it  made  of  them  by 
being  published  for  political  effect  with  a  knowledge  that  the  officer  accused  is  restrained  by 
rules  of  military  propriety  from  making  any  public  defence  or  counter  statement. 

Very  Respectfully 
Your  obedient  Servt. 
Ed.  R.  S.  Canby 

Brt.  Major  Genl  U.  S.  A. 
Commanding 
The  original  papers  are  retuned  herewith. 

Ed.  R.  S.  Canby 
M.  G. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  407 

i 

the  Country.  If  I  understand  the  mode  of  proceeding  against  the 
Sheriff  of  Caswell,  he  was  arrested  and  carried  to  Charleston  for 
trial-300  miles  from  his  home  without  opportunity  before  being 
carried  off  to  know  who  were  his  accusers  or  opportunity  to  offer 
counter  evidence  in  a  preliminary  trial.  I  think  before  the  prisoner 
is  thus  transported  to  a  distant  place  of  trial  some  officer  near 
his  home  and  where  the  evidence  may  be  expected  to  be  near  at 
hand,  should  be  required  to  notify  him  what  are  the  charges 
against  him-and  by  whom  preferred  and  to  hear  any  counter 
evidence  he  may  offer-and  upon  this  preliminary  hearing  to  com- 
mit him  for  trial  or  discharge  him.  This  I  think  is  a  safe-guard 
against  malicious  arrests,  which  ought  to  be  avoided  by  every 
tribunal  administering  criminal  justice. 

In  the  case  of  Mr.  McRae  who  was  arrested  by  order  of  Genl 
Sickles  and  detained  for  a  long  time  a  prisoner  in  Fort  Macon,  at 
the  request  of  his  Counsel,  I  applied  to  Genl  Miles,  to  find  out 
what  were  the  charges  under  which  he  was  arrested.  He  told 
me  he  was  arrested  at  the  instance  of  Genl  Avery,  and  that  he 
would  request  Genl  Avery,  to  call  on  me  and  give  such  explana- 
tions as  he  might  feel  at  liberty  to  furnish.  Genl  A  called  on  me 
soon  afterwards  and  gave  me  verbally  all  the  explanations,  I 
suppose,  which  he  was  at  liberty  to  give  to-wit-that  he  was 
charged  with  being  an  accessory,  before  the  fact,  of  the  murder 
of  Beebe ;  and  I  learned  either  from  him-or  in  some  other  way  (I 
am  not  certain  which)  that  a  woman  had  made  affidavit,  that 
McRae,  who  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  had  conducted  the  pre- 
liminary examination  and  ordered  the  commitment  of  Beebe  to 
prison  for  trial,  had  gone  out  of  the  room  where  this  preliminary 
trial  was  heard,  and  called  out  to  the  by-standers  to  shoot  Beebe, 
immediately  after  which  the  fatal  shot  was  fired.  I  was  furnished 
soon  afterwards  with  the  affidavits  of  a  number  of  credible  wit- 
nesses, black  and  white,  (among)  whom  are  relatives  and  special 
friends  of  Beebe  proving  positively  that  McRae  had  not  risen 
from  his  seat  from  the  time  of  committing  the  prisoner,  until 
after  he  was  shot-and  that  so  far  from  encouraging  the  murder, 
he  expressed  his  regret  that  the  deed  had  been  done.  I  forwarded 
these  affidavits  to  Genl  Sickles  and  asked  that  McRae,  if  he  could 
not  be  admitted  to  bail,  should  be  released  on  his  parole.  If  a 
preliminary  trial  had  been  accorded  to  him,  no  officer  would  have 
ordered  his  commitment.  Evidence  satisfactory  to  the  most  preju- 
dicial, would  have  been  produced,  independent  of  the  base  charac- 
ter of  the  witness  against  him,  that  her  testimony  was  false  and 
that  not  the  slightest  suspicion  attached  to  McRae. 

Failing  in  this  I  asked  that  the  Military  Court  try  the  case  of 
McRae  and  others  at  Fayetteville-the  witnesses  being  very 
numerous  and  poor  and  residing  in  and  near  Fayetteville,  and  if, 
for  any  reason  deemed  sufficient,  this,  could  not  be  ordered,  that 
the  trial  be  in  Wilmington,  a  point  of  comparatively  easy  access 
to  them.  The  trial  was  ordered  to  be  had  at  Raleigh,  whereby  the 
witnesses  were  subjected  to  extensive  inconvenience  and  the 
Government  to  a  heavy  bill  of  costs. 


408  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

After  imprisonment  for  many  weeks  at  Fort  Macon,  and  in 
this  City,  the  Military  Court  after  examining  the  woman  upon 
whose  affidavit  the  arrest  was  made,  were  so  fully  satisfied,  that 
her  statement  was  false  and  malicious  that  they  acquitted  him, 
as  I  understand  without  hearing  any  of  his  exculpatory  evidence. 

Duncan  G.  McRae,  is  a  man  of  exemplary  character  and  gen- 
erally known  throughout  the  State.  Our  people  universally  believe 
his  arrest  was  an  act  of  wanton  and  useless  oppression,  and  its 
manifest  tendency  was  to  keep  alive  if  not  to  engender  unfriendly 
feeling  to  the  United  States  Government. 

All  my  life  prior  to  the  actual  breaking  out  of  the  late  war,  no 
man  can  be  found  anywhere,  who  was  more  sincerely  and  con- 
stantly attached  to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  that  I  was,  or 
who  labored,  in  his  sphere,  more  earnestly  to  resist  sectional 
alientation,  and  although  when  hostilities  had  actually  com- 
menced and  the  United  States  could  not  protect  me,  I  yielded 
obedience  to  the  de-facto  Government  established  here  and  ac- 
cepted office  under  it-I  was  always  anxious  and  never  pretended 
the  contrary  for  pacification  on  the  basis  of  the  Constittuion  and 
the  Union-and  since  the  war  ended  no  man  has  more  anxiously 
sought  to  soothe  the  passions  growing  out  of  it  and  bring  about 
as  soon  as  possible  a  Union  held  together  by  harmony  and  feel- 
ing-and  not  by  mere  force  and  hence  I  have  remonstrated  most 
earnestly-perhaps  intemperately-against  Military  arrests,  inter- 
ference with  our  Courts,  removal  from  Office,  no  cause  being  as- 
signed for  such  removal,  and  no  opportunity  being  offered  to  the 
removed  Officer,  to  vindicate  himself  against  the  accusation  upon 
which  his  removal  was  based.  Many  of  these  measures  I  have 
regarded  as  tending  (not  intended)  to  keep  up  irritation  and 
prevent  that  cardinal  Union  essential  alike  to  the  well-being  of 
all  sections  of  our  Country. 

Our  Bench  of  Judges  in  my  opinion  without  exception  desire  a 
genuine  restoration  of  the  Union  as  earnestly  as  any  men  in 
America,  and  I  believe  will  compare  favorably  in  probity  and 
learning  with  those  of  any  State  in  the  Union- 

I  do  not  remember  that  our  bitter  partizan  press,  has  ever 
charged  any  of  them  with  partiality  in  any  specific  case  to  the 
prejudice  of  a  Union  man  or  negro.  I  have  not  been  able  there- 
fore to  perceive  the  propriety  of  the  establishment  of  the  Provost 
Court  at  Fayetteville  and  the  numerous  instances  of  Military  in- 
terference. I  admit  that  I  am  not  possessed  of  the  facts  upon 
which  such  action  was  based-if  sufficient  reason  exist  for  the 
distrust  of  our  Courts  implied  by  the  establishment  of  this  Pro- 
vost Court  and  these  numerous  Military  trials,  our  people  would 
most  cheerfully  acquiesce  if  sufficient  reasons  were  known  to 
them.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  grand  object  of  any  genuine  Union 
man  and  Statesman  should  be  to  bring  about  a  fraternal-said  not 
a  Constrained  Union-and  that  the  laws  and  customs-and  even  the 
prejudice  of  the  governed  should  be  duly  respected. 

As  to  my  allegation  that  Tourgee  and  Johnson,  were  men  of 
bad  character,  I  can  only  say,  that  I  have  heard  many  men,  some 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  409 

of  the  United  States  Officers  of  estimable  character,  and  I  have 
never  heard  one  man  speak  well  of  either  of  them.  I  believe  that 
character  of  each  of  them  in  this  State  to  be  very  bad  among 
virtuous  men.  As  to  Lieut  0.  Connell,  I  neither  know  nor  have 
heard  anything. 

As  to  the  numerous  to  which  you  refer  in  your  letter  to  Genl 
Grant  I  have  nothing  to  say,  because  they  do  not  accompany  the 
copy  of  your  letter  from  him  to  me. 

As  to  any  mitigation  or  justification  of  Johnson's  Offence,  from 
the  fact  that  he  was  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  when  he 
committed  the  burglary,  no  evidence  has  been  submitted  to  me 
in  the  petition  for  his  pardon  or  otherwise.  From  the  facts  which 
have  been  communicated  to  me  I  have  regarded  it  as  a  case  of 
unmitigated  burglary. 

You  say  that  "the  conclusion  reached  after  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  evidence  in  this  case"  (the  Johnson's  case)  "was  that 
Johnson  was  tried  not  for  the  offence  for  which  he  was  indicted 
and  ostensibly  tried,  but  in  reality  for  being  "a  deserter  from 
the  Rebel  Army-fcr  having  guided  Stoneman  in  his  raid  into 
North  Carolina  and  for  his  open  and  avowed  hostility  to  the 
Secessionists  and  that  he  was  convicted  because  he  was  a  deserter 
and  a  traitor  to  the  Confederate  cause  and  ought  to  be  hung  any 
how"-and  that,  "this  conviction  is  not  disturbed  by  any  new 
fact  presented  by  the  Governor." 

If  this  conclusion  be  a  just  one  (no  facts  are  known  to  me  to 
warrant  it)  then  the  Judge,  and  the  Jury  and  the  Solicitor  who 
tried  him  deserve  punishment,  but  I  perceive  no  reason  why  the 
Sheriff  who  is  a  mere  ministerial  officer  and  could  have  no  hand 
in  the  trial  should  be  punished. 

I  had  never  heard  until  I  find  it  in  your  letter  that  by  "ingeni- 
ous omissions  and  ingenious  constructions  that  vital  section  of 
the  law"  (our  Amnesty  Act  of  Dec.  22nd-1866  excluded  from  its 
protection  any  person  who  by  the  spirit  of  the  act  ought  to  have 
protection  under  it-and  most  assuredly  while  the  pardoning  power 
is  conceded  to  me  I  shall  certainly  exercise  it,  such  facts  being 
made  to  appear  to  me. 

Of  the  four  recent  cases  of  this  character  I  know  nothing  and 
your  statement  does  not  enable  me  to  make  any  inquiry. 

You  say  in  relation  to  the  trial  and  conviction  of  Johnson  "as 
a  question  of  public  law  and  under  the  President's  proclamation  of 
the  29th  April  1865,  the  old  indictment  was  a  nullity.  It  was  found 
by  the  Grand  Jury  of  a  Court  whose  process  ran  in  the  name  of  a 
hostile  Government  or  pretended  Government  and  which  passed 
out  of  existence  with  the  overthrow  of  the  Government  under 
which  it  was  organized.  If  tried  at  all,  the  prisoner  was  entitled 
to  be  tried  under  a  new  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury 
of  the  present  and  not  of  the  displaced  Rebel  Government  of 
North  Carolina.  All  the  proceedings  under  the  old  indictment 
were  illegal  and  void.  The  imprisonment  was  a  false  imprison- 
ment and  if  the  sentence  had  been  executed,  it  would  have  been 
a  murder." 


410  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

This  decision  will  strike  the  Judiciary  and  the  bar  of  North 
Carolina  with  amazement  and  if  your  conclusion  be  correct,  I 
doubt  whether  there  is  any  one  of  our  Judges  who  is  not  guilty 
of  murder.  Since  the  passage  of  the  Ordinance  of  our  Convention 
on  the  18th  Oct  1865,  which  you  will  find  at  page  19,  all  the  pro- 
ceedings of  our  Courts  up  to  that  date,  have  been  held  vaild.  I 
have  never  heard  a  doubt  expressed  on  the  subject,  by  any  lawyer 
or  citizen  of  this  State.  I  hope  it  may  turn  out  that  you  have 
overlooked  this  ordinance. 

I  learn  now  for  the  first  time  from  your  letter  to  Gen1  Grant 
that  the  arrest  of  parties  in  Chowan  charged  with  rescuing  a 
prisoner  charged  with  murder  "was  made  upon  the  application 
of  the  Sheriff  of  Chowan  County,  based  upon  the  affidavit  of  the 
jailer  and  his  wife,  as  to  the  forcible  rescue.144  Upon  a  represen- 
tation to  you  by  a  Sheriff  that  the  Civil  authorities  could  not  or 
would  not  cause  an  arrest  of  such  criminals,  upon  his  or  any 
proper  application,  I  would  be  the  last  man  to  complain  of  your 
intereference,  "at  the  request  of  the  Civil  authorities  to  secure 
the  arrest  of  criminals  and  as  an  act  of  comity  of  criminals  and 
of  public  duty  to  hold  them  in  a  guard  house,  until  the  proper 
Civil  authorities  were  prepared  to  take  charge  of  them."  You  will 
see,  General,  in  reference  to  your  communication  of  the  17th  day 
of  September  last,  to  which  you  refer,  that  you  did  not  place  the 
arrest  on  this  ground  and  allow  me  to  add,  that  I  never  head  from 
any  quarter,  that  those  arrests  were  made  upon  the  application 
of  the  Sheriff  of  Chowan-and  I  do  not  now  perceive,  if  the  parties 
arrested  were  to  be  delivered  over  to  the  Civil  authorities,  why 
they  were  carried  to  Plymouth,  instead  of  being  delivered  to  the 
Sheriff  of  Chowan. 

If  any  proper  Officer  of  the  Civil  Government,  upon  the  affi- 
davit of  the  jailer  and  his  wife,  that  these  parties  had  been  con- 
cerned in  the  rescue  of  Pratt,  the  alleged  murder,  had  refused  to 
issue  precesss  for  their  arrest-or  any  executive  Officer  had  repre- 
sented any  difficulty  in  executing  the  order  of  arrest-or  any  want 
of  fidelity  on  the  part  of  the  Civil  authorities,  I  should  have  made 
no  complaint.  I  had  offered  a  reward  for  the  apprehension  of 
Pratt,-and  I  trust  my  whole  life  shows  that  I  would  screen  no 
culprit  from  condign  punishment.  The  gist  of  my  complaint  was 
that  the  parties  had  been  arrested  and  imprisoned  without  pre- 
liminary investigation  as  to  their  guilt-and  without  any  just 
grounds  to  apprehend  that  the  Civil  tribunals  would  not  discharge 
their  duties.-The  new  fact,  that  the  arrest  was  made  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  Sheriff  of  Chowan,  clearly  exculpates  you  from  the 
blame  as  to  their  arrest-but  as  this  fact  was  unknown  to  me,  I 
hope  I  am  equally  exculpated.  The  fact  is  that  when  either  of 
us  act  on  an  ex-parte  representation,  we  are  very  liable  to  fall 
into  error. 

I  am  not  made  conscious  that  I  have  in  any  act  of  mine,  acted 
"disingenuously"  toward  you.  I  shall  certainly  try  in  the  future 


1U  General  Canby's  interpretation   of  the   incident  on   September  17,   1867,   is  found   in   The 
North  Carolina  Historical  Review,  XXIX    (January,  1952),  117. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  411 

to  avoid  giving  you  ground  of  confirmation  to  your  present  con- 
viction. I  trust  disingenuousness  is  not  one  of  my  characteristics. 
To  your  censure  implied  upon  the  Legislative  and  Judicial 
authorities  of  the  State  by  that  portion  of  your  communication  in 
which  you  say  that  "by  ingenious  omission  and  ingenious  con- 
struction of  the  vital  section  of  the  law"  (the  Amnesty  Act)  cer- 
tain persons  who  ought  to  be  protected  by  the  spirit  of  the  act, 
are  not  allowed  the  benefit  of  it.  I  offer  to  reply,  because  I  do 
not  comprehend  your  allegation.  You  cite  Johnson's  case  as  falling 
within  this  class.  According  to  his  petition  on  file  in  my  office  and 
a  report  of  Capt  Wolf  also  filed  with  me,  no  pretext  is  made  that 
at  the  time  of  committing  the  burglary,  he  was  in  any  way  in 
the  service  of  the  U.  S.  The  pardon  is  asked  on  the  ground  that 
he  was  young-that  in  1863  when  the  burglary  was  committed, 
that  crime  was  common  that  the  petitioners  thought  he  ought 
to  be  excused.  No  representation  has  been  made  to  me  resting 
his  claims  to  mercy  on  his  patriotism-The  facts  which  have  come 
to  my  knowledge  have  made  the  impression  on  me  that  he  was 
one  of  these  marauders  ready  to  rob  any  body-and  that  patriot- 
ism was  a  sentiment  far  above  his  comprehension.  One  of  his 
Counsel,  Mr.  Hill,  who  took  much  interest  in  procuring  his  pardon, 
assured  me  he  could  and  would  provide  for  the  payment  of  the 
costs  of  the  prosecution.  I  pardoned  him  on  condition  that  he  paid 
the  costs  when  it  was  ascertained  that  he  could  not  pay  the  costs. 
I  made  the  pardon  unconditional.  I  regarded  him-as  I  still  regard 
him,  as  a  marauder  who  should  have  been  indicted  for  Larceny 
and  not  Burglary.  Though  strictly  guilty  of  the  latter  offence  as 
his  petition  admits-in  consideration  of  the  times,  I  thought  the 
death  penalty  too  severe,  but  I  had  not  then  and  have  not  now 
the  impression  that  he  was  capable  of  patriotic  feeling. 

I  heartily  concur  in  every  position  laid  down  in  Genl  Hancock's 
late  proclamation.  I  think  his  construction  of  his  duties,  under  the 
Acts  of  Congress,  he  is  appointed  to  execute,  both  just  and  wise. 
I  should  be  "disingenious"  if  I  did  not  say  that  the  establishment 
and  continuation  of  the  Provost  Court  at  Fayetteville-the  num- 
erous military  trials  of  citizens  had  in  this  State  and  other  in- 
novations upon  our  laws,  ought  not  to  have  been  allowed-but  I 
desire  again  in  conclusion  to  say  most  distinctly  that  I  have  not 
entertained  the  opinion  or  intended  to  say  that  you  have  not  in 
all  things  acted  on  a  conscientious  conviction  of  your  duty,  and 
I  had  hoped,  though  I  could  not  concur  with  you  in  some  of  your 
important  acts,  that  mutual  confidence  and  respect  existed  be- 
tween us. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Yours  Very  Respectfully 
Governor  of  N.  Carolina 


412  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  Jonathan  Worth115 

Executive  Dept  of  N.  C. 
Raleigh,  Decr  Slst  1867. 
To  the  Prest  of  the  United  States 
Dear  Sir:- 

In  my  letter  to  you  of  the  23-rd  Oct1'  last,  I  said  "A  practice 
has  prevailed  in  the  State  and  still  prevails  of  having  citizens 
arrested  and  imprisoned  by  military  authority  upon  charges  often 
made  by  persons  of  bad  character,-the  charges  and  the  names 
of  the  persons  preferring  them,  being  concealed  from  the  party 
arrested.  Several  arrests  have  been  made  in  this  State,  and  the 
accused  transferred  to  distant  places  of  confinement  and  detained 
as  prisoners  for  months  without  preliminary  trial  or  notice  of 
the  cause  of  imprisonment.  I  have  earnestly  remonstrated  against 
the  iniquity  of  such  proceeding  to  Genl  Sickles  and  Genl  Canby. 
To-day,  I  am  informed  that  the  Sheriff  of  Caswell,  Mr  Jesse  C. 
Griffith,  a  man  of  exemplary  character,  personal  and  political, 
has  been  arrested  and  carried  a  prisoner  to  Charleston,  upon 
some  unknown  charges  preferred  by  one  Wra-Johnson  and  one 
Tourgee,  both  of  them  men  of  the  most  detestable  moral  charac- 
ter116-No  form  of  military  despotism  can  be  more  terrible  to  the 
orderly  citizen,  than  these  summary  arrests,  and  imprisonment  in 
forts  distant  from  the  homes  of  the  parties  arrested,  without 
preliminary  trial.  It  gives  mean  partizan  malevolence  a  feast 
without  fear  of  molestation." 

This  letter  was  referred  by  you  to  Genl  Grant  who  transmitted 
it  to  Genl  Canby  for  his  remarks.  Genl  Canby  some  three  weeks 
ago  furnished  me  with  a  partial  copy  of  his  remarks  to  Genl 
Grant-in  which,  among  other  things  he  says  my  statement  to 
you  "is  not  an  ingenuous  statement"  'That  he  (I)  know  by  my 
(his)  letter  of  Sep.1'  17tb,/67,  that  in  one  of  the  cases  cited  in  that 
remonstrance  the  arrests  were  made  at  the  request  of  his  own 
agents  and  in  aid  of  the  civil  authorities."  I  append  a  copy  of 
that  letter  dated  Sep1"  17th  67,  marked  A.  from  which  it  will  be 
seen  that  I  did  not  know  by  that  letter  that  the  arrests  were 
made  at  the  instance  of  my  agents.  I  will  make  further  reference 
to  the  matter. 

Gen.  Canby' s  reference  to  his  letter  to  Genl  Grant  to  the  terms 
"iniquity"  and  "military  oppression"  used  by  me,  implies  that 
these  terms  as  he  thinks  were  unwarrantably  used  by  me.  I  dis- 
claim using  them  in  a  sense  which  could  be  justly  held  personally 
offensive  to  Gen1  Canby,  but  they  were  apt  words  to  convey  my 
idea  of  the  acts  to  which  were  applied. 


115  In  order  to  clarify  the  position  of  General  Canby  and  the  state  authorities  over  the 
question  of  the  enforcement  of  law  and  order  in  North  Carolina,  Governor  Worth  went  to 
Washington  to  see  President  Johnson,  who  was  astounded  at  the  turn  of  events.  President 
Johnson  asked  Governor  Worth  to  send  him  a  detailed  account  of  what  had  occurred.  Hamil- 
ton,  Correspondence   of  Jonathan    Worth,    II,    1095. 

116  Governor  Worth  took  every  precaution  to  have  an  authentic  account  and  immediately 
wrote  the  people  involved  for  statements  as  to  their  knowledge  of  the  incidents.  On  December 
13  and  14,  1867,  he  addressed  letters  to  C.  P.  Mendenhall,  R.  P.  Dick,  J  A.  Gilmer,  Thomas 
Settle,  and  H.  C.  Worth  as  to  the  imprisonment  and  trial  of  William  Johnson  and  Jesse 
Griffith.  Hamilton,   Correspondence  of  Jonathan   Worth,  II,   1084-1086. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  413 

In  the  same  communicated  Gen1  -C-  reflects  on  the  Legislature 
and  judicial  authorities  of  the  State  (most  unjustly  as  I  believe) 
where  he  says  that  "by  ingenious  omissions  and  ingenious  con- 
structions of  our  amnesty  act  of  Dec1'  1866,  certain  citizens,  who 
were  loyal  to  the  United  States,  are  not  protected  by  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Act.  He  cites  particular  cases  to  sustain  his 
proposition,  referring  to  certain  exhibits  sent  to  Genl  Grant  and 
which  are  not  furnished  to  me  and  without  which  I  am  unable 
to  appreciate  or  investigate  his  specifications. 

He  also  says  my  definition  of  the  character  of  Tourgee  "is  not 
accepted"-and  states  that  he  "was  captain  of  the  105th  Ohio  Vol 
Infantry  and  Judge  Advocate  of  the  14th  army  corps."  After  the 
close  of  the  war  he  settled  in  Guilford  County,  in  this  State  :-at 
a  rural  political  meeting  in  that  County  in  the  summer  of  1866 
he  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  Phila  convention  of  September 
1866-He  there  made  a  speech,  as  reported  in  the  Herald  and 
Tribune  which  I  suppose  went  the  rounds  of  the  Northern  press, 
in  which  he  says  he  had  been  recently  informed  by  a  Quaker 
that  he  (the  Quaker)  had  seen  15  murdered  negroes  dragged  out 
of  one  pond  :-that  1200  union  soldiers  who  had  settled  in  this  State 
had  been  forced  to  sacrifice  their  property  and  leave  the 
State  because  neither  their  lives  or  property  were  safe  in  this 
State.117  Every  body  in  this  State  know  that  these  were  malignant 
falsehoods  and  slanders  on  our  people.  They  gave  him  character 
in  this  State.  I  have  heard  many  officers  of  the  U.  S.  speak  of 
Tourgee.  I  never  heard  any  body  speak  of  him  but  with  loathing 
of  his  character.  He  is  a  delegate  from  Guilford  to  our  approach- 
ing Convention,  elected  over  a  highly  intelligent  educated  gentle- 
man who  has  been  a  consistent  Quaker  all  his  life-,  by  reason  of 
the  fact  that  the  great  body  of  the  more  intelligent  and  virtuous 
of  the  people,  on  account  of  disfranchisement  and  other  causes, 
did  not  go  to  the  polls. 

Of  Johnson  I  will  speak  in  the  sequel.  In  my  late  interview 
with  you  I  gave  you  a  narrative  of  sundry  military  acts  in  this 
State  which  I  thought  justified  the  language  of  my  letter  to  you 
of  the  23rd  Oct1*.  You  requested  me  to  state  the  facts  to  you  in 
writing,  which  would  have  been  sooner  but  for  severe  indisposi- 
tion. I  proceed  to  comply  with  your  request,  beginning  with  the 
recent  arrest  of  Griffith,  Sheriff  of  Caswell  County.  Some  two 
years  before  the  close  of  the  war,  Wm-  Johnson  was  indicted  for 
Burglary  in  Rockingham  County.  He  was,  at  the  time  a  deserter 
from  the  Confederate  army.  His  younger  brother  and  one  Lea, 
as  I  am  informed,  were  associated  with  him  in  the  commission  of 
the  crime.  It  was,  as  I  learn  from  the  Hon.  Thos  Settle,  the  Solici- 
tor who  prosecuted  the  Indictment,  and  who  is  a  leading  Re- 
publican politician  of  this  State,  a  most  aggravated  burglary .- 
These  three  men  entered  the  house  of  an  old  man  living  alone, 
in  the  night  time,  tied  him.-robbed  him  of  his  money  and  other 
effects,  and  left  him  tied,  no  one  being  there  to  relieve  him.  Lea 


117  An  excerpt  from  Albion   W.   Tourgee's  remarks  published   in   the  New    York    Tribune   is 
quoted  in  Hamilton,  Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  1126-1127. 


414  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

and  the  younger  Johnson,  as  I  understand  from  Gen1  Canby's 
letter  to  Gen1  Grant,  were  arrested  and  indicted  for  Larceny 
and  convicted-Gen1  Canby  says  they  were  pardoned  on  condition 
of  entering  the  Confederate  army.  Of  this  I  know  nothing,  but 
deem  it  probable,  (not  that  they  were  pardoned)  but  that  no 
judgement  was  prayed  against  them  on  this  condition.  I  have 
heard  they  did  enter  the  Confederate  army,  and  that  the  younger 
Johnson  and  five  or  six  other  Confederate  soldiers,  about  the 
time  of  the  surrender  of  Gen1  Johnson,  attempted  to  rob  the  house 
of  Mr  Lambert  near  Greensboro.  Lambert,  also  a  Confederate 
soldier,  was  then  at  home  in  his  house  and  well  armed :  that  when 
he  could  not  induce  them  to  leave,  he  opened  fire  on  them  and 
killed  all  of  them  but  one,  including  young  Johnson  and  hurt  the 
remaining  one  hors  de  combat  by  a  wound.  Lambert  went  forth- 
with to  Gen1  Johnston  and  informed  him  of  what  had  occurred.  A 
Court  of  Inquiry  was  appointed  who  acquitted  Lambert  of  all 
blame-Gen1  Cox  commanding  a  division  or  corps  of  the  U.  S. 
army  occupied  Greensboro'  soon  afterwards,  and  caused  an  in- 
quiry into  the  matter.  He  was  honorably  acquitted  and  applauded 
by  both  Generals  for  the  bravery  he  exhibited  in  defending  his 
castle,  tending  to  alarm  the  swarms  of  villains  then  preying  on 
the  panic  stricken  citizens.  Wm-  Johnson  escaped  and  joined  the 
U.  S.  army.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  came  back-was  arrested 
in  Rockingham  County-had  his  case  removed  for  trial  to  Caswell- 
was  defended  by  two  able  lawyers-convicted  and  sentenced  to 
be  hanged-His  counsel  got  up  a  petition,  numerously  signed,  ask- 
ing me  to  pardon  him-The  grounds  on  which  clemency  was  asked 
for,  were  his  youth-that  he  had  married  a  young  wife  since  the 
commission  of  the  offence:  that  the  enormity  of  his  crime  was 
mitigated  by  the  general  lawlessness  then  prevalent.  The  delega- 
tion then  representing  Caswell  in  the  Legislature,  waited  on  me 
in  a  body  and  pressed  me  to  pardon  him.  I  have  no  power  of  com- 
mutation. I  had  either  to  allow  him  to  be  hanged  or  to  pardon  him 
absolutely.  I  respited  him,  hoping  the  Gen1  Assembly  would  order 
the  erection  of  a  Penitentiary  which  I  had  recommended  and  give 
me  power  of  commutation.  They  failed  to  pass  the  bill,  and  I 
pardoned  him  on  condition  he  would  pay  the  costs,  which  it  was 
represented  he  could  do-but  afterwards  learning  to  my  satisfac- 
tion that  he  could  not  pay  the  costs,  I  made  the  pardon  uncondi- 
tional. During  all  the  time  nobody  pretended  that  he  was  a  U.  S. 
soldier  or  in  any  way  in  the  service  of  the  U.  S.  when  he  com- 
mitted the  burglary.  Nobody  pretended  he  was  wrongfully  con- 
victed. I  am  furnished  by  Gen1  Canby's  elaborate  discussion  of 
this  trial,  with  no  evidence  warranting  his  conclusion  that  he 
was  wrongfully  convicted,  unless  he  deems  the  declaration  of 
the  convict,  satisfactory  evidence  that  while  he  was  endeavoring 
"to  make  his  escape  from  the  conscript  hunters  he  and  his  as- 
sociates entered  a  house  and  without  doing  violence  to  any  one, 
took  therefrom  articles  of  food  and  five  dollars  in  Confederate 
money  to  the  value  in  all  of  $25.  necessary  to  enable  him  to  reach 
the  Union  lines."  It  is  true  the  Gen1  cites  as  foundation  for  the 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  415 

gravest  reflection  upon  integrity  of  the  Court,  the  statements 
made  by  Tourgee  (A),  and  sundry  reports  B.  C.  D.-furnished  to 
Gen1  Grant,  copies  of  which  are  not  sent  to  me.  He  says  "these 
reports  were  fully  supported  by  affidavits  and  corroborated  by 
the  records  of  the  Civil  Courts  of  North  Carolina."  As  to  these 
affidavits  I  know  nothing-I  would  gladly  have  copies  of  these 
affidavits  and  exhibits  ;-but  if  the  General  means  to  charge  that 
he  bases  any  of  his  conclusions  prejudicial  to  our  Courts,  on  the 
records,  then  I  emphatically  deny  that  they  furnished  any  such 
proofs. 

By  an  ordinance  of  our  Convention  of  1865  passed  18th  Octr 
1865  it  is  provided  that  "All  the  acts  and  doings  of  the  civil 
officers  of  the  State  since  the  20th  day  of  May  1865  done  or  which 
may  be  done  under  or  by  virtue  of  any  authority  purporting  to 
be-law  of  the  State,  which  is  consistent  with  its  allegiance  to 
the  United  States,  and  with  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  shall 
be  deemed  valid,  and  of  the  some  force  and  effect  as  if  the  State 
had  not,  on  that  day  or  since,  attempted  to  secede  from  the  United 
States." 

In  this  letter  to  Gen1  Grant  our  military  ruler  makes  the  fol- 
lowing astounding  and  terrific  announcement  "As  a  question  of 
Public  law  and  under  the  proclamantion  of  the  29th.  Apl  1865, 
the  old  indictment  was  a  nullity.  It  was  found  by  the  grand  jury 
of  a  Court  whose  process  ran  in  the  name  of  a  hostile  government 
or  pretended  government,  and  which  passed  out  of  existence  with 
the  overthrow  of  the  government  under  which  it  was  organized. 
If  tried  atall,  the  prisoner  was  entitled  to  be  tried  under  a  new 
presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury  of  the  present,  and 
not  of  the  displaced  rebel  government  of  North  Carolina.  All 
the  proceedings  under  the  old  indictment  were  illegal  and  void: 
the  imprisonment  was  a  false  imprisonment  and  if  the  sentence 
had  been  executed,  it  would  have  been  a  murder." 

This  comes  from  one  claiming  power  to  make,  to  interpret- 
and  to  execute  our  laws.  Under  it  every  Judge  in  the  State  is 
guilty  of  murder,  and  is  subject  to  be  hanged  according  to  the 
strict  rules  of  Justice. 

Charity  would  suggest  that  the  General  had  overlooked  this 
ordinance.  His  predecessor  was  furnished  by  me  for  his  Hd 
Qrs,  with  a  copy  of  Our  revised  code  and  of  all  the  laws  and 
ordinances  passed  during  and  since  the  suppression  of  the  rebel- 
lion, by  this  State-  and  I  specially  called  Gen1  Canby's  attention 
to  this  ordinance  in  a  letter  of  the  30th  Nov  last,  to  which  I  have 
received  no  reply.  I  annex  copies  of  Gen.  Canby's  letter  to  Gen1 
Grant,  as  furnished  to  me-  marked  B ;-  and  of  my  reply,-  marked 
C.-The  most  extraordinary  part  of  this  remarkable  letter  to  Gen1 
Grant,  is  one  in  which  the  General  states  his  "conclusion"  in  the 
Johnson  case,  formed  without  notice  or  hearing  on  the  part  of  our 
condemned  judicial  authorities,  upon  the  ex-parte  evidence  of 
such  wretches  as  Tourgee  and  Johnson. — He  says, 

"The  conclusion  reached  after  a  careful  examination  of  the 
evidence  in  this  case  was,  that  Johnson  was  tried,  not  for  the 


416  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

offence  for  which  he  was  indicted,  and  ostensibly  tried,  but  in 
reality  for  being  a  deserter  from  the  rebel  army,-for  having 
guided  Stoneman  in  his  raid  into  North  Carolina,  and  for  his 
open  and  avowed  hostility  to  the  Secessionists,  and  that  he  was 
convicted,  because  he  was  a  deserter  and  a  traitor  to  the  Con- 
federate Cause,  and  ought  to  be  hanged  any  how." 

There  can  be  no  intelligent  mind,  in  or  out  of  the  State,  which 
will  not  feel  disgust  and  indignation,  at  such  a  "conclusion"  thus 
formed. 

But  assuming  that  the  Supr  Court  of  law  which  convicted 
Johnson,  was  guilty  of  the  enormities  which  the  General  imputes 
to  that  Court,  surely  the  Sheriff  who  is  only  an  executive  officer, 
ought  not  to  have  been  held  responsible  for  the  unlawful  con- 
viction. Why  was  not  the  judge  or  the  solicitor,  or  the  jury  ar- 
rested, who  were  the  guilty  parties  on  the  General's  assumption. 
He  seems  to  vindiate  the  arrest,  which  was  the  matter  of  which 
I  complained,  on  the  ground  that  the  Sheriff  was  only  brought 
to  Charleston,  "not  thirty  six  hours  from  his  home"  (the  entire 
breadth  of  North  and  South  Carolina)  "because  a  military  com- 
mission was  then  in  session  at  this  place  (Charleston)  "and  a 
speedy  trial  could  be  more  easily  secured"-when  it  was  notorious 
that  a  Military  Court  had  been  sitting  and  trying  civilian  for 
months  in  the  Hall  of  the  house  of  Commons  of  North  Carolina. 
He  seems  also  to  justify  the  arrest,  the  matter  as  to  which  I  had 
complained,  because  the  prisoner,  when  brought  to  Charleston, 
not  being  ready  for  trial:  (how  could  he  be  ready  not  knowing 
the  accusation  against  him) ,  "was  released  on  his  own  recogni- 
sance to  appear  for  trial  at  a  day  set",  and  because  after  making 
two  trips  to  Charleston  and  carrying  witnesses  across  two  states, 
he  was  acquitted,  I  am  astonished  at  the  petty-fogging  expedient 
of  offering  a  defence  against  a  charge  not  made,  coming  from  a 
veteran  of  high  rank  in  the  U.  S.  army.  I  had  always  supposed 
that  frankness  was  a  peculiar  characteristic  of  a  veteran  soldier. 
Henderson  Cooper.118 

At  the  Supr  Court  of  law  of  Granville  County,  in  March  1865, 
two  negro  men  were  convicted  of  rape  on  the  body  of  Susan  J. 
Daniels.  One  of  the  convicts  Wm-  Cooper  was  executed  :-the  other, 
Henderson  Cooper,  escaped,  and  as  I  was  informed,  took  refuge  in 
Virginia,  and  was  still  in  that  State  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1866. 
I  sent  the  Sheriff  of  Granville  with  my  requisition  on  the  Gover- 
nor of  Virginia  for  the  rendition  of  this  fugitive  from  justice. 
Governor  Pierpont  gave  the  Sheriff  his  warrant  accordingly. 
When  the  Sheriff  went  to  Virginia  he  found  the  fugitive  in  Wash- 
ington City  :-thereupon  the  Sheriff  hired  a  man  who  knew  the 
criminal  and  his  whereabouts  in  Washington  to  go  over  to  Wash- 
ington City  and  hunt  him  up.  Justice  Walter  granted  a  warrant 
and  a  policeman  arrested  him  and  put  him  in  prison.  Deputy 
Marshal  Phillips  and  Justice  Walter  said  they  could  not  give  him 
up  under  the  warrant  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  without  his 

118  In  addition  to  the  information  which  he  had  already  acquired  from  the  Reverend  Samuel 
A.  Williams  and  others  concerning  the  Henderson  Cooper  case  he  wrote  a  Mr.  Philpot  on 
December  18,  1867.  Hamilton,  Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  1089. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  417 

consent,  but  they  would  give  him  up  if  he  would  consent  to  go 
voluntarily,  but  if  he  would  not  consent  to  go  voluntarily,  he 
would  be  detained  in  prison  till  the  Sheriff  could  return  to  this 
city  and  get  a  requisition  for  his  surrender  on  the  authorities  of 
the  District  of  Columbia.  Upon  a  representation  of  these  facts  to 
the  criminal,  by  the  Sheriff  and  policeman,  he  consented  to  come 
voluntarily,  if  the  Sheriff  would  promise  that  the  criminal's  wife 
should  be  allowed  to  visit  him  occasionally  in  jail.  This  the  Sheriff 
promised  and  performed.  He  went  voluntarily  on  board  the  Po- 
tomac boat  with  the  Sheriff  and  was  brought  and  confined  in 
Granville  jail.  The  Sheriff  has  twice  made  this  statement  before 
military  boards-but  Generals  Sickles  and  Canby  take  care  to 
write  in  their  official  papers  that  he  "was  pursued  and  recaptured 
in  Washington  D.  C  on  the  25th  Octo  1866,  after  the  surrender 
of  rebel  forces  and  without  due  process  of  law".  Why  this  recital 
was  so  carefully  preserved  and  reiterated  is  not  perceived  unless 
with  the  purpose  of  showing  the  rebellious  and  defiant  spirit  of 
the  Sheriff  of  Granville,  (one  of  the  most  quiet  men  in  America) 
leading  him  to  go  to  the  National  Capitol,  under  the  nose  of  Con- 
gress, and  lawlessly  to  arrest  and  bring  away  a  citizen  of  African 
descent. 

At  the  Spring  Term  1867,  Judge  Warren  presiding,  the  Sheriff 
was  ordered  to  hang  the  convict  on  the  5th  April  1867.  Gen  Sickles 
issued  an  order  to  Col  Bomford,  Post  commander  here,  reciting 
that  "the  prisoner  was  tried  and  convicted  by  a  Court  not  recog- 
nized by  the  United  States:  that  the  prisoner  escaped  from  the 
custody  of  persons  engaged  in  armed  rebellion  against  the  United 
States:  and  he  was  pursued  and  recaptured  in  Washington  D.  C. 
on  the  25th.  Octo  1866  after  the  surrender  of  the  rebel  forces  and 
without  due  process  of  law  and  it  is  hereby  ordered  that  the 
sentence  and  all  the  proceedings  in  the  case  be  and  they  are 
hereby  revoked  and  declared  null  and  void."  He  further  orders 
"The  commanding  officer  of  the  District  of  N.  C.  to  take  Hender- 
son Cooper,  Freedman,  in  military  custody  and  investigate  the 
allegations  against  him-report  what  further  action  is  in  his 
judgement  necessary  and  proper."  See  copy  annexed  marked  D. 

It  is  understood  and  admitted  that  this  action  was  based  upon 
an  ex  parte  preliminary  inquiry  and  report,  made  by  Bvfc  Brig. 
Gen.  R.  Avery  Inspector  of  Freedman's  Bureau.  Sometime  after- 
ward I  was  furnished  by  Genl  Sickles  with  the  report  of  the  Court 
of  inquiry  organised  by  the  commanding  officer  here  (of  which 
Court  Genl, Avery  was  a  member)  a  copy  of  which  marked  E  is 
annexed.  This  report  dated  22nd  Apl  1867  shows  that  the  Board  did 
not  summon  or  examine  the  victim  of  the  outrage  nor  her  little 
daughter  who  witnessed  it,  both  at  their  home  in  the  country,  not 
so  far  as  I  can  learn  by  the  report,  or  otherwise,  any  other  person 
who  was  a  witness  at  the  trial,  nor  the  solicitor  who  prosecuted, 
nor  either  of  the  two  able  lawyers,  who  were  assigned  by  the 
Court  and  who  defended  the  prisoner,  though  one  of  them  live  on 
the  ground,  and  the  other  not  far  off-  It  does  not  appear  that  any 
effort  was  made  to  summon  any  of  these  persons.  The  allegation 


418  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

that  the  negro  who  knew  any  thing  of  the  case  "evidently  feared 
that  personal  violence  would  be  done  them  should  they  testify  to 
any  thing  displeasing  to  their  former  masters"-and  that  "the 
white  men  who  were  examined  give  their  testimony  in  a  guarded 
and  cautious  manner  seeming  to  fear  that  they  might  in  some 
way  reflect  upon  the  fairness  of  the  action  of  their  own  Courts" 
is  a  story  fit  only  to  be  told  to  the  marines.  Every  body  knows 
that  under  the  present  government  of  the  military  and  freedman's 
Bureau  nobody  has  anything  to  fear  who  takes  sides  with  a  negro, 
or  abuses  the  civil  government  of  the  State. 

The  report  states  as  the  "opinion"  of  the  Board,  that  the 
character  of  the  prosecutrix  is  bad.  Whether  this  opinion  was 
founded  on  any  evidence  or  on  what  evidence,  I  am  ignorant,  but 
from  the  fact  that  no  evidence  of  this  character  was  adduced 
either  in  the  Civil  Court -or  on  trial  before  the  Court  martial  to 
which  I  shall  presently  refer,  it  is  fair  to  infer  that  there  was  no 
such  evidence  before  the  board;  Col  Bomford  and  Genl  Avery, 
members  of  this  Board,  being  two  members  of  the  Court  martial. 

But  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  report,  is, 
that  the  Board  deem  it  pertinent  to  the  inquiry  submitted  to 
them  to  state  that  at  the  time  the  alleged  outrage  was  committed 
"the  woman's  husband  was  engaged  in  overseeing  slaves,  he  was 
at  that  time  in  fact  in  the  Rebel  army." ! ! !. 

The  board  winds  up  with  the  sage  conclusion,  "that  a  crime  has 
been  committed,  which  although  not  meriting  so  severe  a  penalty 
as  that  of  death,  should  receive  some  punishment."  See  copy 
of  my  comments  on  this  document,  addressed  to  Gen  Sickles 
marked  F. 

Up  to  this  time  I  knew  nothing  as  to  the  facts  proved  on  the 
trial.  This  report  awakened  curiosity ;  and  learning  that  Mr  Hays 
of  Oxford,  a  gentleman  alike  distinguished  for  personal  virute 
and  legal  learning,  was  one  of  the  lawyers  who  defended  the 
negroes-and  that  Sam1  A.  Williams  a  pious  gentleman  of  Oxford 
had  visited  the  negroes  in  jail  after  condemnation,  to  pray  with 
them  and  prepare  them  for  death,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  those 
gentlemen,  asking  for  such  information  as  they  could  give,  touch- 
ing the  guilt  or  innocence  of  Henderson  Cooper.  Mr  Hays  an- 
swered that  the  trial  established  the  guilt  of  the  prisoners  beyond 
a  reasonable  doubt-and  that  the  trial  was  in  all  things  a  fair  one  :-* 
Williams  answered  that  the  convicts,  without  the  slightest  in- 
fluence offered  by  him,  voluntarily  confessed  to  him  that  they 
were  guilty  and  ought  to  die-and  besought  him  to  pray  for  them 
and  prepare  them  for  death,  and  that  he  communicated  this  fact 
to  Genl  Avery  when  he  was  making  his  preliminary  investigation. 
These  letters  I  have  immediately  sent  to  Gen  Sickles.-I  heard 
nothing  more  from  the  case  till  I  was  informed  on  the  2  Octo  last, 
by  the  Sheriff  of  Granville,  that  a  Court  Martial  was  sitting  in 
our  Commons  Hall,  trying  Henderson  Cooper  :-Col  Bomford  being 
Prst  of  the  Court  and  Gen  Avery  Judge  Advocate.  I  immediately 
addressed  a  note  to  Gen  Avery  in  these  words,  "I  respectfully  ask 
that  in  the  trial  of  Henderson  Cooper  which  I  learn  is  now  in 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  419 

progress  before  a  Military  Court  now  sitting  in  this  city,  of  which 
you  are  Judge  Advocate,  the  State  may  be  represented  by  Counsel 
to  be  appointed  by  me."  As  the  trial  was  one  impeaching  the  in- 
tegrity of  one  of  our  Courts,  I  did  not  anticipate  a  refusal,  and 
immediately  sent  for  a  lawyer,  Hon  S.  F.  Phillips  who  came  to  my 
office ;  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Sheriff  of  Granville  I  was  putting 
him  in  possession  of  the  facts  to  enable  him  to  manage  the 
prosecution.  While  we  were  conferring  Gen  Avery  appeared  and 
notified  me,  (which  he  afterwards  put  in  writing)  that  my  request 
would  not  be  granted  "as  it  is  contrary  to  all  precedent,  and 
against  the  usages  of  the  service.  The  case  is  now  nearly  complete, 
the  greater  portion  of  the  evidence  for  the  prosecution  having 
been  already  taken."  I  then  asked  him  if  he  would  cause  to  be 
summoned  and  examined  such  witnesses  as  I  would  designate.  He 
desired  to  know  what  witnesses  I  wanted,  and  what  they  would 
be  expected  to  prove.  I  told  him  I  wanted  to  prove,  beyond  cavil 
that  the  character  of  the  prosecutrix  was  without  blemish,  in 
contradiction  of  his  report. :  I  designated  the  Sheriff  of  Granville 
then  present,  as  one  of  the  witnesses  I  wanted  for  this  purpose : 
that  I  wanted  Mr.  Williams  to  prove  that  the  prisoners,  after  con- 
viction, voluntarily  confessed  his  guilt  to  him.  (Williams)  and 
that  he  (Williams)  had  communicated  this  fact  to  him  (Gen, 
Avery)  when  he  was  making  the  preliminary  inquiry  which  had 
led  to  interference  with  the  action  of  our  Courts.  He  replied  that 
the  evidence  of  the  prisoners  guilt,  then  before  the  Court,  was 
plenary :  that  no  evidence  impeaching  the  character  of  the  prose- 
cutrix had  been  offered:  that  the  trial  was  about  concluded,  and 
expressed  repugnance  to  protracting  the  trial,  by  the  summoning 
and  examination  of  more  witnesses;  but  agreed  to  offer  the 
Sheriff  to  prove  the  character  of  the  prosecutrix,  who,  as  I  was 
informed  was  examined  and  proved  her  character  very  good.  See 
my  letter  to  Gen  Avery  marked  G.  dated  Oct.  10th/67  in  which  I 
specially  called  attention  to  what  Williams  would  prove. 

He  was  convicted  and  ordered  to  be  hanged  as  appears  by  Gen 
Orders  No  125  hereto  annexed  dated  Nov  20th  1867:  but  Gen 
Canby  set  aside  this  finding  on  the  ground  that  "it  was  error  to 
refer  this  case  to  a  military  commission",  &c-See  order  annexed 
marked  H.  He  holds  that  the  action  of  our  Courts  was  void -as  also 
that  of  the  Court  martial-and  directs  that  the  prisoner  be  "re- 
manded to  the  custody  of  the  Civil  authorities  for  trial  under  a 
new  presentment  or  indictment" !  !  The  obvious  effect  of  all  which 
is,  that  this  monster  is  to  go  unpunished,  although  convicted  by 
both  a  civil  and  a  military  Court.  If  a  new  indictment  be  found, 
he  will  plead  former  conviction  and  must  be  necessarily  acquitted : 
-and  if  the  judge  causes  him  to  be  hanged  under  former  convic- 
tion, of  course,  Gen  Canby  would  have  the  Judge  hanged  under 
military  law. 

This  was  a  rape  of  peculiar  atrocity .- 

Two  strong  negroes  enter  the  house  of  a  poor  but  worthy 
woman,  and  in  the  presence  of  her  little  daughter,  each  of  them 
commit  rape  on  her,  and  our  military  government,  interposes  its 


420  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

shield  and  allows  one  of  the  monsters  to  go  unpunished.  The 
history  of  this  case  is  extensively  known  in  this  State.  If  aliena- 
tion to  the  government  in  this  State  is  on  the  increase,  as  is  often 
alleged  to  our  prejudice,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at?  How  many  com- 
munities are  there  at  the  North  where  the  negro,  under  these 
circumstances,  would  not  be  dragged  from  prison  and  hanged  by 
Lynch  law?  There  is  no  danger  of  it  here.  Our  people  conscious 
of  their  helplessness  are  resolved  to  endure  and  submit  to  the 
laws,  confiding  in  an  awakening  sense  of  mercy  and  justice  on 
the  part  of  the  dominant  power  of  the  nation,  the  dawn  of  which 
they  think  may  be  perceived  in  the  late  Northern  elections. 

In  closing  this  subject  I  deem  it  due  to  Col  Bomford,  who  has 
long  been  stationed  here  to  say  that  I  regard  him  as  a  good  man 
and  every  way  a  gentleman:  but  that  in  these  matters  wherein 
he  has  been  associated  with  Gen  Avery,  who  claims  to  be  a  law- 
yer, the  Colonel  has  unduly  deferred  to  the  opinions  of  his 
associate. 

Jury  trial. 

By  the  laws  of  this  State,  freeholders  only  are  made  competent 
to  serve  on  juries.  The  County  Courts  are  required,  from  time  to 
time,  to  review  the  list  of  freeholders  and  cast  out  all  not  qualified 
to  serve,  and  to  draw  juries  for  all  our  courts  out  of  the  list,  after 
being  purged.  The  law  does  not  limit  the  drawing  of  white  men ; 
but  negroes,  not  being  regarded  as  citizens,  were  never  drawn 
as  juries.  General  Sickles  by  his  order  No  32  dated  May  30th.  1867 
ordained  "All  citizens  assessed  for  taxes  and  who  shall  have  paid 
taxes  for  the  current  year  are  qualified  to  serve  as  jurors."  The 
courts  were  ordered  to  carry  this  order  into  execution  without 
delay.  No  power  was  allowed  the  Court  to  cast  out  any  tax  payer, 
white  of  black,  however  ignorant  or  debased  his  character  might 
be.  Our  Sheriffs  and  tax  collectors  are  required  to  collect  the  taxes 
and  make  their  returns  by  the  1st  day  of  October:  and  conse- 
quently our  Courts  could  not  know  till  after  the  1st  Oct1",  who  had 
paid  a  tax  the  current  year.  In  early  part  of  Aug.1  I  was 
informed  that  two  Courts,  had  been  broken  up  by  subordinates 
of  Gen  Sickles,  because  juries  had  not  been  drawn  as  prescribed 
in  order  No.  32.  The  Fall  Term  of  our  Supr  Courts  were  just  about 
to  commence;  and  I  understand  Post  Commanders  were  ordered 
not  to  allow  any  jury  trial,  where  juries  had  not  been  drawn  con- 
formably to  order  No  32.  Upon  my  satisfying  Gen  Sickles  by  tele- 
gram that  it  was  impracticable  to  execute  his  order  till  after  the 
1st  Oct.  he  issued  orders  suspending  its  execution,  until  it  was 
practicable  for  the  Courts  to  carry  it  out.  I  remonstrated  to  Gen 
Sickles  against  this  order  as  being  worse  than  would  be  an  edict 
abolishing  jury  trial,  and  as  being  excessively  distasteful  to  our 
people  and  unnecessary  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  legislation  of 
Congress.  He  would  neither  revoke  nor  modify  it.  Soon  after  Gen 
Canby  assumed  command  I  made  a  renewed  appeal.  See  copy  of 
this  appeal  annexed  marked  I.  in  which  I  insisted  that  he  should 
at  least  modify  it  in  conformity  with  Chief  Justice  Chase's  order 
to  the  Marshall  at  the  opening  of  the  U.  S.  Courts  here.  He 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  421 

ordered  the  Marshall  to  summon  negroes  as  Jurors,  they  being 
otherwise  qualified  according  to  law.  This  made  all  negroes  com- 
petent, who  owned  a  freehold  in  other  words  put  them  on  the 
same  footing  with  white  men.  Soon  afterwards,  to  wit  Sept  13/67. 
Gen  Canby  modified  the  order  as  follows,  "All  citizens  assessed 
for  taxes,  and  who  shall  have  paid  taxes  the  current  year,  and 
tvho  are  qualified,  and  have  been  or  may  be  registered  as  voters. 
"are  hereby  declared  qualified  to  serve  as  jurors":  making  the 
matter  far  worse  than  Gen  Sickles  had  left  it.  By  disqualifying 
our  citizens  not  allowed  to  vote,  who  comprise  the  chief  intelli- 
gence of  the  country,  as  truthfully  and  manfully  admitted  by  Gen 
Sickles  in  his  letter  to  Senator  Trumbull,  he  would  have  made 
trial  by  Jury  a  ridculous  caricature  upon  this  time  honored  in- 
stitution. Upon  my  representing  to  him  that  the  courts  could  not 
execute  this  order  until  registration  was  completed,  and  they 
were  furnished  with  copies  of  the  registration  books,  he  finally 
allowed  unregistered  men  to  be  drawn-but  provided  that  either 
party  might  put  them  off  by  challenge. 

This  innovation  upon  our  Jury  laws,  is  generally  regarded  as 
an  unnecessary  and  offensive  display  of  honor,  calculated  to 
foster  and  engender  hatred  against  the  government  instead  of 
bringing  about  the  reconciliation  and  fraternity  which  every 
good  man  should  encourage. 

One  of  the  lamentable  effects  of  the  military  edicts  abrogating 
our  laws,  and  decreeing  new  ones,  is  the  resignation  of  Judges 
Merrimon  and  Fowle  (see  copies  of  their  resignation  marked  J  & 
K.  explaining  the  reasons  constraining  them  to  resign)  and  a 
number  of  our  most  conscientious  and  intelligent  Justices  of  the 
peace-A  part  of  the  oath  of  office  of  every  Judge  and  Justice  of 
the  peace,  as  prescribed  by  statute,  is  in  these  words.  "I  will  not 
delay  any  person  of  common  right  by  reason  of  any  letter  or  com- 
mand from  any  person  or  persons  in  authority  to  me  directed  or 
for  any  other  cause  whatsoever :  and  in  case  any  letter  or  orders 
come  to  me,  contrary  to  law,  I  will  proceed  to  enforce  the  law, 
such  letters  or  orders  notwithstanding".  These  gentlemen  held 
that  they  could  not  obey  many  of  the  military  mandates  of  Gen 
Sickles  and  Canby,  having  due  regard  to  their  oath  of  office.  The 
vacancies  cannot  be  suitably  filled  by  men  who  will  take  the  iron 
clad  oath. 

Arrest  of  Duncan  G  McRae  and  others,119 

In  February  or  March  last  a  poor  young  woman  of  good  family 
and  exemplary  character,  residing  some  two  miles  from  Fayette- 
ville,  on  her  way  home  from  Church  on  Sunday,  was  waylaid  by 
a  negro  named  Bebe.  He  seized  her;-bore  her  into  the  woods- 
violently  choking  her  to  suppress  her  cries  ;-but  her  screams 
reached  the  ears  of  an  old  negress  living  near  who  hurried  to  the 
ground  just  in  time  to  prevent  the  monster  from  perpetrating  the 


110  On  December  16,  1867,  Governor  Worth  wrote  Duncan  G.  McRae  as  to  the  date  of  hia 
arrest,  the  length  of  time  that  he  was  imprisoned,  and  the  dates  of  the  trial  in  Raleigh. 
He  explained  that  he  had  been  asked  by  the  President  to  give  him  a  written  account  of  the 
trial,  "which  I  presume  he  intends  to  publish  and  I  wish  to  be  very  accurate."  Hamilton, 
Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,  1088. 


422  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

crime  he  meditated.  On  the  approach  of  the  old  negress  he  ran 
off.  The  next  day  he  was  arrested  and  taken  before  Duncan  G. 
McRae  Esqr  for  preliminary  trial.  This  trial  was  had  in  the 
upper  story  of  the  market  house  in  Fayetteville.  An  uncle  of  the 
accused  was  allowed  to  employ  a  lawyer  who  appeared  in  defence 
of  the  accused.  The  young  woman  and  old  negress  identified  the 
villian;  and  the  bruised  neck  of  young  lady  bore  the  imprint  of 
his  infernal  clutches.  No  doubt  was  felt  then,  or  has  been  ex- 
pressed since,  by  black  or  white,  as  to  his  guilt.  The  shocking 
character  of  the  offense  drew  together  about  the  market  house, 
a  large  crowd,  most  of  whom  were  excluded  from  the  hall  where 
the  trial  was  going  on.  The  Sheriff  was  on  the  ground  with  the 
whole  police  force  of  the  town,  armed  with  their  clubs,  to  guard 
the  negro  from  the  apprehened  vengeance  of  the  crowd.  He  was 
committed  for  trial,  and  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  sheriff  to 
be  carried  to  jail.  He  was  carried  down  the  stairs,  an  officer  of 
the  police,  at  either  arm  and  the  Sheriff  at  his  back.  On  landing 
below  he  made  violent  attempts  to  escape,  but  was  held  firmly 
by  his  custodians.  In  the  struggle  he  fell.  As  he  rose  some  one 
behind  fired  a  pistol  shot,  the  ball  passing  through  the  hair  of  the 
Sheriff's  head.  It  took  effect  in  the  head  of  Bebe,  who  instantly 
expired. 

A  corner's  inquest  was  held,  and  many  witnesses  were  ex- 
amined. One  or  more  of  them  swore  that  Capt  Tolar  shot  him. 
Capt  Tolar  as  I  learn,  was  a  quiet  good  citizen,  a  member  of  a 
religious  society  and  of  the  masonic  order,  and  held  in  high 
esteem  by  all  his  acquaintances.  Other  witnesses,  deemed  more 
worthy  of  credit,  swore  they  were  near  Capt  Tolar  when  the 
pistol  fired-and  that  they  knew  that  he  did  not  fire  it.  One  Phillips, 
and  perhaps  others,  displayed  weapons  on  the  occasion.  The  jury 
reported  that  they  could  not  satisfactorily  ascertain  who  com- 
mitted the  homicide. 

The  first  Court,  having  cognizance  of  the  alleged  crime,  com- 
menced its  sitting  on  the  13-tb  of  May  1867.  A  few  days  before 
the  sitting  of  this  Court,  General  Avery,  applied  to  Gen  Sickles 
for  the  arrest  and  trial  before  a  Military  Court,  of  Capt  Tolar, 
Powers  and  Watkins-and  Duncan  G.  McRae.  General  Sickles 
ordered  the  arrest.  Before  the  prisoners  were  carried  off  by  the 
Military,  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  County,  upon  a  bill  preferred  by 
the  solicitor  against  Tolar  for  murder,  found  it  a  true  bill,  and  a 
capias  issued  accordingly,  which  the  Sheriff  could  not  execute, 
because  the  Military  refused  to  surrender  him.  No  bill  was  sent 
against  the  others,  because  the  attention  of  the  solicitor  was  not 
called  to  any  witness,  credible  or  incredible,  who  would  swear  to 
facts  warranting  the  sending  of  a  bill.  These  arrests  therefore 
could  not  be  based  on  any  pretext  that  the  Court  was  any  way  in 
fault. 

Duncan  G.  McRae  had  long  been  a  leading  Justice  of  the  peace 
of  his  County ;-  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  of  1865, 
and  was  widely  known  as  a  man  of  exemplary  character  and 
strong  union  proclivities.  On  his  way  to  Ft.  Macon,  the  Military 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  423 

prison  designated  for  his  confinement,  distance  some  200  miles 
from  his  home  and  family,  he  got  a  friend  to  send  a  Telegram  to 
Genl  Sickles,  inquiring  for  what  cause  and  by  whose  order  he  had 
been  arrested  and  whether  he  could  be  allowed  to  give  bail.  He 
declined  to  accept  bail,  and  referred  to  Gen  Miles,  Chief  of  the 
Freedman's  Bureau,  stationed  here,  as  to  the  charge,  &c.-Upon 
application  by  me  to  Genl  Miles  he  said  the  arrest  had  been  made 
by  order  of  Genl  Sickles,  upon  the  application  of  Gen  Avery :- 
and  that  he  had  not  power  to  release  McRae  upon  bail  or  on  his 
parole;  that  Genl  Sickles  alone  had  this  power:  that  Gen  Avery 
was  not  then  in  his  office:  that  as  soon  as  he  came  in,  he  would 
ask  him  to  call  at  my  office  and  explain.  The  conduct  of  Gen  Miles 
was  entirely  satisfactory  to  me.  Gen  Avery  called  on  me  soon 
after  :-stated  that  the  charges  against  the  prisoners  would  be 
specifically  made  out  and  sent  to  Hd  Qrs  soon :  that  he  could  then 
only  state  to  me  in  general  terms  that  the  charge  was  the  murder 
of  Bebe-and  that  McRae  was  an  accessory  before  the  fact.  I 
learned  from  him  or  had  otherwise  heard,  (I  am  not  certain 
which),  that  the  foundation  of  the  arrest  of  McRae  was  an 
affidavit  of  a  weak  minded  base  woman,  procured  by  Gen  Avery, 
in  which  she  proved  that  immediately  after  McRae  had  ordered 
the  commitment  of  Bebe,  he  had  gone  out  on  a  platform  or  to  a 
window,  and  called  on  the  crowd  to  shoot  the  prisoner;  and  that 
immediately  thereafter  the  negro  was  shot.  The  friends  of  McRae 
furnished  me  soon  after,  with  the  affidavits  of  the  uncle  of  Bebe 
who  had  procured  for  him  the  services  of  a  lawyer  who  had  ap- 
peared for  him  on  the  trial ;  -of  the  lawyer  himself,  and  of  several 
other  witnesses,  white  and  black,  who  swore  positively  that  they 
were  present  and  knew  that  McRae  had  not  risen  from  his  seat 
from  the  time  of  ordering  the  committal  until  after  the  fatal  shot 
was  fired  and  that  when  he  heard  the  negro  was  killed,  he  ex- 
pressed his  regret.  The  affidavits  I  sent  to  Gen  Sickles,  and  asked 
him,  if  he  could  not  take  bail,  to  discharge  McRae  on  parole.  I 
further  asked  that  all  the  prisoners  be  turned  over  to  the  civil 
authorities  for  trial.  I  had  heard  the  Court  Martial  for  the  trial 
of  these  prisoners  was  to  sit  here.  Fayetteville  is  60  miles  distant 
from  this  city-and  no  communication  between  the  two  places  by 
railroad  or  steam,  except  by  way  of  Wilmington  and  Goldsboro, 
a  circuitous  route  more  than  200  miles  long.  I  asked  therefore,  if 
he  would  not  turn  over  the  prisoners  to  the  Civil  Court,  as  it  was 
probable  that  a  vast  number  of  witnesses  would  be  examined, 
that  the  Court  Martial  should  be  held  in  Fayetteville ;  or  in  Wil- 
mington rather  than  here.  It  was  known  that  the  defendants 
could  not  pay  their  witnesses,  many  of  whom  would  probably  be 
unable  to  pay  for  their  transportation  and  their  expenses  while 
here.  He  replied  that  the  prisoners  would  be  tried  before  a  Court 
Martial  in  Raleigh  but  that  the  Judge  Advocate  would  be  directed 
to  summon  the  witnesses  for  the  defense,  and  to  give  them  trans- 
portation to  and  from  Raleigh. 

The  arrest  was  made  on  the  15th-  May-All  of  them  were  con- 
fined at  Ft.  Macon  till  the  10-th  July;  -brought  on  that  day  to 


424  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Raleigh  to  be  tried  before  a  Court  Martial,  of  which  Gen  Avery 
was  Judge  Advocate.  The  Judge  Advocate  had  not  made  out  and 
filed  his  charges  and  specifications,  and  not  being  ready  for  trial, 
the  court  adjourned  from  day  to  day  at  his  instance,  until  the 
22-nd  July,  when  the  trial  commenced.  On  the  29-th  July  the 
Judge  Advocate,  aided  by  Col.  Haywood,  (a  lawyer  who  prose- 
cuted on  behalf  of  the  government  with  zeal  not  less  conspicuous 
than  his  ability)  introduced  the  aforesaid  woman,  the  only  wit- 
ness against  McRae.  Nobody,  white  or  black,  could  be  found  to 
say  that  she  was  worthy  to  be  believed.  Her  conduct  on  the  wit- 
ness stand  exhibited  such  manifest  willingness  to  perjure  herself, 
that  Gen  Avery  relented  and  asked  to  withdraw  her  testimony 
and  to  enter  a  nol.  pros.,  as  to  McRae,  which  was  unanimously 
granted  by  the  Court,-and  he  was  discharged  after  more  than  ten 
weeks  imprisonment.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  I  am  informed  by 
McRae,  that  Gen  Avery,  in  the  month  of  April  previous  to  arrest, 
had  abused  McRae  for  an  official  act  of  the  latter,  and  finding 
that  McRae  would  not  yield  to  his  dictation  told  McRae  he  should 
suffer  for  it. 

The  trial  of  the  other  defendants  terminated  about  the  middle 
of  September  in  a  conviction  for  murder,  after  sitting  of  more 
than  two  months,  at  an  enormous  and  unnecessary  expense  to 
the  government  and  the  prisoners.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
know  the  cost  of  their  trials. 

The  Court  Martial  adjudged  that  the  prisoners  should  be 
hanged.  This  sentence,  under  the  act  of  Congress  could  not  be 
executed  without  your  approval.  It  did  not  go  before  you,  I 
presume  because  Gen  Canby  commuted  it  to  fifteen  years  to  hard 
labor. 

Whether  this  findings  just  or  unjust  does  not  fall  within  the 
scope  of  this  communication,  and  I  have  not  examined  the  evi- 
dence, save  as  I  read  it  as  reported  for  the  newspapers  as  the 
trial  progressed.  I  understand  it  to  have  been  founded  on  the 
evidence  of  one  Phillips,  whom  the  Military  at  one  time  held  under 
arrest  as  one  of  the  murders,  who  procured  his  own  release  by 
turning  States  evidence,  and  upon  the  evidence  of  other  witnesses 
who  swore  they  saw  Tolar  shoot  the  negro,  while  other  witnesses 
swore  they  saw  Phillips  shoot  the  negro.  The  guilt  or  innocence 
of  Tolar  turned  entirely  upon  the  credibility  of  the  witnesses, 
which  could  have  been  best  judged  of  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the 
country.  If  there  was  any  evidence  warranting  the  conviction  of 
the  other  defendants,  it  escaped  me. 
Provost  Court  at  Fayetteville 

By  special  orders  No.  55,  dated  May  27-th  1867.  Gen  Sickles 
established  a  Provost  Court  for  five  counties,  to  wit,  Cumberland, 
Harnett,  Moore,  Montgomery,  and  Richmond  to  be  presided  over 
by  W.  H.  Porter  Chief  Justice  and  John  D.  Minor,  and  M.  A. 
Baker,  all  of  them  as  I  believe,  reputable  mechanics  of  Fayette- 
ville, no  one  of  whom  ever  having  studied  or  practiced  law.  This 
edict  provided  that  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Court  shall  extend  to 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  425 

any  case,  civil  or  criminal,  except  murder,  manslaughter,  rape 
and  arson. 

The  Post  Commander,  upon  the  application  of  any  one  sued  or 
prosecuted  in  any  of  the  five  counties,  may  order  the  transfer  of 
the  case  to  the  provost  court,  which  sits  only  in  Fayetteville. 
When  the  fine  imposed  shall  exceed  $100.,  or  the  sentence  shall 
affect  the  general  liberty  of  any  person,  sentence  not  to  be  exe- 
cuted until  approved  by  the  Commanding  General:  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Court,  in  all  cases,  so  be  forwarded  to  the  Post 
Commander  for  review  or  approval ;  appeals  to  Hd  Qrs  from  the 
action  of  the  Post  Commander  not  to  be  considered  unless  ac- 
companied by  printed  papers,  and  arguments  of  the  parties  or 
of  their  counsel. 

The  fourth  section  of  this  edict  provides  that  each  Judge  shall 
receive  $4.  per  day  and  their  clerk  $3.  per  day  and  "the  expenses 
of  the  Court  must  be  borne  out  of  the  fund  accruing  from  fines 
and  costs  paid  by  the  parties" 

This  Court  was  organized  immediately  and  continues  to  sit 
transacting  much  business. 

No  respectable  citizen  of  the  State,  or  officer  of  the  U.  S.  who 
has  been  stationed  among  us,  will  pretend  that  justice  is  not 
fairly,  intelligently  and  impartially  administered  in  our  Superior 
Courts  of  law.  Gen  Canby's  reflection  against  our  Courts  in  his 
letter  to  Gen  Grant  is  not  an  exception  to  this  remark.  He  has 
not  spent  a  day  in  the  State.  No  just  reason  has  existed  for  any 
interference  (not  in  a  single  instance  which  has  come  to  my 
knowledge)  with  the  regular  administration  of  justice  by  the 
State  Courts. 

I  appealed  to  Gen  Canby  to  revoke  this  absurd  and  outrageous 
order.  He  has  not  revoked  it,  nor  any  other  important  article  in 
the  extensive  code  promulgated  for  us  by  Gen  Sickles,  but  has 
made  many  addenda  thereto  ;-unless  it  be  in  the  matter  for  which 
Gen  Sickles  was  removed,  which,  however,  arrogant  and  unlaw- 
ful, looked  to  the  relief  of  his  subjects. 

The  Court  is  dependent  for  its  pay  on  the  fines  it  imposes  and 
the  costs  accruing  therein.  Who  established  its  fee  bill,  or  what 
provisions  is  made  for  costs  which  may  have  accrued  in  the 
Courts  from  which  suits  may  have  been  transferred,  I  do  not 
know.  As  the  rights  of  the  citizens  are  not  protected  by  the  in- 
tervention of  a  jury  and  the  appeal  to  Hd  Qrs  at  Charleston  is 
rendered  impracticable  to  our  impoverished  people,  at  so  great  a 
distance  from  the  appellate  tribune,  and  only  to  be  heard  after 
incurring  the  expense  of  printing  the  proceedings  and  arguments 
of  the  counsel  or  the  parties,  all  have  to  abide  the  decisions  of 
this  extraordinary  tribunal. 


426  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

If  this  Court  had  existed  before  Cervante's  day,  his  account 
of  the  judicial  career  of  Sancho  Panza  would  have  received  some 
laughable  embellishments.120 

Case  of  Carney  Spears,  of  Color. 

At  the  Spring  Term  1867  of  Buncomb  Supr-  Court,  Judge  Mer- 
rimon,  presiding,  a  negro  named  Carney  Spears  was  convicted  of 
an  assault  &  Battery  on  a  white  man  named  Cook;  and  at  the 
same  term,  the  said  Spears,  under  the  advice  of  his  Counsel,  Col 
Henry,  a  leading  Republican  politician  in  that  part  of  the  State, 
submitted  to  a  verdict  of  Guilty  on  two  indictments  for  horse 
stealing.  These  offences  were  committed  about  the  close  of  the 
war.  In  consideration  of  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  times,  the 
liability  of  his  class  to  be  misled.-he  had  white  co-ad  jutors  in 
the  assualt  &  Battery  case,-and  his  insolvency,  the  Solicitor  for 
the  State-Coleman,  did  not  pray  judgment-and  it  was  suspended 
in  all  the  cases,  on  condition  of  his  securing  the  costs-one  half 
payable  at  the  Fall  Term,  &  the  other  half  at  the  Spring  Term 
following.  By  an  arrangement  between  the  negro  &  Natt  Atkin- 
son, the  latter  come  into  Court  &  confessed  judg-*  for  the  costs. 
What  the  arrangement  was  between  the  negro  &  Atkinson  was 
not  known  to  the  Court  or  its  officers.  Thereupon  the  negro  was 
discharged  from  custody  &  went  to  work  with  Atkinson.  In 
August  last  an  officer  of  the  Freedman's  Bureau  (whose  name 
is  not  furnished  me)  cited  Atkinson  &  the  negro  to  appear  before 
Capt  Denny,  commandant  of  the  Post,  who  after  hearing  the 
Statement  of  the  negro  setting  forth  that  he  had  been  wrongfully 
convicted,  adjudged  that  the  negro  be  discharged  from  his  con- 
tract with  Atkinson,  and,  had  an  entry  made  on  the  Docket  of  the 
Court,  (a  copy  of  which  has  been  furnished  me)  suspending  all 
action  in  the  matter  until  the  pleasure  of  Gen-1  Sickles  could  be 
known.  Copies  of  the  letters  of  Judge  Merrimon,  Col  Coleman 
the  States  Solicitor  &  Mr.  Atkinson,  dated  9  August  marked 
L.  M.  N.  from  which  I  gather  these  facts,  accompany  this  nar- 
rative. I  sent  these  letters  to  Gen-1  Sickles  without  delay  and  to 
my  great  surprise,  about  the  last  of  Octr  I  was  furnished  with 
Genl  Canby's  special  order  No  186,  dated  Oct  23rd/67.  as  follows. 

"The  Genl  commanding  having  become  satisfied  that  no  further 
action  is  necessary,  in  the  case  of  Carney  Spears,  a  f reedman,  who 
was  bound  to  work  for  one  Natt.  Atkinson,  until  he,  Spears,  had 
paid  in  labor  the  costs  of  a  criminal  prosecution  against  him  in 

120  This  is  the  paragraph  which  Governor  Worth  enclosed  in  his  letter  of  January  1. 
18C8: 

STATE  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 
Executive   Department, 

Raleigh  Jan  1,  1868 
Col  Wm  G  Moore 
Washington   D.   C. 
My  dear  Sir 

Two  of  my  daughters  were  engaged  at  the  same  time  in  copying  on  different  parts  of  the 
narrative  I  sent.  To  make  their  copies  unite  properly  a  small  strip  was  written,  intended 
to  be  attached  by  mucilage  at  the  bottom  of  the  28th  page.  You  will  have  found  the  strip 
in  the  copy.  It  was  not  attached  no  mucilage  being  at  hand  at  the  time  &  forgotten.  Please 
attach  it— and  oblige 

Yours  very  truly 
Jonathan   Worth 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  427 

the  Sup1'  Court  of  Buncombe  County,  North  Carolina,  it  is  ordered 
that  the  action  of  Capt  J.  C.  Denny,  commanding  station  at  Ashe- 
ville,  North  Carolina,  annulling  said  contract,  and  releasing  said 
Spears  and  said  Atkinson  from  the  fulfillment  of  the  terms  of  the 
same,  be  confirmed,  and  notification  of  this  action  will  be  given 
to  the  parties  concerned" 

Col  Coleman  &  Judge  Merrimon  both  reside  in  Asheville.  No 
inquiry  was  made  of  either  of  them  as  to  the  trial,  by  Capt 
Denny,  or  the  Bureau  man,  Upon  the  ex-parte  statement  of  a 
negro  convicted  of  two  felonies  by  his  own  confession,  under  the 
advice  of  his  Republican  lawyer,  he  is  in  effect  relieved  from  any 
punishment  for  his  crimes  or  the  payment  of  any  costs  :-entries 
are  made  upon  the  records  reversing  the  judg-*  of  the  Court  by 
order  of  Gen-1  Canby' s  military  subordinate,  and  this  action  is 
approved  by  Gen-1  Canby' s  letter  stating  the  grounds  of  his  de- 
cision marked  0.  &  my  reply  pointing  out  the  absurdity  of  his 
decision  are  annexed  to  which  I  have  rec-d  no  reply.  If  the  action 
of  our  Courts  are  to  be  thus  treated  it  were  better  that  they 
should  be  totally  abolished. 

Solicitor  Coleman  has  since  been  removed  from  office  by  Gen-1 
Canby,  for  what  alleged  official  delinquency,  or  upon  what  evi- 
dence, I  do  not  know — In  the  numerous  removals  from  office  I 
have  heard  of  no  instance  where  the  officer  has  been  informed, 
either  before  or  after  removal,  for  what  reason,  or  upon  what 
evidence  he  was  removed.  The  will  of  the  military  commandant 
is  all  he  is  allowed  to  know. 

Removal  of  the  Sheriffs  &  17  Justices  of  the  peace  of  Jones 
County. 

Special  order  No  163-  Sept  23rd/67,  are  expressed  as  follows : — 
"The  following  removals  are  made  from  the  officers  of  Sheriff 
and  magistrate  of  Jones  County,  N.  C.  Sheriff — Thos  Wilcox.121 

Magistrates — J.R.  Kinsey"  &  sixteen  other  names. — 

Then  follows — "The  following  appointments  are  made  to  the 
officers  of  Sheriff  &  magistrates  for  Jones  County.  Sheriff  0.  R. 
Colegrave  vice  Col  Wilcox  Magistrates — A.  M.  Haskill"  and  15 
others  including  D.  D.  Col  [e]  grave,  J.  A.  Haskill: — &  others  of 
whom  I  know  nothing.122 — The  order  winds  up  as  follows — "The 
bonds  required  by  law  will  be  executed  in  due  form,  and  filed 
with  the  proper  officers.  The  commanding  officer — Post  of  New 
Berne  N.  C.  charged  with  the  execution  of  this  order. 

By  command  of  Bv-*  Major  Genl  Ed.  R.  S.  Canby. 

Louis   0.   Caziarc 
Aid  de  camp 
Actg  Asst-  Adg-r  Gen-1." 


121  On  December  18,  1867,  Governor  Worth  wrote  Thomas  Wilcox  for  the  particulars  about 
his  removal  from  office  so  that  he  could  publish  the  substance  of  his  statement.  Hamilton, 
Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  II,   1089. 

122  D.  D.  Colegrave  [Colgrave]  and  his  brother  0.  R.  Colgrave  were  not  only  carpetbaggers, 
but  they  won  the  hatred  of  the  white  people  because  of  their  activities  among  the  Negroes. 
Before  O.  R.  Colgrave  became  a  captain  in  the  Union  army  he  had  served  a  term  in  the 
New  York  penitentiary  and  was  considered  to  have  a  bad  reputation.  Hamilton,  Recon- 
struction.,  472. 


428  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

By  law  the  Justices  of  our  County  Courts  are  required  to 
receive  &  approve  and  admit  to  probate,  &  order  to  registration, 
the  official  bonds  offered  by  Sheriffs. 

0.  R.  Colegrave  the  new  appointee  as  I  am  credibly  informed, 
come  to  this  State  during  the  war  as  a  Captain  or  Lieut,  of  a 
N.  Y.  company  of  Cavalry:  and  in  the  latter  part  of  1865  or 
first  of  1866,  settle  in  the  County  of  Jones,  on  a  tract  of  land 
which  he  purchased  on  a  credit,  the  vendor  retaining  the  title, 
or  taking  a  lien  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  purchase  money — 
which  has  not  been  paid. 

The  Court  met  to  receive  the  bond.  The  parties  purporting  to 
have  signed  it,  as  Surrities  were  D.  D.  Colegrave,  who  settled  in 
Jones  some  months  later  than  his  brother  the  said  0.  R.  Cole- 
grave, neither  of  them  having  any  visible  unincumbered  prop- 
erty, J.  A.  Haskill,  another  Northern  man  who  came  to  Jones 
about  the  same  time  the  Colegraves  did; —  contracted  for  pur- 
chase of  a  cotton  farm  at  some  $60,000 — the  seller  holding  the 
title,  or  a  lien  on  the  land  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  purchase 
money;  little — if  any  of  which  has  been  paid: — and  Ethelbert 
Hubbs,  a  merchant  of  Newbern.  As  to  when  he  settled  in  the 
State,  or  what  is  his  responsibility  I  am  not  informed: — but  no 
proof  was  made  to  the  Court  that  those  purporting  to  be  obligors, 
had  signed  the  bond.  The  Court  refused  to  accept  it.  The  next 
day,  or  very  soon  thereafter,  a  military  officer,  sent,  as  I  under- 
stand by  the  Post  commander  at  Newbern,  (nothing  further 
having  been  done  as  to  the  bond,  save  putting  a  Revenue  Stamp 
on  it,  and  leaving  it  in  possession  of  the  Clerk — it  being  neither 
proven  nor  registered,.)  ordered  the  Clerk  to  administer  to 
Colegrave  the  oaths  of  office — The  tax  lists  for  1866  &  1867, 
were  taken  by  military  order  from  the  old  Sheriff  and  delivered 
to  the  new  appointee.  The  old  Sheriff  had  paid  the  State  taxes 
due  on  these  lists  to  the  Public  Treasurer  and  hence  the  balances 
due  on  them  were  due  to  him,  personally.  On  the  lists  thus 
surrendered,  the  old  Sheriff  informs  me  the  balances  due 
amounted  to  about  $5  000.  I  wrote  Gen-1  Canby,  soon  afterwards 
touching  this  matter  stating  the  material  facts  above  set  forth 
and  remonstrating  against  the  wrong  of  taking  from  the  old 
Sheriff  the  tax  list  all  the  balance  due  to  the  old  Sheriff.  I  have 
rec.d  no  answer  and  learn  from  the  Ch-ra  of  the  County  Court 
that  he  has  heard  of  no  action  by  Gen-1  Canby  since  the  refusal 
of  the  Court  to  accept  the  bond  offered  by  Colgrave  [sic']  who 
has  been  acting  as  sheriff  of  the  County  for  the  past  six  weeks 
or  more,  at  the  best  season  of  the  year  for  the  collection  of  the 
taxes. 

As  to  the  Perquimmons  [sic]  prisoners.-123 

Gen  Canby  in  his  letter  to  Gen  Grant,  professes  to  find  in  my 
action  in  this  case,  just  ground  for  imputing  to  me  "disenge- 


128  Governor  Worth  wrote  Thomas  H.  Gilliam  on  December  19,  1867,  stating  that  he  had 
a  certificate  of  the  sheriff  of  Chowan  County  positively  denying  that  he  asked  for  the  arrest 
of  the  men.   Hamilton,   Correspondence  of  Jonathan   Worth,   II,   1090. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  429 

nuousness," — a  quality  disreputable  to  any  body, — particularly 
in  a  veteran  General, — Justly  attaches,- 

In  September  last  a  petition  was  sent  me  from  Chowan 
County  (a  copy  is  annexed  marked  A)  from  a  number  of  citizens 
whose  representatives  were  entitled  to  as  much  respect  as  would 
be  due  to  any  like  number  of  citizens  anywhere.  I  call  your 
special  attention  to  it.  The  history  of  the  case,  rested  on  docu- 
mentary proofs,  unmistakably  exhibits  the  spirit  of  the  military 
dynasty  under  which  we  live.  A  white  man  named  Pratt  had 
shot  a  negro.  I  forbear  to  encumber  this  communication  with  the 
alleged  circumstances  of  provocation  tending  to  justify  or 
mitigate  the  act.  The  negro  lingered  for  some  time.  When  it  was 
ascertained  that  he  was  likely  to  die,  I  am  credibly  informed 
that  Pratt  voluntarily  surrendered  himself  to  the  Civil  Authori- 
ties of  Chowan  where  the  alleged  crime  was  committed,  courting 
investigation  into  the  circumstances.  After  the  negro  died,  the 
Civil  authorities  thought  proper,  besides  keeping  Pratt  in  jail 
to  put  irons  on  him.  A  disguised  crowd,  in  the  night  time,  forced 
the  jailor  to  surrender  the  keys  and  liberated  the  prisoner. 

No  one  of  this  crowd  has  been  identified.  Upon  a  representation 
of  the  facts  to  me  I  immediately  issued  a  proclamation,  offering 
a  reward  from  our  poor  State  Treasury  for  the  apprehension 
of  Pratt.  Up  to  this  neither  jaundiced  prejudice,  nor  radical 
malevolence,  had  imputed  the  fault  to  the  Civil  authorities :  but 
a  Military  detective  emissary  is  sent  from  Charleston,  by  whose 
action  six  orderly  citizens  of  the  adjacent  County  of  Perquimans, 
to  wit,  Whitaker  Myers,  James  Harrell,  W-m  White,  Sr.,  Isaac 
White,  and  W-m  White  are  arrested,  and  without  any  known 
evidence  then  or  since,  are  dragged  from  their  homes  and  de- 
tained as  Military  Prisoners  from  their  homes  some  two  months 
at  Plymouth  and  put  to  work  on  the  streets  &c,  not  informed 
of  the  charges  preferred  against  them  as  allowed  to  confront 
their  accusers. 

In  reply  to  this  petition  and  my  remonstrances  inclosing  it  to 
Genl.  Canby.  See  copy  of  this  remonstrance  marked  Q.  Gen 
Canby  says,  see  exhibit  marked  R,  that  "de[tec]tives  were 

put  upon  the  trace  of  the  guilty  parties,  who  succeeded  in 
ferreting  them  out,  and  they  were  arrested  and  turned  over 
to  the  commanding  officer  at  Plymouth,  N.  C.  (not  Ft.  Macon 
as  stated  in  the  letter  of  Gen  Grant)  until  the  civil  authorities 
could  try  them.  The  commanding  officer  of  the  Post  was  author- 
ised to  take  bail  for  them  if  it  should  be  offered.  I  see  no  ground 
for  complaint  in  the  fact  that  persons  charged  with  crime  have 
been  arrested  by  the  Military  authorities,  and  held  in  custody 
until  the  civil  authorities  are  prepared  to  try  them."  If  these 
de[te]ctives  found  any  evidence  impliciting  these  parties  and 
they  were  acting  in  aid  of  the  civil  authorities,  why  was  not  this 
evidence  disclosed  to  the  civil  authorities  for  their  action?  Or 
why,  after  the  arrest,  were  they  carried  to  Plymouth,  detained 
some  two  months  as  military  prisoners,  no  civil  officer  being 
informed  of  the  pretended  evidence,  or  called  upon  to  issue 


430  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

process  and  cause  this  evidence  to  be  heard  and  the  accused 
allowed  to  confront  their  accuser?  The  friends  of  the  accused 
as  I  am  credibly  informed  went  to  Plymouth  and  asked  to 
become  bail  for  them.  They  could  have  given  bail  in  any  penalty, 
reasonable  or  unreasonable.  Bail  was  refused.  After  some  months 
detention  they  were  released,  as  I  learn,  on  their  parole  or 
recognizance  to  appear  at  Plymouth  whenever  required  by  the 
Military  authority.  In  order  to  procure  authentic  information 
as  to  this  release,  I  have  recently,  through  a  friend,  asked  of  the 
Military  officer  in  command  at  Plymouth,  a  copy  of  the  parole  or 
recognizance  under  which  they  were  released.  This  officer  replied 
that  the  copy  could  not  be  furnished  because  no  written  evidence 
of  the  parole  or  recognizance  was  kept. 

Genl  Canby,  in  his  letter  to  Gen  Grant,  says  in  reference  to 
this  matter,  "the  arrests  were  made  upon  the  application  of 
the  Sheriff  of  Chowan  County,  based  upon  the  affidavits  of  the 
jailor  and  his  wife,  as  to  the  possible  rescue.  The  prisoners  were 
sent  to  Ft.  Macon  for  safe  keeping  until  the  civil  authorities  were 
prepared  to  try  them  and  the  commanding  officer  of  that  post, 
was  directed  to  admit  them  to  bail,  if  suitable  bail  was  offered/' 
He  says  my  statement  was  to  him  "is  not  an  ingenuous  state- 
ment. At  the  date  of  this  statement,  the  Governor  had  made 
but  one  remonstrance  to  me  on  this  subject,  and  he  knew  by  my 
letter  of  Sep  17th/ 67  that  in  one  of  the  cases  cited  in  that  remon- 
strance the  arrests  tuere  made  at  the  request  of  his  own  agents 
and  in  aid  of  the  Civil  authorities'" ;  and  he  makes  this  the  occa- 
sion to  refer  to  the  comity  to  the  civil  authorities  with  which  he 
had  acted  in  years  long  gone  by,  before  the  late  war.  I  beg  you 
to  recur  to  the  copy  of  that  letter  of  17th  Sept  1867.  He  asserted 
that  I  knew  from  that  letter  the  arrests  were  made  at  the  in- 
stance of  my  agents.  No  such  pretense  is  insinuated  in  his  letter 
of  Sepr  17th  nor  had  I  ever  heard  of  any  such  pretense  until  I 
read  his  groundless  imputation  upon  me,  in  his  letter  to  Genl 
Grant.  From  a  recent  letter  from  the  Sheriff  of  Chowam,  now 
before  me,  covering  a  copy  of  the  affidavit  of  the  jailor  I  am 
warranted  in  saying  not  only  that  I  "knew"  nothing  leading  me 
to  suppose  the  arrest  had  been  made  at  the  instance  of  agents, 
but  that  the  assertion  is  without  color  of  foundation.  The  sheriff 
says  the  arrests  were  not  made  at  his  instance ;  and  that  he  has 
never  heard  of  any  evidence  tending  to  implicate  any  of  the 
accused:  the  jailor  by  his  affidavit  proves  nothing  to  create  a 
suspicion  against  any  of  them:  and  I  am  informed  and  believe, 
that  the  military  detectives  brought  the  accused  before  the 
jailor  and  his  wife  neither  of  whom  pretended  to  identify  either 
of  them. 

The  act  of  Congress  under  which  Gen  Canby  is  acting  warrant 
him  in  regarding  me  as  his  subordinate  and  if  I  had  anticipated 
the  reference  to  Gen  Canby  of  my  letter  to  you,  I  might  not  have 
deemed  it  proper  to  use  the  terms  "iniquitous"  and  "military 
despotism"  but  upon  reflection  I  am  unable  to  perceive  that  they 
characterize  too  strongly  the  acts  to  which  they  refer. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  431 

I  am  extremely  averse  to  controversy:  and  if  I  could  have 
found  in  the  acts  of  our  Military  Commandants  any  of  the 
sensible  statesmanship  which  has  marked  the  conduct  of  Gen 
Hancock,  no  jarring  would  have  occurred:  but  I  would  much 
prefer  peremptory  dismissal  from  office,  to  silently  acquiescing 
for  what  I  regard  as  unnecessary  unwise  and  cruel  military 
oppression.124 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Yours  very  Respectfully 
Govr  of  N.  C. 


124  On  January  1,  1868,  Governor  Worth  wrote  John  Kerr  that  the  President  "was 
astonished  with  my  account  of  military  usurpation  in  N.  C— and  requested  me,  urgently,  to 
furnish  him  in  writing  a  narrative  of  the  facts  I  had  stated  to  him:— interference  with  our 
juries— court  martials  for  trial  of  civilians — arbitrary  arrests— and  removals  from  office,  etc 
with  copies  of  my  remonstrances  against  these  things."  I  have  "just  completed  the  narrative 
by  unanswerable  proofs— copies  of  my  correspondence  with  Sickles  and  Canby.  I  expect  it 
to  result  in  Canby's  removal— or  in  my  removal.  The  Prest.  will  sustain  me  with  all  the 
power  he  has."  Hamilton,  Correspondence  of  Jonathan   Worth,   II,   1101-1102. 


[To  be  concluded] 


BOOK  REVIEWS 

The  Story  of  Fayetteville  and  the  Upper  Cape  Fear.  By  John  A.  Oates. 
(Fayetteville:  the  author.  1950.  Pp.  xxxi,  868.  Illustrations.  $10.00.) 

This  volume  began  in  an  effort  to  present  the  Upper  Cape 
Fear  region  in  "a  composite  account  of  the  events  that  have 
transpired  since  the  first  settlement  some  225  years  ago."  (fore- 
word, p.  ix.)  It  would  have  been  a  more  useful  work  if  the  author 
had  held  more  firmly  to  this  ideal.  Instead  of  hewing  to  the  line 
of  the  historian's  ideal  of  a  unified  picture  based  on  verified  fact 
he  actually  let  the  collector's  instinct  for  the  colorful  and  the 
unusual  become  the  dominant  motif  of  the  work.  The  result  can 
hardly  be  characterized  as  a  story.  It  is  a  rather  hodge-podge 
of  legends,  dramatic  incidents,  and  interesting  personages. 

The  first  three  chapters  contain  many  items  of  interest  from 
the  colonial  and  Revolutionary  periods.  Pioneer  families,  early 
traders,  royal  officials,  and  Presbyterian  divines  are  literally 
rolled  together  in  a  background  for  the  test  of  strength  at 
Moore's  Creek  Bridge  and  the  establishment  of  independence 
in  Cumberland  County.  Sources  for  incidents  and  stories  range 
from  local  legends  through  the  general  histories  of  the  state  to 
the  Colonial  Records.  These  are  usually  mentioned  in  the  body 
of  presentation,  often  in  lengthy  quotations  and  just  as  often 
without  page  designations. 

The  remainder  of  the  book  covers  a  wide  range  of  subjects, 
treated  often  in  the  words  of  contributors  and  loosely  grouped 
about  such  chapter  headings  as  "Fayetteville,"  "Plank  Roads 
and  Other  Roads,"  "Schools  and  Colleges,"  "The  Negro  in  Fay- 
etteville," "Miscellaneous,"  and  "Biographical."  Here  sources 
are  seldom  indicated  in  any  manner,  and  it  is  often  difficult  for 
the  reader  to  distinguish  the  work  of  the  various  contributors 
from  that  of  the  principal  author.  Many  of  the  papers  are 
undated,  and  the  unwary  reader  soon  finds  himself  hopelessly 
wandering  in  a  maze  of  seemingly  unrelated  events. 

The  book  will  never  be  of  value  in  historical  research,  except 
for  purely  local  family  and  place  names.  Beginning  students 
will  find  the  repetitious  and  frequently  contradictory  nature 
of  the  stories  a  difficult  barrier.  Students  with  a  fair  under- 

[432] 


Book  Reviews  433 

standing  of  North  Carolina  history  will  find  the  first  three 
chapters  worthy  of  analysis  because  of  the  intimate  local  color 
and  the  treatment  of  the  Scotch  Highlander  both  as  a  unique 
and  an  integral  factor  in  North  Carolina  history.  The  work  as 
a  whole  is  an  indiscriminate  collection  of  local  material  and  will 
appeal  for  that  reason  mainly  to  local  collectors  rather  than  to 
historians,  local  or  otherwise. 

Paul  Murray. 

East  Carolina  College, 
Greenville. 


Inglis  Fletcher  of  Bandon  Plantation.  By  Richard  Walser.  (Chapel  Hill: 
The  University  of  North  Carolina  Library  Extension  Publication,  XVII, 
No.  2.  1952.  Pp.  x,  79.  Illustrated.  Cloth  $2.00,  paper  $0.75.) 

Few  North  Carolina  authors,  native  or  adopted,  have  been 
honored  with  biographies  during  their  natural  lives.  Paul  Green 
comes  to  mind  as  one  of  the  worthy  few.  The  latest  is  Inglis 
Fletcher  of  Bandon  Plantation  near  Edenton.  Her  biographer 
knows  more,  perhaps,  about  North  Carolina  authors  than  any- 
one else  in  the  state.  Professor  Richard  Walser  is  a  member  of 
the  department  of  English  at  State  College  in  Raleigh.  He  has 
edited  two  excellent  volumes  on  creative  writing  in  North  Caro- 
lina: North  Carolina  Poetry  (1941,  revised  1951)  and  North 
Carolina  in  the  Short  Story  (1948). 

Inglis  Fletcher  of  Bandon  Plantation  is  informational  rather 
than  critical.  It  was  not  Professor  Walser's  purpose  to  evaluate 
Mrs.  Fletcher's  historical  novels,  either  as  literature  or  as  history. 
Reviews,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  are  quoted,  however.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  Mrs.  Fletcher's  novels  on  North  Carolina  have 
been  more  widely  read  at  home  and  abroad  than  any  other 
historical  works,  fiction  or  otherwise,  on  the  subject.  The  Caro- 
lina series  includes  six  novels  to  date,  with  more  to  come.  In 
chronological  order  (though  not  in  the  order  of  publication), 
they  stand  as  follows:  Roanoke  Hundred,  1584-1586,  the  first 
failure  to  colonize;  Bennett's  Welcome,  1651-1652,  the  first 
permanent  settlements;  Men  of  Albemarle,  1710-1712,  the  evo- 
lution of  law  and  order;  Lusty  Wind  for  Carolina,  1718-1725, 
a  dramatization  of  trade ;  Raleigh's  Eden,  1765-1782,  the  causes 
of  the  Revolution ;  and  Toil  of  the  Brave,  1778-1780,  the  critical 
contest  of  the  Revolution. 


434  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Mrs.  Fletcher  is  a  native  of  Illinois.  She  was  born  Minna 
Inglis  Clark.  On  her  mother's  side,  from  the  Chapmans,  she 
comes  of  a  long  line  of  Tarheel  forebears.  In  1944  she  and  Mr. 
Fletcher  purchased  Bandon  Plantation  near  Edenton  and  have 
lived  there  ever  since.  It  is  a  charming  house,  to  judge  from 
the  illustrations  in  the  biography,  and  is  presided  over,  according 
to  many  who  have  paid  the  Fletchers  a  visit,  in  the  best  tradition 
of  the  plantation  era  of  coast-country  North  Carolina. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  reviewer,  Mrs.  Fletcher's  contribution 
to  North  Carolina  history  is  not  meticulous  accuracy  with 
respect  to  details.  It  is  rather  the  correction  of  a  popular  error : 
the  widespread  belief  that  only  Virginia  and  South  Carolina 
had  a  "plantation  era"  before  the  Revolution.  Admitted  that 
North  Carolina's  planter  class  was  smaller  and  less  influential 
politically  than  that  of  the  neighboring  states.  Nevertheless, 
the  class  existed  and  lived,  we  have  few  doubts,  much  as  Mrs. 
Fletcher  pictures  it. 

Professor  Walser  has  done  his  good  friend  Inglis  Fletcher 
and  her  many  admirers  a  deserved  good  service. 

Chalmers  G.  Davidson. 

Davidson  College, 

Davidson. 


Mrs.  G.  I.  Joe.  By  Blanche  Egerton  Baker.   (Goldsboro:  Privately  printed. 
1951.  Pp.  iv,  247.  Illustrated.  $2.50.) 

Mrs.  Baker's  story  of  the  wives  who  lived  in  her  home  while 
their  husbands  were  stationed  at  Seymour  Johnson  Field  at 
Goldsboro  fills  a  gap  in  the  history  of  the  G.  I.  in  the  last  war. 
Beginning  with  the  occupancy  of  rooms  at  the  Baker  home  by 
male  construction  workers  at  the  air  field,  it  recounts  the  coming 
of  the  soldiers  and  their  wives,  the  acceptance  of  couples  with 
babies,  and  even  pet  dogs  and  cats,  and  concludes  with  the 
postwar  population  and  readjustments,  including  the  coming 
of  veterans  and  English  warbrides.  As  pressure  for  rooms 
mounted,  the  Bakers  yielded  their  own  bedroom,  dining  room, 
and  sleeping  porch,  created  rooms  in  the  attic,  placed  a  daybed 
in  the  living  room,  and  even  mattresses  on  the  floor  for  desperate 
and  grateful  soldiers  and  their  wives. 


Book  Reviews  435 

As  a  piece  of  social  history  the  book  portrays  well  a  cross 
section  of  the  lives  of  young  couples  from  all  parts  of  the  nation, 
uprooted  by  war  and  striving  to  solve  the  countless  problems 
of  housing,  finances,  and  babies  to  keep  families  together.  It  is 
a  faithful  chronicle  of  the  joys,  trials,  romance,  and  pathos  of 
several  families,  and  innumerable  transients,  attempting  to  eat, 
sleep,  live,  and  celebrate  birthdays,  anniversaries,  and  Christmas 
in  a  one-family  house.  The  story  reveals  the  general  similarity 
of  American  human  nature,  despite  the  multiplicity  of  interest- 
ing peculiarities  of  speech  and  background. 

The  book  has  shortcomings  in  its  narrow  margins,  indistinct 
illustrations,  and  too  frequent  typographical  errors.  The  author's 
style  is  sometimes  amateurish,  repetitious,  and  too  detailed  to 
make  a  good  story.  On  the  whole  it  hangs  together  as  well  as 
any  tale  with  a  hundred  or  so  characters  could,  and  for  any 
G.  I.  with  a  Mrs.  during  the  last  war,  such  as  the  reviewer, 
serves  well  to  revive  memories  of  similar  experiences,  pleasant 
and  sad. 

Percival  Perry. 

Wake  Forest  College, 
Wake  Forest. 


Northampton  Parishes.  By  Henry  Wilkins  Lewis.  (Jackson,  N.  C:  Privately 
printed.  1951.  Pp.  xii,  120.  Map,  illustrations,  appendix.  $2.58.) 

Out  of  the  dull  statistics  that  make  up  most  of  the  reports 
of  diocesan  conventions  and  out  of  only  slightly  less  dull  parish 
records  Mr.  Lewis  has  drawn  a  delightful  history  of  the  parishes 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Northampton  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. He  has  succeeded  in  finding  and  showing  us  the  thin  line 
of  connection  between  the  colonial  Church  of  England  chapels 
in  the  county  and  the  Episcopal  Church  as  it  was  organized 
after  the  Revolution.  This  account  from  its  beginning  reads 
like  a  well-planned  story.  This  is  true  largely  because  the  author 
has  set  the  stage  for  his  local  history  against  the  background 
of  the  larger  story,  the  story  of  the  Church  in  North  Carolina. 

The  book,  in  heavy  paper  covers,  is  printed  on  enamel  paper. 
The  type  faces  are  attractive  and  the  illustrations  timely  and 
well  chosen.  The  book  was  published  by  the  author,  assistant 
director  of  the  Institute  of  Government  in  Chapel  Hill,  from 


436  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

whom  copies  may  be  had,  and  the  printing  was  done  by  the 
Christian  Printing  Company  in  Durham.  It  is  remarkably  free 
from  typographical  errors  and  apparently,  also,  from  errors  of 
fact.  We  would,  however,  take  issue  with  the  labeling  of  Robert 
J.  Miller  as  a  Methodist  (pages  28  and  44).  Miller's  work  in 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  Lincoln,  Rowan,  and  Iredell  counties  was 
of  importance  enough  to  clear  his  skirts  of  his  brief  earlier 
association  with  the  Methodists. 

William  S.  Powell. 

The  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Chapel  Hill. 


University  of  South  Carolina.  Volume  I.  South  Carolina  College.  By  Daniel 
Walker  Hollis.  (Columbia:  The  University  of  South  Carolina  Press.  1951. 
Pp.  xii,  343.  $3.50.) 

Sponsored  by  the  University  as  a  part  of  its  sesquicentennial 
celebration,  the  first  volume  of  the  history  of  the  University  of 
South  Carolina,  covering  the  years  1801  to  1865,  has  been  re- 
leased. The  second  volume  is  tentatively  scheduled  for  publication 
in  1955  to  mark  the  anniversary  of  the  actual  beginning  of 
instruction. 

The  first  volume  is  not  a  collection  of  reminiscences,  with  a 
list  of  faculty  and  alumni  appended,  but  rather  it  is  the  story 
of  South  Carolina  College  (as  the  University  was  then  desig- 
nated) showing  the  interrelation  of  state  and  university  during 
those  early  years.  In  fact  this  work  is  decidedly  more  than  an 
institutional  history;  it  is  a  commentary  on  the  cultural  and 
political  life  of  ante-bellum  South  Carolina. 

The  years  1805  through  1860  were  "years  of  greatness/'  In 
contrast  to  the  University  of  Georgia  and  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  which  were  always  in  need  of  funds,  South 
Carolina  College  never  felt  the  pinch  of  economic  stress ;  salaries 
were  good  and  the  legislature  was  generous  in  its  appropriations. 
Few  institutions  could  boast  of  such  distinguished  presidents 
and  faculty  members  as  Jonathan  Maxcy,  Thomas  Cooper, 
Francis  Lieber,  James  H.  Thornwell,  and  the  LeContes — John 
and  Joseph,  or  of  such  a  high  proportion  of  distinguished 
alumni.  The  class  of  1808  alone  produced  three  United  States 
senators,  three  governors,  and  several  judges  and  for  more  than 


Book  Reviews  437 

five  decades  alumni  dominated  the  political  life  of  the  state  and 
were  prominent  in  national  affairs  as  well.  Of  those  alumni  to 
gain  fame  outside  the  realm  of  politics,  J.  Marion  Sims  is 
probably  the  best  known. 

The  author,  Daniel  Hollis,  is  a  member  of  the  University's 
history  department.  He  has  written  an  excellent  collegiate 
history  and  neither  he  nor  the  University  of  South  Carolina 
need  have  any  feeling  other  than  pride  in  this  first  volume. 
Professor  Hollis  had  access  to  the  sources,  he  chose  his  material 
well,  and  he  organized  it  admirably  within  a  general  framework 
of  presidential  administrations  and  the  professorship  of  Francis 
Lieber.  Most  rewarding  of  all,  he  wrote  with  good  style.  Finally, 
it  is  encouraging  to  find  one  more  work  of  high  quality  published 
in  a  field  which,  until  recently,  has  been  sadly  neglected  by  pro- 
fessional historians. 

J.  Isaac  Copeland. 

The  University  of  North  Carolina, 

Chapel  Hill. 


St.  Michael's,  Charleston,  1751-1951.  By  George  W.  Williams.   (Columbia: 
The  University  of  South  Carolina  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xii,  414.  $5.00.) 

A  bicentennial  history  of,  by,  and  for  a  parish,  this  book  has 
value  for  the  historian  and  the  general  reader  beyond  the  parish 
bounds.  The  acknowledged  work  of  many  hands,  it  was  given 
form  by  Mr.  Williams,  a  Charlestonian,  a  parishioner,  and  a 
trained  scholar.  Part  One  presents  a  rather  brief  (128  pages) 
but  adequate  coverage  of  the  history  of  the  parish  in  Colonial, 
Revolutionary,  Republican,  Confederate,  and  Reconstruction 
(1865-1895)  periods  in  the  present  century.  Highly  informative 
and  interesting,  although  more  technical,  is  the  second  part 
("Ecclesiological").  This  deals  with  the  building  and  rebuilding 
of  St.  Michael's  after  the  ravages  of  war,  earthquake  and  time ; 
with  the  church's  furnishings,  yard  and  rectory ;  with  its  music, 
organ,  bells,  and  clock.  Included  in  the  appendices  are  lists  of 
rectors  and  assistants,  organists,  clerks  and  sextons,  solicitors, 
and  other  vestry  officials;  and  statistics  of  baptisms,  confirma- 
tions, communicants,  etc.  Notes,  classified  bibliography,  index, 
and  twenty-seven  pages  of  illustrations  and  end  maps  add  ma- 
terially to  the  book's  effectiveness, 


438  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  full  documentation  shows  use  of  manuscripts,  especially 
minutes  of  the  vestry  and  other  church  records,  and  of  news- 
papers, periodicals  and  other  works.  There  is  evidence  of  much 
research  and  "detective"  work  in  tracking  down  some  of  the 
material.  A  few  minor  deficiencies  of  citation  appear.  These 
include  omission  of  place  and  date  of  publication  of  continuing 
periodicals  in  the  bibliography,  omission  from  the  bibliography 
of  several  works  cited  in  the  notes,  and  a  confusing  use  of  loc.  cit. 

Although  logical,  the  organization  of  the  material  makes  for 
some  repetition.  The  style  is  worthy  of  its  subject  but  sometimes 
disjointed  by  the  use,  perhaps  historically  justified,  of  long 
quotations  from  the  documents.  Due  to  the  scope  of  the  work, 
the  account  of  the  church's  religious  activities  is  necessarily 
summary.  This  reviewer,  while  aware  of  the  historian's  dilemma, 
nevertheless  missed  something  of  the  vitality  of  actual  congre- 
gations and  services.  Parish  officers  must,  no  doubt,  be  shown 
more  than  the  ordinary  members  of  the  congregation ;  and  more 
in  their  official  function  than  as  individuals.  Their  difficulties 
and  differences  over  ways  and  means  are  well  brought  out. 
The  account  of  the  parish  in  the  stress  of  war  comes  more  alive. 
In  these  respects,  the  chapter  on  the  bells  and  clock  is  the  best. 

Mr.  Williams  has  succeeded  admirably  in  giving  his  readers 
a  sense  of  the  enduring  quality  of  St.  Michael's  and  of  its  oneness 
with  the  community  and  the  times.  The  book  contributes  toward 
filling  the  need  for  competently  written  parish  histories  and 
does  credit  to  the  University  of  South  Carolina  Press,  which  has 
given  it  an  attractive  and  clear  format. 

Lawrence  F.  Brewster. 

East  Carolina  College, 
Greenville. 


The  Journal  of  the  Commons  House  of  Assembly,  September  12,  1739-March 
26,  1741  (The  Colonial  Records  of  South  Carolina).  Edited  by  J.  H. 
Easterby.  Columbia:  The  Historical  Commission  of  South  Carolina.  1952. 
Pp.  xi,  613.  $12.50.) 

The  best  historical  news  to  come  out  of  South  Carolina  in  a 
long  time  is  the  decision  of  the  South  Carolina  Historical  Com- 
mission to  publish  the  journals  of  the  Commons  House  of  As- 
sembly, the  journals  of  the  Council,  South  Carolina  documents 


Book  Reviews  439 

in  the  British  Public  Records  Office,  the  papers  of  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Indian  trade,  and  other  significant  records  relating 
to  South  Carolina  history. 

Professor  Easterby  has  done  a  magnificent  job  of  editing  the 
first  publication  in  this  noteworthy  program.  The  format  of  this 
attractive  volume  "has  been  designed  with  a  view  to  durability, 
economy  of  space,  ease  of  use,  and  appropriateness  to  the  subject 
matter."  The  Old  Style  double  dates  for  days  between  January  1 
and  March  25  have  not  been  changed  in  the  text,  but  all  caption 
dates  are  given  in  New  Style.  Superior  letters  have  been  dropped 
to  the  normal  line,  and  such  clerical  symbols  as  &  and  ye  have 
been  modernized  for  the  sake  of  the  reader. 

The  Journal  (pp.  1-566)  is  followed  by  a  two-page  list  of 
officers  and  members  of  the  Commons  House  of  Assembly,  and 
then  there  is  a  three-page  explanation  of  the  index,  which  is 
the  finest  thing  of  its  kind  this  reviewer  has  ever  seen.  The 
forty-page  index  is  a  model  for  this  kind  of  publication. 

Much  of  the  Journal  concerns  routine  legislative  business.  The 
index  has  references  to  thirty-six  acts  passed,  forty-three  bills, 
221  messages,  ninety-five  reports,  seventy-six  resolutions,  and 
fifty-three  petitions.  But  the  House  devoted  much  of  its  time 
to  emergency  measures,  such  as  the  Stono  River  slave  insurrec- 
tion— "the  worst  of  its  kind  in  the  history  of  the  province" ; 
the  financing  of  the  ill-fated  expedition  against  St.  Augustine; 
and  the  Charles  Town  fire  and  the  rebuilding  of  the  city.  The 
members  whose  names  appear  most  frequently  in  the  Journal 
are:  Dr.  William  Bull,  Jr.,  William  Bull,  Sr.,  Alexander 
Cramahe,  John  Champneys,  John  Dart,  Culchworth  Golightly, 
Francis  Lejeau,  Isaac  Mazyck,  Samuel  Morris,  Jacob  Motte, 
Charles  Pinckney,  and  Andrew  Rutledge.  The  Journal  contains 
many  references  to  roads,  taxes,  slaves,  servants,  fortifications, 
yellow  fever,  and — of  course — disputes  between  governor  and 
legislature.  There  are  approximately  one  hundred  index  entries 
to  James  Oglethorpe  of  Georgia,  but  only  three  references  to 
North  Carolina.  South  Carolina's  interest  at  this  time  was  cer- 
tainly not  northward. 

Hugh  T.  Lefler. 
The  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Chapel  Hill. 


440  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Colonial  South  Carolina:  Two  Contemporary  Descriptions.  By  Governor 
James  Glen  and  Doctor  George  Milligen-Johnston.  Edited  by  Chapman  J. 
Milling.  (Columbia:  University  of  South  Carolina  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xxii, 
209.  $4.00.) 

Among  the  best  contemporary  accounts  of  South  Carolina  in 
the  eighteenth  century  are  those  by  James  Glen  and  George 
Milligen-Johnston.  Glen  was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  colorful 
of  South  Carolina  royal  governors  (1743-1756).  Milligen- 
Johnston  was  a  prominent  physician  residing  in  the  colony  be- 
tween 1749  and  1775.  Each  placed  posterity  in  debt  for  a  des- 
cription of  the  province  which  sheds  light  on  many  aspects  of 
the  South  Carolina  scene  in  the  late  colonial  period.  Their 
accounts  were  published  anonymously  in  London  (1761  and 
1770)  and  were  both  later  republished  in  B.  F.  Carroll's  His- 
torical Collections  of  South  Carolina  (1836).  Lithographic  copies 
of  the  originals  are  now  made  available  in  this  first  volume  of  a 
series  publishing  selected  manuscripts  and  pamphlets  from  the 
invaluable  collection  at  the  University  of  South  Carolina. 

Governor  Glen's  Description  was  originally  written  in  1749 
and  sent  to  the  Board  of  Trade  as  "Answers"  to  queries  made 
by  that  authority.  A  copy  was  "pirated"  by  a  subordinate,  padded 
by  the  addition  of  other  material,  and  published  without  the 
governor's  knowledge  or  consent.  As  here  reproduced  it  happily 
includes  further  additions  in  the  form  of  marginal  notes  and 
corrections  in  the  handwriting  of  Dr.  Milligen-Johnston,  who 
once  owned  the  copies  used  for  the  present  publication.  This 
latter  feature  also  enhances  the  interest  and  value  of  Dr. 
Milligen-Johnston's  account,  whose  coverage  is  extended  twelve 
years  by  notes  written  in  1775  after  the  author  fled  from  the 
wrath  of  Revolutionary  patriots.  Although  originally  published 
about  the  same  time  and  to  some  extent  dealing  with  similar 
topics,  the  two  pamphlets  complement  rather  than  duplicate 
each  other.  The  report  of  the  public  official  is  particularly  useful 
for  its  wealth  of  detailed  economic  data;  the  physician  gives  a 
better  account  of  scientific,  cultural,  and  social  affairs.  Both 
throw  some  light  on  Indian  relations  to  which  the  governor  was 
devoting  much  energy  and  of  which  the  surgeon  had  firsthand 
knowledge  as  a  participant  in  the  Cherokee  War  of  1760-1761. 

With  this  volume  the  South  Caroliniana  series  under  the 
general  editorship  of  Professor  R.  L.   Meriwether  has  begun 


Book  Reviews  441 

most  auspiciously.  Chapman  J.  Milling  has  set  a  high  standard 
for  editors  of  the  individual  publications  and  the  publishers 
have  done  an  excellent  job.  The  sponsors  of  a  commendable 
project  are  due  congratulations.  C.  E.  Cauthen. 

Wofford  College, 
Spartanburg",  S.  C. 


History  of  Wofford  College,  1854-1949.  By  David  Duncan  Wallace.  (Nash- 
ville: Vanderbilt  University  Press.  1951.  Pp.  287.  Illustrations,  appendices. 
$5.00.) 

One  of  the  great  possessions  of  any  worthy  college  is  its  great 
names.  One  of  Wofford  College's  greatest  names  is  that  of  David 
Duncan  Wallace,  for  almost  half  a  century  professor  of  history 
in  that  institution.  Widely  known  as  teacher,  scholar,  and  his- 
torian, Dr.  Wallace  brought  an  already  faithful  career,  marked 
by  a  life-time  devotion  to  Wofford  College,  to  a  fitting  close  by 
writing  this  admirable  history  of  his  alma  mater.  Surely  there 
was,  as  President  Walter  K.  Greene  writes  in  the  foreword  to 
this  volume,  "a  significant  conjunction  of  the  idea  and  the  man. 
It  was  our  belief  that  there  was  just  the  man  available  who 
^could  best  incarnate  the  idea."  Dr.  Wallace  died  as  the  book 
went  to  press,  but  every  reader  will  be  grateful  that  it  was  not 
before  the  man  and  the  task  had  met. 

The  result  of  this  happy  combination  is  a  thorough  account 
of  the  origin  and  growth  of  Wofford  College,  together  with  a 
sympathetic  and  discriminating  interpretation  of  its  contri- 
butions to  the  Church  and  to  the  South.  Written  from  authori- 
tative sources,  including  the  official  records  of  the  College,  the 
story  unfolds  in  logical  fashion  from  the  conception  a  century 
ago,  and  the  opening  in  1854,  until  1949,  though  no  attempt 
is  made  to  evaluate  the  work  of  the  present  administration, 
which  began  in  1942.  The  first  chapters  contain  the  fullest 
account  ever  presented  of  Benjamin  Wofford,  a  rich  Methodist 
preacher,  who  gave  the  first  money  and  for  whom  the  College 
was  named.  The  outstanding  characteristics  of  this  somewhat 
eccentric  man,  who  liked  to  quote  Franklin's  maxims  on  thrift, 
were  a  propensity  for  making  money  and  a  gift  for  saving  it. 
The  story  that  follows  is,  except  for  details  and  the  fact  that 
it  is  better  told  than  most,  much  like  that  of  any  other  denomina- 


442  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

tional  college  in  the  South  of  that  era.  Prospering  until  1861, 
it  was  kept  alive  during  the  Civil  War  by  high  school  work, 
though  its  endowment  was  a  casualty  of  that  struggle.  During 
more  than  a  score  of  years  thereafter  it  barely  managed  to 
remain  alive,  but  the  twentieth  century  brought  new  leadership 
and  more  prosperous  times.  These  periods  of  tribulation  and  of 
triumph  are  recounted  in  faithful  detail,  all  of  which  make  the 
present  excellence  and  prosperity  of  Wofford  College  far  more 
understandable  than  would  be  possible  without  them. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  book  is  the  series 
of  pen  portraits,  sometimes  extensive,  of  some  of  the  giant 
figures  in  the  history  of  the  College.  Special  attention  is  given 
to  James  H.  Carlisle,  president  from  1875  to  1902,  a  man  of 
great  faith,  optimism,  and  eloquence,  and  without  ambition,  who 
may  have  been  a  "genius  in  righteousness,"  but  who  was  certain- 
ly an  atrocious  administrator.  Other  personalities  who  are  more 
than  sketched  include  the  tempestuous  John  C.  Kilgo,  the  strong- 
willed  Dean  DuPre,  and  the  wise  Henry  Nelson  Snyder,  under 
whose  long  and  faithful  administration  (1902-1942)  Wofford 
attained  academic  excellence  without  losing  the  character  which 
was  already  her  heritage. 

The  book  has  in  it  much  of  Dr.  Wallace  himself,  who  is 
revealed  in  countless  indirect  ways.  His  philosophy  is  that  of 
"a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,"  and  his  humor,  his  personality, 
and  his  prejudices  are  occasionally  exhibited  in  indisputable 
fashion.  When  we  remember  the  intimate  connection  between 
author  and  subject  we  may  be  surprised  at  the  objectivity  of 
most  of  the  volume,  for  there  are  portions  where  sentimentalists 
will  be  disappointed  and  traditionalists  will  be  shocked. 

In  spite  of  these  features  Wofford  men  will  prize  the  volume. 
They  will  prize  it,  too,  for  the  informative  tables  and  lists  of 
students,  faculty,  and  trustees  which  appear  in  the  appendices. 
But  its  usefulness  will  not  be  confined  to  Wofford  men.  Any 
scholar  seeking  knowledge  of  southern  higher  education  in 
general  and  of  denominational  colleges  in  particular  will  find  it 
valuable;  any  reader  who  appreciates  honest  history  and  com- 
petent writing  will  find  Dr.  Wallace's  work  interesting  and  in- 
formative. Frontis  W.  Johnston. 

Davidson   College, 

Davidson. 


Book  Reviews  443 

Conscripted    City:    Norfolk    in    World    War    II.    By    Marvin    W.    Schlegel. 
(Norfolk:  Norfolk  War  History  Commission.  1951.  Pp.  xi,  396.) 

The  story  of  what  happened  when  the  city  of  Norfolk  was 
drafted  into  service,  totally  unprepared  and  against  the  wishes 
of  many  of  its  leading  citizens  (they  remembered  too  well  the 
events  of  the  First  World  War  that  had  ended  in  an  overexpan- 
sion  of  the  city  which  resulted  in  a  serious  depression  decade) , 
is  well  presented  in  Conscripted  City:  Norfolk  in  Woi^ld  War  II. 
Acting  under  legislative  enactment  which  had  created  a  Virginia 
World  War  History  Commission  to  study  the  manner  in  which 
the  war  had  affected  the  commonwealth  and  how  the  records 
of  the  war  could  be  preserved  for  a  guide  in  future  crisis,  the 
city  of  Norfolk  undertook  to  tell  its  own  story  of  the  military 
occupation  and  its  consequences  during  the  period  of  1939  to 
1945. 

The  study  must  be  considered  a  negative  one,  if  it  had  as  its 
primary  purpose  the  endeavor  of  acting  as  a  guide  for  civil- 
military  relationships,  for  Norfolk  utterly  failed  to  solve  its 
housing,  recreational,  crime,  and  civilian-serviceman  problems. 
Yet,  therein  lies  its  chief  historical  significance — the  pointing 
to  Washington,  and  especially  to  the  Pentagon,  for  a  better 
planned  strategy  and  economy  in  the  wars  to  come  and  a  better 
public  relationship  with  cities  called  upon  to  bear  similar 
burdens. 

The  Norfolk  Commission  acted  wisely  in  selecting  Dr. 
Schlegel,  as  he  had  had  previous  experience  in  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia  war  history  programs  and  had  taught  in  the 
Norfolk  Division  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary.  Thus 
he  was  prepared  for  this  type  of  study  and  yet  knew  local  con- 
ditions as  well.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  gave  Dr.  Schlegel 
a  free  hand  in  treating  the  subject.  The  result  was  that  a  realistic 
picture,  if  not  a  flattering  one,  is  given  of  Norfolk's  service, 
with  many  of  the  city  leaders  appearing  in  an  unfavorable  light. 

The  total  unpreparedness  of  the  city  to  cope  with  the  increased 
military  problems  is  clearly  discussed  by  the  author,  together 
with  the  determined  resistance  of  the  citizens  to  change  the  city 
from  its  prewar  way  of  life.  Norfolk  clearly  did  not  want  the 
Navy,  Army,  Air  Corps,  the  defense  workers  (especially  the 
North  Carolinians),  resulting  in  the  increased  burdens  of  edu- 


444  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

cation,  water,  sewerage,  housing,  transportation,  crime  regula- 
tion, 0.  P.  A.,  etc. ;  yet  Norfolk  got  all  of  these  plus  many  addi- 
tional ones.  It  was  only  by  constant  and  patient  prodding,  plus 
investigations  held  by  the  national  and  civil  defense  programs, 
that  Norfolk  finally  was  made  to  solve  most  of  the  problems  in 
a  satisfactory  manner.  But  the  early  impression  left  such  an 
imprint  on  the  transients'  minds  that  many  will  always  think  un- 
favorably about  Norfolk  as  Norfolk  will  think  unfavorably  of 
them. 

The  style  is  an  easy,  journalistic  one  which  makes  the  volume 
very  readable.  However,  it  seems  to  bog  down  in  repetitious 
detail  on  such  topics  as  civilian  preparations  against  attack, 
air  raids,  etc.  Not  enough  space  is  given  to  the  effect  of  Norfolk's 
changed  conditions  upon  the  personal  lives  of  its  citizens.  Also, 
nothing  is  included  about  the  personal  contributions  of  Norfolk's 
own  servicemen. 

The  volume  is  amply  documented  by  local  sources  (although 
official  military  sources  were  inadequately  used),  and  it  contains 
an  excellent  index  together  with  a  Gold  Star  Honor  Roll  of  the 
city's  dead.  The  printing  is  quite  good,  and  the  Norfolk  History 
Commission  is  to  be  commended  for  this  study  in  the  field  of 
local  history. 

Horace  W.  Raper. 

Eastern  Kentucky  State  College, 

Richmond,  Kentucky. 


Storm  Over  Savannah:  The  Story  of  Count  d'Estaing  and  the  Siege  of  the 
Town  in  1779.  By  Alexander  A.  Lawrence.  (Athens:  The  University  of 
Georgia  Press.  1951.  Pp.  x,  220.  $3.50.) 

Late  in  August,  1779,  a  large  French  fleet  loaded  with  more 
than  four  thousand  regular  troops  sailed  from  Cap  Francois 
in  the  West  Indies  for  a  rendezvous  with  an  American  force 
off  the  coast  of  Georgia  to  capture  the  British  stronghold  of 
Savannah.  Some  two  months  later  the  battered  allies  withdrew 
from  the  siege  leaving  the  British  free  to  menace  the  southern 
colonies  and  prolong  the  Revolutionary  War.  Neither  Count 
d'Estaing  and  his  French  troops  nor  General  Benjamin  Lincoln 
and  the  Continentals  emerged  with  any  sort  of  glory.  Instead, 
a  rather  obscure  lieutenant  colonel,  John  Maitland,  became  the 


Book  Reviews  445 

hero  of  the  defense  of  the  town,  and  also  rather  a  hero  to  Mr. 
Lawrence,  the  author. 

It  may  be  the  usual  American  sympathy  for  the  underdog  in 
a  fight  which  prevails  to  bring  the  reader  in  sympathy  with 
Colonel  Maitland,  or  simply  the  fact  that  his  gallant  feat  in 
bringing  nine  hundred  men  from  Beaufort  to  Savannah,  eluding 
both  the  French  fleet  and  the  American  scouts,  makes  him  a 
more  interesting  figure.  Nevertheless,  this  book  is  the  story  of 
the  defense  of  the  city  against  odds:  sturdy  British  virtues 
opposing  skilled  but  disorganized  French  and  Americans. 

The  author  has  done  a  vast  amount  of  research  in  France, 
especially  in  the  records  of  the  Navy,  as  his  annotated  biblio- 
graphy will  attest.  This  included  many  personal  narratives  of 
the  very  campaign  with  many  unflattering  comments  on  the 
gallant  but  somewhat  egotistical  count  himself.  This  has  fur- 
nished a  great  deal  of  texture  to  the  story  and  has  added  color 
in  many  places.  Because  of  this  wealth  of  source  material,  the 
author  has  occasionally  interrupted  the  flow  of  his  narration 
to  compare  various  accounts  and  evaluate  them.  Generally, 
however,  the  story  is  fluid  and  well  controlled. 

It  is  a  credit  to  the  author's  style  that  the  reader  is  anxious 
to  follow  the  subsequent  careers  of  many  of  the  characters  who 
swirl  through  the  pages.  In  the  final,  and  possibly  unnecessary, 
chapters,  Mr.  Lawrence  describes  the  rise  or  fall  of  his  chief 
figures.  This  is  rather  sad  reading  as  many  of  the  French 
officers,  including  d'Estaing,  perished  during  the  Terror,  and 
Colonel  Maitland  died  of  fever  just  after  his  successful  defense 
of  Savannah.  Only  among  the  American  forces  did  C.  C. 
Pinckney,  Pierce  Butler,  General  Lincoln,  and  others  rise  to 
some  prominence,  but  none  of  them  as  a  direct  result  of  this 
action. 

This  book  is  a  fine  addition  to  a  better  understanding  of  the 
less  well-known  but  important  aspects  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  The  University  of  Georgia  Press  deserves  credit  for  the 
attractive  format,  the  illustrations,  and  the  fine  typography. 
Final  praise  goes  to  Mr.  Lawrence  for  his  forceful  and  attractive 
writing. 

J.  D.  Applewhite. 

The  University  of  Redlands, 
Redlands,  California. 


446  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Origins  of  the  New  South,  1877-1913.  By  C.  Vann  Woodward.  [A  History 
of  the  South.  By  Wendell  Holmes  Stephenson  and  E.  Merton  Coulter 
(eds.),  in  ten  volumes.]  (Baton  Rouge,  La.:  Louisiana  State  University 
Press,  The  Littlefield  Fund  for  Southern  History  of  the  University  of 
Texas.  1951.  Pp.  xi,  542.  Illustrations.  $6.50.) 

Probably  no  period  of  the  South's  history  has  been  so  little 
understood  as  the  era  covered  by  this  volume.  Professor  Wood- 
ward has  succeeded  in  clarifying  many  ideas  and  in  exploding 
several  myths  concerning  the  New  South.  He  has  written  a 
well-balanced  story  of  southern  politics,  industry,  agriculture, 
interracial  conflicts,  and  literary  efforts  from  Grant's  last  days 
in  the  White  House  to  the  "return  of  the  South"  to  an  important 
place  in  the  national  government  in  1913.  The  volume  is  a  worthy 
companion  to  the  others  in  the  series. 

The  foundations  of  the  New  South,  according  to  Professor 
Woodward,  were  in  the  main  laid  by  the  Redeemers,  whose 
leaders  "were  of  middle-class,  industrial,  capitalistic  outlook," 
conservatives  and  mostly  former  Whigs  who  favored  political 
affiliation  with  the  Northeast.  The  governments  which  they 
controlled  could  hardly  be  called  democratic,  and  their  reputation 
for  honesty  has  not  been  upheld  by  historical  investigation. 
Taking  over  control  of  state  governments  from  the  carpetbag- 
gers, the  Redeemers  favored  Negro  suffrage  because  they  were 
confident  they  could  control  the  Negro  vote.  In  the  eighties  a 
revolt  of  Independents  challenged  the  Redeemers  over  such  issues 
as  the  Negro,  machine  politics,  political  corruption,  and  "read- 
justment" of  state  debts. 

The  New  South  was  a  land  of  paradoxes.  Its  devotion  to 
religion  and  its  respect  for  ministers  of  the  gospel  impressed 
visitors  from  the  outside.  Yet,  "gunplay,  knifing,  .  .  .  murder" 
made  the  region  seem  to  be  "one  of  the  most  violent  communities 
of  comparable  size  in  all  Christendom."  The  progress  of  political 
democracy  among  whites  was  followed  by  stronger  barriers  of 
racial  discrimination.  Indeed,  "Bleases  tended  to  follow  Tillmans 
and  Bilbos  to  succeed  Vardamans."  And  the  generation  that 
looked  forward  hopefully  to  the  promises  of  a  new,  industrialized 
South  also  looked  backward  longingly  to  the  Lost  Cause  and  to 
the  glories  of  the  ante-bellum  days.  "One  of  the  most  significant 
inventions  of  the  New  South,"  says  Professor  Woodward,  "was 
the  'Old  South.'  " 


Book  Reviews  447 

This  is  a  scholarly,  well-written  volume  based  upon  an  ex- 
tensive examination  of  the  sources  and  the  literature  of  the 
period,  and  it  is  expertly  documented. 

Jefferson  Davis  Bragg. 

Baylor  University, 
Waco,  Texas. 


The  Georgia-P'lorida  Frontier,  1793-1796.  By  Richard  K.  Murdoch.  (Berkeley 
and  Los  Angeles:  University  of  California  Press.  1951.  Pp.  viii,  208. 
$2.00.) 

The  title  of  this  monograph  and  its  subtitle,  Spanish  Reaction 
to  French  Intrigue  and  American  Designs,  aptly  suggest  its 
contents.  The  author  in  his  introductory  chapter  states  that  the 
long  struggle  for  the  possession  of  Florida  from  its  discovery 
in  the  sixteenth  century  until  its  transfer  to  the  United  States 
in  1821  can  be  roughly  divided  into  three  phases:  "the  race 
between  France  and  Spain  to  establish  a  successful  colony;  the 
attempt  of  England  to  wrest  the  colony  from  Spain  during  the 
eighteenth  century  wars;  and  the  frontier  difficulties  resulting 
from  the  American  and  French  revolutions,  when  France  once 
again  had  designs  on  certain  North  American  colonial  posses- 
sions of  Spain.  This  study  makes  no  attempt  to  embrace  this 
vast  field,  but  rather  is  restricted  to  an  account  of  events  during 
a  short  part  of  the  third  phase  of  the  struggle." 

The  French  intrigue  relates  to  the  often  mentioned  but  rarely 
discussed  gesture  that  the  ill-starred  French  Minister,  Edmond 
Charles  Genet,  made  in  the  direction  of  Florida  when  he  landed 
in  Charleston  in  1793.  This  machination  was  carried  on  largely 
through  the  efforts  of  Michel  Ange  Bernard  de  Mangourit,  the 
French  consul  at  Charleston;  it  collapsed  with  the  recall  of 
Genet  and  news  of  the  Treaty  of  Basle  which  established  peace 
between  France  and  Spain.  However,  rumors  of  this  intrigue 
continued  throughout  the  period  of  the  study. 

Perhaps  a  greater  threat  to  the  sovereignty  of  Spain  in  Florida 
was  in  the  activities  of  American  frontiersmen  who  coveted 
lands  belonging  to  Spain  or  reserved  to  the  Indians  by  treaty. 
General  Elijah  Clark,  a  hero  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  was 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  land-hungry  Americans,  who  were  little 
deterred  by  the  facts  that  the  United  States  was  at  peace  with 


448  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Spain  and  that  the  Indians  had  treaty  rights  to  some  of  the 
land.  Sentiment  in  Georgia  was  on  the  whole  favorable  to  the 
frontiersman,  but  pressure  from  the  federal  government,  which 
was  rapidly  increasing  in  prestige  under  the  leadership  of  Wash- 
ington and  Hamilton,  caused  Governor  George  Matthews  to 
make  efforts  to  restrain  them.  Though  Matthews  was  successful 
in  breaking  up  a  settlement  that  Clark  and  his  followers  had 
made  on  Indian  lands  west  of  the  Oconee  River,  several  attacks 
or  raids  were  made  on  Spanish  outposts  on  the  St.  Mary's  River 
and  on  Amelia  Island. 

The  Spanish  administration  of  Florida  under  Governor  Juan 
Nepomuceno  de  Quesada,  more  effective  than  it  is  usually  por- 
trayed, resisted  successfully  the  forays  from  Georgia. 

In  conclusion  the  author  asserts  that  the  "difficulties  along 
the  St.  Mary's  River  in  the  years  1793-1796  reflected  to  some 
degree  the  vital  problems  of  the  day:  the  struggle  between 
federal  and  state  governments;  the  confused  state  of  foreign 
affairs  of  the  United  States;  the  ever-present  Indian  contro- 
versy; the  growing  movement  toward  the  West;  and,  finally, 
the  struggle  of  Spain  to  maintain  control  over  the  peripheral 
parts  of  her  American  Colonial  empire." 

Included  in  this  study  are  an  adequate  index  and  a  critical 
bibliography.  A  map  of  the  area  under  consideration  would 
have  added  to  the  clarity  of  the  text.  The  omission  may  be 
attributed  to  the  format  of  the  series  in  which  the  volume  is 
published.  This  reviewer  thinks  that  the  author  has  succeeded 
well  in  his  effort  to  cast  a  searchlight  ray  on  a  brief  period  of 
the  history  of  the  Georgia-Florida  frontier. 

Cecil  Johnson. 

The  University  of  North  Carolina, 

Chapel  Hill. 


George  Washington:  A  Biography.  By  Douglas  Southall  Freeman.  Volumes 
III  and  IV.  (New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  1951.  Pp.  xxxviii,  600; 
viii,  736.  $15.00.) 

Returned  to  his  plantation  at  the  close  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  and  married  to  a  well-to-do  widow,  Washington 
enjoyed  a  considerable  fortune.  But  he  was  not  the  man  to  live 
in  ease  upon  inherited  wealth.  After  discouraging  efforts  to 


Book  Reviews  449 

grow  tobacco  on  land  which  was  unsuitable  for  this  crop,  he 
turned  to  wheat  and  to  that  general  diversification  of  economic 
activity  which  characterized  the  more  forward-looking  planters 
of  his  time.  Ever  conscious  of  the  possibilities  of  financial  ad- 
vantage which  lay  in  the  timely  acquisition  of  western  lands, 
he  acquired  extensive  holdings  ranging  as  far  west  as  the  Great 
Kanawa.  Washington  was  concerned  with  much  more  than  the 
management  of  his  own  estates.  As  vestryman,  as  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  as  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  he  played 
his  proper  part  as  a  leading  member  of  his  community,  and  the 
services  which  he  performed  gratuitously  for  friends  and  for 
less  fortunate  neighbors  must  have  made  large  inroads  upon 
his  time.  Washington  was  earning  for  himself  that  public  esteem 
which  meant  so  much  to  him. 

That  Washington  yearned  to  turn  his  back  on  the  acres  that 
he  loved  and  seek  fame  on  a  broader  stage  may  well  be  doubted, 
but  he  was  inextricably  drawn  along  by  factors  not  of  his 
making.  Strongly  opposed  to  the  Stamp  Act,  he  rejoiced  on  its 
repeal  only  to  be  convinced  by  the  imposition  of  the  Townsend 
duties  that  the  British  government  had  embarked  upon  a  policy 
which  might  drive  the  colonists  to  the  length  of  armed  resistance. 
So  it  turned  out.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress  and  his  appointment  to  the  command  of  the  American 
troops  before  Boston  ensued  in  due  course.  In  the  months  and 
years  to  follow,  the  infinitely  numerous  and  vexatious  problems 
of  the  leader  of  an  impoverished  military  force  were  his  con- 
stant companions.  Not  the  least  was  the  preservation  of  proper 
relations  with  that  civil  authority  which  he  held  in  such  high 
esteem.  He  and  his  men  experienced  qualified  victory  at  Boston, 
defeat  at  New  York,  brilliant  if  limited  success  at  Trenton  and 
Princeton,  again  defeat  at  the  Brandywine,  and  privation  at 
Valley  Forge.  Volume  IV  ends  with  the  encouraging  news  of 
the  treaty  with  France. 

The  research  which  has  gone  into  these  volumes  transcends 
the  conscientious.  The  interpretation  seems  sane  and  valid,  but 
so  rich  is  the  factual  data  that  the  reader  is  in  a  position  to 
formulate  his  own  views.  The  style  is  always  engaging,  and 
not  infrequently  brilliant. 


450  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  present  reviewer  recalls  that  some  two  decades  ago  he 
heard  Henry  Osborn  Taylor,  then  president  of  the  American 
Historical  Association,  deliver  an  address  on  the  amateur  his- 
torian. He  was  referring,  of  course,  to  no  lack  of  expertness  in 
historical  research  and  synthesis,  but  rather  to  a  group  of 
scholars  who  were  not  professional  historians  and  to  whom 
history  was  an  avocation.  It  is  indeed,  as  Taylor  suggested,  an 
Olympian  company.  It  included  the  historical  giants  of  the  mid- 
nineteenth  century:  Prescott,  Parkman,  Motley,  and  Bancroft, 
and  at  a  later  date  such  luminaries  as  Henry  Charles  Lea  and 
Henry  Osborn  Taylor  himself.  It  is  surely  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that  Freeman  has  sustained  this  tradition.  His  sound 
scholarship,  his  penetrating  insight,  his  clear  exposition,  and 
the  impressive  scope  and  volume  of  his  writings  mark  him  as 
one  of  the  great  historians  of  our  day. 

Leonidas  Dodson. 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia. 


Rag,  Tag  and  Bobtail:  The  Story  of  the  Continental  Army,  1775-1783.  By 
Lynn  Montross.  (New  York:  Harper  and  Brothers,  1952.  Pp.  3,  519.  Maps 
and  Panoramas.  $5.00.) 

The  American  Revolution  was  often  a  clash  of  personalities 
rather  than  the  conflict  of  masses  so  characteristic  of  other 
wars,  and  it  was  often  individual  behavior  which  was  the  de- 
termining factor  in  the  outcome  of  battles.  Considering  the 
progress  of  education  prior  to  1775,  it  was  also  a  surprisingly 
literate  war,  especially  among  the  lower  echelons.  The  number 
of  journals  and  diaries  of  lesser  personalities  used  by  the  author 
indicate  that  many  of  the  rank  and  file  considered  pen  and 
paper  as  necessary  for  warfare  as  cartouche  boxes  and  muskets. 
Spelling  was  phonetic  in  character,  and  entries  ranged  from 
detailed  accounts  to  Captain  Robert  Kirkwood's  laconic  descrip- 
tion of  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens :  "Defeated  Tarleton." 

Years  after  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  Napoleon  asked  Lafayette 
for  a  description  of  the  American  Revolution  and  received  the 
reply :  "The  greatest  interests  of  the  universe  were  then  decided 
by  the  skirmishes  of  the  picket  guards."  This  statement  could 
be  considered  as  one  of  the  major  themes  of  Mr.  Montross's 


Book  Reviews  451 

work.  Emphasis  is  repeatedly  placed  upon  smaller  actions  and 
many  a  hitherto  obscure  engagement  is  resurrected  and  placed 
in  the  light  of  its  relative  importance.  An  example  of  this  is  the 
landing  of  the  redcoats  and  Hessians  at  Pell's  Point,  New  York, 
October  18,  1776,  a  holding  action  which  allowed  Washington 
the  necessary  time  to  dig  in  and  deploy  his  troops  for  the  Battle 
of  White  Plains.  Formerly  such  a  standard  work  as  Carrington's 
Battles  of  the  American  Revolution  diminished  this  engagement 
with  but  one  line,  and  many  of  the  later  accounts  fail  to  mention 
it.  Unlike  previous  historians,  the  author  does  not  use  the  number 
of  casualties  as  a  criterion  by  which  to  judge  the  importance 
of  an  engagement. 

Not  only  the  smaller  battles,  but  lesser  known  heroes  of  the 
war  are  brought  forward  for  their  due  acclaim.  Daniel  Morgan 
is  recognized  for  his  contributions  to  the  ultimate  victory  at 
Saratoga,  and  Kosciusko's  selection  of  the  battle  site  and  its 
subsequent  fortification  is  noted.  Benedict  Arnold's  role  in  that 
all-important  battle  is  minimized,  and  he  is  relegated  to  his 
proper  position  of  a  gregarious  subordinate  officer. 

The  German  mercenaries  of  the  British  are  singled  out  in 
numerous  incidents  for  special  attention.  Although  the  Hessians 
were  admittedly  well  trained  in  the  military  traditions  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  their  legendary  fighting  prowess  is  dis- 
credited and  it  was  their  adeptness  at  repeated  and  indiscrim- 
inate plundering  which  led  many  a  Tory  to  develop  Whig 
tendencies. 

One  irritating  feature  is  the  note  of  apology  for  Horatio  Gates 
which  is  evident  in  several  sections  of  this  work.  Gates  is  ad- 
mittedly a  much  maligned  figure  of  the  Revolution,  but  it  is 
hard  to  accept  the  implication  that  Gates's  flight  from  Camden 
was  a  strategic  withdrawal.  His  parting  statement  to  William  R. 
Davie  of  "Let  the  dead  bury  the  dead,"  and  a  ride  from  Camden 
to  Hillsboro  in  just  over  three  days  cannot  be  classified  by  so 
dignified  a  word  as  retreat.  His  passage  through  the  Moravian 
towns  was  noted  by  those  pious  folk  as  "in  haste." 

This  Gates  apologia,  however,  is  offset  by  the  dispelling  of 
the  legend  that  Benedict  Arnold  was  a  battlefield  hero  driven 
to  desperate  measures  by  the  neglect  of  an  indifferent  Conti- 
nental Congress.  Mr.  Montross  adroitly  points  out  that  had  he 


452  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

not  dramatized  himself  by  treason,  Arnold  would  not  have  made 
much  of  a  mark  in  history  on  the  strength  of  his  participation 
in  one  battle  as  commander  and  in  three  in  subordinate  roles. 

Eight  panoramic  views  of  strategic  cities  are  inserted  near 
the  center  of  the  book.  Numerous  maps  clarify  the  text,  but  in 
some  cases  they  are  too  small,  and  in  others  additional  dates 
would  have  been  helpful.  On  one  map  used  to  illustrate  the 
English  and  French  positions  in  1758-1759  (p.  23)  the  identify- 
ing flags  are  anachronistic.  The  English  ensign  did  not  contain 
the  red  saltire,  or  "Cross  of  St.  Patrick,"  until  1801,  and  the 
French  holdings  are  denoted  by — of  all  things — the  French 
tricolor,  which  was  not  even  a  possibility  until  1790. 

An  appendix  contains  a  list  of  the  generals  of  the  Continental 
Army  with  their  dates  of  rank,  and  an  excellent  bibliography 
and  index  are  the  concluding  features  of  this  book. 

One  of  the  outstanding  contributions  of  this  work  is  that  the 
war  in  the  South  is  placed  in  its  proper  perspective  in  relation 
to  the  military  operations  as  a  whole,  something  which  has  been 
neglected  since  the  early  New  England  historians  began  telling 
the  story  of  the  Revolution. 

Despite  minor  criticisms,  this  is  one  of  the  better  general 
military  histories  of  the  American  Revolution,  written  for  both 
the  casual  reader  and  the  historian.  It  is  a  well-balanced  account 
with  lucid  battle  reports,  and  with  the  elimination  of  irrevelant 
material  which  would  tend  to  slow  the  narrative.  Whenever 
possible,  the  author  allows  the  participants  to  speak  for  them- 
selves through  frequent  quotations,  upon  which  even  the  fasci- 
nating style  of  Mr.  Montross  could  not  improve. 

Hugh  F.  Rankin. 

The  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Chapel  Hill. 


Simon  Cameron's  Adventure  in  Iron,  1837-1846.  By  James  B.  McNair.  (Los 
Angeles:  Published  by  the  Author.  [1949].  Pp.  xi,  160.  Illustrated.  $3.85.) 

This  volume  deals  with  an  "overlooked"  incident  in  the  life 
of  Simon  Cameron,  namely,  the  formation  and  dissolution  of 
a  partnership  in  which  he  was  associated  with  Thomas  McNair 
and  others  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  iron  in  Pennsylvania 
between  the  years  1737  and  1846.  The  venture  proved  disastrous 


Book  Reviews  453 

for  McNair  and  reduced  him  to  poverty,  in  which  condition  he 
died  in  1847.  Cameron,  however,  suffered  no  appreciable  loss 
and  continued  uninterrupted  along  a  financial  career  that  eventu- 
ally made  him  a  millionaire. 

The  author  is  a  grandson  of  Thomas  McNair  and  has  made 
use  of  letters  and  papers,  not  previously  published,  which  were 
preserved  by  the  McNair  family  and  are  now  in  the  Huntington 
Library  at  San  Marino.  From  these  and  other  sources  is  as- 
sembled an  account  of  the  financial  operations  of  the  partnership 
in  which  Cameron  and  his  associates  were  engaged  and  of  the 
technical  management  of  their  iron  plantation,  of  which  Thomas 
McNair  was  the  ironmaster.  There  is  also  considerable  infor- 
mation of  a  local  and  genealogical  nature  relating  to  the  Penn- 
sylvania area  in  which  the  plantation  was  located  and  a  brief 
but  interesting  description  of  a  journey  to  Tennessee  made  by 
Thomas  McNair  in  1846  to  consider  (and  decline)  a  position  as 
ironmaster  of  the  works  of  James  Walker  at  Clifton  in  Wayne 
County. 

It  is  the  author's  contention  that  McNair's  failure  and  Came- 
ron's success  in  the  iron  business  were  consequences  of  devious 
and  dishonest  practices  that  were  characteristic  of  Cameron 
throughout  his  career.  For  this  reason  the  treatment  of  Cameron 
is  critical  and  attended  by  a  note  of  special  pleading.  We  are 
reminded  that  McNair's  family  was  broken  up,  that  one  of  his 
sons  was  apprenticed  to  a  printer  and  another  became  a  black- 
smith, while  Cameron's  sons  graduated  from  Princeton;  and 
that  McNair  could  readily  have  sympathized  with  another 
Pennsylvanian  who  wrote  in  1865:  "No  stone  may  mark  the 
spot  where  my  poor  remains  may  finally  rest,  but  I  mean  that 
my  children  shall  be  able  to  vindicate  my  name  by  pointing 
to  the  fact  that  Simon  Cameron  and  his  confidential  friends 
were  ever  hostile  to  me." 

Although  privately  printed  in  a  limited  numbered  edition,  the 

volume  displays  none  of  the  marks  of  good  craftsmanship  often 

associated  with  such  editions.  The  make-up  is  faulty  (compare 

pages  35  and  95,  where  division  headings  appear  at  the  bottoms 

of  pages),  and  the  binding  is  flimsy.  The  index  is  inadequate. 

James  W.  Patton. 
The  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Chapel  Hill. 


454  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  Railroad  Monopoly:  An  Instrument  of  Banker  Control  of  the  American 
Economy.  By  John  G.  Shott.  (Washington:  Public  Affairs  Institute.  1950. 
Pp.  xi,  250.) 

In  this  day,  when  the  economic  power  of  big  government  ab- 
sorbs most  of  the  attention  of  critics,  there  is  something  nostalgic 
about  a  book  that  plays  upon  the  old  chord  of  ''Banker  Control 
of  the  American  Economy/'  If  there  is  a  railroad  monopoly  of 
the  sort  that  Mr.  Shott  sees,  it  is  certainly  not  as  deadly  as  its 
counterpart  of  a  generation  or  more  ago,  before  trucks  took  so 
much  of  the  cream  of  the  freight  traffic  and  automobiles  and 
airplanes  left  the  rails  a  scant  one-tenth  of  the  passengers. 
Even  so,  the  author  is  alarmed  by  the  recrudescence  of  the 
railroad  monopoly  in  the  form  of  the  American  Association  of 
Railroads,  whose  stifling  of  competition  is  revealed  in  com- 
plainants' briefs  in  the  government's  case  against  the  western 
railroads  and  Georgia's  case  against  the  eastern  lines,  and  whose 
sinister  political  power  is  demonstrated  by  the  passage  of  the 
Reed-Bulwinkle  Act  of  1948. 

Part  I,  comprising  six  chapters,  is  devoted  to  showing  how 
the  Western  Association  of  Railroad  Executives  and  the  Asso- 
ciation of  American  Railroads,  dominated  by  investment  bank- 
ers, have  controlled  rate  structures,  preventing  individual  roads 
from  reducing  rates  and  discriminating  against  the  young  in- 
dustrialism of  the  South.  The  text  draws  heavily  upon  the  briefs 
of  the  complainants  in  the  two  cases  mentioned  above,  much  as 
if  they  were  the  decisions  of  the  courts.  Indeed  the  author  ap- 
pears to  endorse  all  the  charges  made  in  these  two  briefs.  (The 
book  was  probably  published  before  Special  Master  Garrison 
made  his  report  and  recommendations  in  the  Georgia  case  in 
June,  1950,  finding  that  no  such  conspiracy  as  that  charged 
had  been  established.) 

Part  II  contains  four  chapters  designed  to  show  how  the 
Association  of  American  Railroads  and  the  Transportation 
Association  of  America  employed  the  familiar  tactics  of  propa- 
ganda and  the  seduction  of  civic  organizations  to  secure  the 
passage  of  the  Reed-Bulwinkle  Act  providing  that  carriers 
should  not  be  subject  to  prosecution  under  the  Anti-Trust  Acts 
for  making  rate  agreements  with  the  approval  of  the  Interstate 


Book  Reviews  455 

Commerce  Commission.  Mr.  Shott  regards  the  Reed-Bulwinkle 
Act  as  greatly  destructive  of  the  free  market. 

Part  III,  consisting  of  a  brief  chapter,  is,  in  the  author's  own 
words,  "nothing  more  than  a  plea  for  the  restoration  of  the 
practices  of  competition  to  the  railroad  industry."  (P.  x.) 

There  is  doubtless  room  for  debate  over  the  policies  of  the 
Association  of  American  Railroads  and  over  the  wisdom  of 
legalizing  inter-railroad  rate  agreements,  even  with  approval 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission;  but  this  book  is  far 
from  a  balanced  treatment  of  the  subject. 

C.  K.  Brown. 
Davidson  College, 
Davidson. 


A  Friendly  Mission:  John  Candler's  Letters  from  America,  1853-1854. 
Edited  by  Gayle  Thornbrough.  (Indianapolis:  Indiana  Historical  Society. 
1951.  Pp.  134.  $1.00.) 

Jessie  Macy  in  his  Anti-Slavery  Crusade  states  that  when 
southerners  adopted  the  "positive  good"  argument  of  slavery, 
abolitionism  was  suppressed.  This  Macian  thesis  has  been  com- 
monly accepted  by  writers  of  southern  history  for  many  years. 
One  value  of  John  Candler's  Letters  from  America,  185 3-1 85 U, 
to  his  wife  in  England  is  that  they  disprove  the  conclusion  of 
Macy.  On  the  contrary,  the  South  did  permit  abolitionism  to  be 
discussed  in  the  South  if  and  when  it  was  done  on  religious 
grounds.  John  Candler,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  of 
London,  England,  and  some  other  friends  came  to  America  with 
the  expressed  purpose  of  traveling  through  the  slave  and  non- 
slave  states  to  do  what  they  could  to  overthrow  slavery.  These 
Friends  were  graciously  received,  not  only  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  but  by  the  southern  leaders  as  well.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1853,  Candler  wrote  his  wife  concerning  their  conference 
with  the  President  and  said,  "The  manner  and  bearing  of  the 
President  was  simple  and  polite  and  his  conversation  christian 
in  its  character."  As  to  his  visit  in  the  slave  states  he  remarked, 
"Yesterday  (December  16,  1853)  afternoon  we  paid  a  visit  to 
the  Governor  of  Alabama,  Henry  W.  Collier,  and  were  received 
by  him  with  kindness  and  good  feeling."  Their  interview  with 
Governor  David  S.  Reid  of  North  Carolina  was  not  unlike  that 


456  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

in  the  other  parts  of  the  South  for  he  wrote,  "We  parted  (from 
the  conference  with  Governor  Reid)  on  friendly  terms,  and  left 
.  .  .  with  relieved  minds." 

Another  significant  feature  of  the  Candler  letters  is  that  they 
reveal  that  all  southerners  did  not  follow  the  Calhounistic  view 
of  the  institution  of  slavery.  Many  continued  to  adhere  to  the 
Jeffersonian  principles  of  slavery.  For  example,  Governor  P.  0. 
Hebert  of  Louisiana  admitted  to  the  Friends  the  following: 
"Slavery  was  an  evil,  but  a  necessary  one." 

Therefore,  to  say  the  least  for  the  letters,  they  are  indispensable 
to  the  revisionist  of  southern  intellectual  history.  Besides  this, 
the  social  historian  will  find  them  valuable  also  because  of  their 
comments  on  the  everyday  life  of  the  people  and  the  conditions 
of  the  communities  they  visited  while  in  America. 

Tinsley  L.  Spraggins. 

Virginia  Union  University, 
Richmond. 


Business  Executives  and  the  Humanities.  By  Quentin  Oliver  McAllister 
for  the  Southern  Humanities  Conference.  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of 
North  Carolina  Press.  1951.  Pp.  114.) 

The  object  of  the  Humanities  Conference  is  the  advancement 
of  teaching  and  research  in  the  humanities.  In  view  of  this  ob- 
jective the  conference  had  Dr.  Quentin  O.  McAllister  to  analyze 
the  views  of  high-ranking  executives  in  business  and  in  govern- 
ment as  to  the  value  of  liberal  arts  as  a  preparation  for  employ- 
ment in  the  respective  organizations.  By  use  of  personal  letters 
the  investigator  contacted  1,000  executives  and  received  replies 
from  437  of  them.  From  the  communications  received  the  author 
concluded  the  following,  namely,  "That  business  executives  con- 
sider liberal  arts  of  great  importance.  .  .  ."  Furthermore,  the 
report  states  that  by  far  the  most  valuable  subjects  conducive 
to  successful  employment  are  first,  English,  and  second,  foreign 
languages. 

The  value  of  the  investigation  is  a  helpful  guide  to  guidance 

personnel  directors  in  that  it  shows  in  what  areas  they  can 

direct  future  employees  in  preparing  for  vocations. 

Tinsley  L.  Spraggins. 
Virginia  Union  University, 
Richmond. 


Book  Reviews  457 

Mr.  Justice  Sutherland :  A  Man  Against  the  State.  By  Joel  Francis  Paschal. 
(Princeton:   The  Princeton  University  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xii,  267.  $4.00.) 

This  book  is  not  a  conventional  biography,  though  it  gives  an 
adequate  picture  of  George  Sutherland's  official  career;  rather 
it  is  a  detailed  study  of  the  acquisition  of  a  political  and  constitu- 
tional philosophy  and  the  application  of  that  philosophy  to  the 
problems  of  the  Republic  during  nearly  four  decades  of  this 
century.  English-born,  Utah-raised,  non-Mormon  George  Suther- 
land, after  a  successful  professional  career,  was  elected  to  the 
first  legislature  of  Utah  in  1896,  in  which  year  he  also  supported 
Bryan  on  the  silver  issue;  he  served  in  the  national  House  of 
Representatives  (1901-1903),  and  in  the  Senate  (1905-1917).  He 
was  president  of  the  American  Bar  Association  (1916-1917) ,  and 
subsequently  became  a  valued  adviser  of  Warren  G.  Harding,  who 
appointed  him  an  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1922 
when  John  H.  Clarke  resigned.  For  fifteen  of  his  sixteen  years 
on  the  Court,  Sutherland  was  the  most  effective  voice  of  the  con- 
servative majority.  Indeed,  Dr.  Paschal  remarks,  "If  the  Con- 
stitution is  what  the  judges  say  it  is,  Sutherland  was  its  chief 
author  during  his  incumbency." 

The  key  to  Sutherland's  leadership  is  to  be  found  in  his  com- 
bination of  philosophical  and  constitutional  doctrines  well 
adapted  to  the  views  of  most  of  his  brethren.  Throughout  his 
formative  years,  as  Dr.  Paschal  shows,  environment,  personal 
experience,  and  formal  training  conspired  to  produce  a  man  de- 
voted to  the  social  theory  and  deductive  method  of  Herbert 
Spencer.  Sutherland  was  introduced  to  Spencerian  philosophy  by 
Karl  G.  Maeser  at  Brigham  Young  Academy.  The  influence  con- 
tinued at  the  University  of  Michigan  Law  School,  where,  under 
Thomas  Mclntyre  Cooley  and  James  Valentine  Campbell,  the 
maturing  student  became  thoroughly  indoctrinated  with  constitu- 
tional ideas  that  dovetailed  almost  perfectly  with  his  Spencerian 
thinking.  It  was  reasonable  to  expect,  therefore,  that  Suther- 
land on  the  bench  would  find  practical  ways  of  refuting  Jus- 
tice Holmes's  famous  dictum  that  "the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
does  not  enact  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer's  Social  Statics."  Yet  in  so 
doing,  Sutherland  would  not  see  in  himself  a  judicial  lawmaker, 
for  he  believed  that  judges  "do  not  make  laws,  but  declare  them ; 
the  rules  which  govern  their  deliberations  .  .  .  are  to  a  large 


458  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

extent  fixed  and  permanent,  in  no  wise  to  be  controlled  by  tempo- 
rary considerations  or  policies."  Temporary  popular  majorities, 
which  he  distrusted  in  common  with  many  other  leading  lawyers 
and  jurists  who  held  to  laissez-faire  principles,  could  be  re- 
strained by  judges  who  must  often  "  'declare  in  favor  of  the 
position  of  a  single  individual'  as  against  the  whole  world." 

Dr.  Paschal  traces  the  influence  of  Sutherland's  fundamental 
tenets  through  his  legislative  and  judicial  career.  Even  when 
Sutherland  seemed  to  veer  away  from  his  conservatism,  it  was 
because  such  action  fitted  more  closely  into  his  ideological  pat- 
tern. In  the  Congress,  whose  duty  to  make  some  adjustments  in 
light  of  changing  conditions  he  recognized,  he  could  support 
workingmen's  compensation,  postal  savings,  and  pure  food  and 
drug  legislation  as  consonant  with  his  doctrines,  but  he  was  un- 
able to  go  along  with  the  Wilsonian  reforms.  On  the  Supreme 
Court,  he  was  impelled  to  strike  down  minimum  wage  and  other 
social  legislation,  which  seemed  to  him  to  tamper  unjustifiably 
with  the  pattern  of  Spencerian  evolution  and  to  violate  the  due 
process  clauses.  The  courts  he  held  to  high  standards  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  even  as  he  had  labored  in  the  Senate 
to  improve  the  criminal  and  judicial  codes.  Numerous  opinions 
reveal  his  concern  for  personal  as  distinct  from  economic  liberty. 
Fearing  executive  power  in  domestic  affairs,  especially  after  it 
came  into  the  hands  of  F.  D.  R.,  Sutherland  took  the  judicial  lead 
in  narrowing  the  President's  removal  power.  Against  the  tend- 
ency toward  pervasive  government,  whether  in  state  or  national 
affairs,  Sutherland  stood  out  strongly.  He  believed  the  New  Deal 
program  was,  for  the  most  part,  both  unconstitutional  and 
philosophically  unsound. 

In  one  area  Justice  Sutherland  made  a  broad  contribution  to 
the  doctrine  of  national  power.  In  the  Ctirtiss-Wright  Corpora- 
tion and  Belmont  cases,  he  stated  the  doctrine  that  the  central 
government's  power  over  foreign  relations  was  not  derived  from 
the  Constitution  through  delegation  but  was  both  inherently  the 
possession  of  the  central  government  and  historically  received 
from  the  antecedent  governments  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Conti- 
nental Congress.  The  upshot  of  these  opinions  was  the  recognition 
of  broad  executive  power  in  these  fields  and  the  creation  of  im- 
mense possibilities  for  its  future  expansion.  Dr.  Paschal  shows 


Book  Reviews  459 

conclusively  that  the  foundation  for  these  views  was  laid  for 
Sutherland  by  his  law  school  teacher,  Chief  Justice  Campbell  of 
Michigan. 

Mr.  Justice  Sutherland  presents  sympathetically  but  not  un- 
critically a  clear  and  convincing  picture  of  a  judicial  mind.  Here 
was  a  man  of  courage  and  intellectual  power,  unwavering  in  his 
convictions,  immersed  in  theory  and  often  ignorant  of  facts, 
gripped  by  a  predilection  against  expanding  government  func- 
tions, yet  respected  and  liked  by  those  who  most  frequently  dis- 
agreed with  him.  Like  Taft,  Sutherland  was  much  better  adjusted 
to  judicial  than  to  political  combat;  nevertheless,  he  fought  ef- 
fectively in  many  Congressional  battles,  e.g.,  the  Reed  Smoot  case, 
the  Ballinger-Pinchot  controversy,  and  the  affair  of  the  proposed 
income-tax  amendment  to  the  Aldrich  tariff  bill.  His  devotion  to 
theory,  a  strength  in  one  sense,  was  a  weakness  in  another,  for 
he  became  "so  immersed  in  Spencerian  philosophy  that  he  had 
no  power  to  criticize  it  judiciously,  ...  no  vantage  point  from 
which  to  see  how  much  of  Spencer  was  merely  the  expression  of 
an  age."  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  this  doctrinaire  thinker 
stirred  Justice  Holmes  to  say  that,  on  some  points,  "a  page  of 
history  is  worth  a  volume  of  logic." 

Careful  students  of  contemporary  America  need  to  understand 
the  conservative  viewpoint  expressed  by  George  Sutherland,  not 
only  because  it  has  played  a  large  role  in  our  history  but  also 
because  it  survives.  They  will  be  thankful  for  Dr.  Paschal's  ob- 
jective and  penetrating  presentation. 

Preston  W.  Edsall. 

North  Carolina  State  College, 
Raleigh. 


LETTERS  TO  THE   EDITOR 

To  The  Editor:  February  6,  1952 

I  read  with  much  interest  Mr.  James  High's  article  on  Henry 
McCulloh,  which  appeared  in  the  Review  for  January,  1952. 
Having  worked  on  the  same  subject  myself  recently,  I  should 
like  to  point  out  some  errors  into  which  Mr.  High  has  fallen. 

The  principal  contention  of  the  article  is  that  it  was  an  obscure 
government  clerk,  Henry  McCulloh,  who  first  suggested  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  that,  if  his  recommendations  had  been  followed 
in  drafting  the  bill,  it  might  have  been  acceptable  to  the  col- 
onists. At  any  rate,  McCulloh  is  presented  as  one  who  appre- 
ciated the  American  objections  to  the  New  Imperialism  and 
whose  attitude,  if  adopted,  might  have  prevented  the  dismember- 
ment of  the  British  Empire. 

Lawrence  H.  Gipson  demonstrated  many  years  ago  in  his 
Jared  Ingersoll  (New  Haven,  1920,  pp.  116-117)  that  McCul- 
loh's  was  only  one  in  a  long  succession  of  suggestions,  dating 
back  to  1722,  that  stamp  duties  be  used  to  raise  revenue  in 
America.  McCulloh  actually  first  proposed  his  plan  for  a  stamp 
tax  to  the  Earl  of  Halifax  in  1751  (Br.  Mus. :  Add.  MSS. :  11514, 
ff.  178-179) .  He  reiterated  the  idea  in  an  anonymous  pamphlet  in 
1755  (The  Wisdom  and  Policy  of  the  French  .  .  .  ,  pp.  131-132), 
in  a  memorial  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  in  1757  (Br.  Mus. :  Add. 
MSS.:  32874,  f.  310),  in  the  1761  memorial  to  Bute  cited  by  Mr. 
High,  and  in  a  letter  to  Charles  Jenkinson,  one  of  Grenville's 
secretaries  at  the  Treasury,  in  July,  1763  (William  J.  Smith,  ed., 
The  Grenville  Papers,  London,  1852-1853,  II,  p.  373n.).  Appar- 
ently at  the  invitation  of  the  Treasury,  McCulloh  submitted  in 
October,  1763,  a  detailed  plan  for  duties  and  was  interviewed  by 
an  official  on  his  proposals.  These  were  approved  by  Grenville 
for  consideration  by  the  Treasury  Board,  but  it  can  only  be 
conjectured  that  they  were  used  as  the  starting  point  for  drafting 
a  bill.  In  fact,  the  plan  for  a  stamp  tax  was  dropped  for  a  year, 
and  there  is  no  evidence  that  McCulloh  was  involved  in  the  later 
deliberations  which  led  to  the  Stamp  Act.  I  find  absolutely  no 
support  for  Mr.  High's  contention  (for  which  he  furnishes  no 
authority)  that  McCulloh's  proposal  "was  examined  and  en- 
dorsed by  Bute,  Newcastle,  Pelham,  Halifax,  and  Grenville  and 

[460] 


Letters  to  the  Editor  461 

was  finally  accepted  by  the  latter  as  the  basis  for  his  infamous 
revenue  measure  of  1765." 

The  significant  point  is  that  all  of  McCulloh's  writings  show 
him  to  be  a  stringent  mercantilist,  intent  on  taxing  and  rigidly 
regulating  the  colonies  for  the  benefit  of  the  mother  country.  But 
his  stamp  duty  proposal  also  had  ulterior  objects.  By  his  plan, 
the  stamp  revenues  were  to  be  used,  first,  to  maintain  an  interest- 
bearing  paper  currency  for  all  the  colonies,  which  was  designed 
to  be  advantageous  to  British  merchants ;  and  second,  to  provide 
a  fund  for  controlling  the  Indians  on  the  colonial  frontier.  The 
key  to  McCulloh's  real  role  in  the  affair  is  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
London  merchant  trading  to  America  and  the  holder  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  frontier  acres,  which  he  had  been  unable  to  sell 
and  had  nearly  lost  because  Cherokee  raids  had  retarded  the 
settlement  of  the  North  Carolina  backcountry.  An  incorrigible 
memorialist,  McCulloh  was  understandably  disgruntled  in  1765 
that  the  stamp  duties  were  not  to  be  appropriated  as  he  desired, 
and  he  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  tell  some  official  that 
dire  consequences  were  inevitable.  It  is  a  mistake  to  make  a 
thwarted  imperial  statesman  out  of  this  tireless  self-seeker. 

The  sources  cited  do  not  support  Mr.  High's  statements  that 
McCulloh  was  a  minor  official  of  the  Plantation  Office  in  1733, 
and  that,  after  serving  as  secretary  of  North  Carolina,  he  was 
reinstated  in  the  Plantation  Office  in  1761.  In  several  places 
McCulloh  has  been  confused  with  another  man  of  a  similar  name. 
He  could  not  possibly  have  sailed  with  the  Louisbourg  expedition, 
since  he  was  in  the  Carolinas  in  1745,  remaining  there  until  he 
returned  to  England  in  1747  (P.  R.  O. :  Treasury  1 :  330,  f .  142) . 
A  Henry  McCulloch  was  appointed  naval  officer  (a  customs  post, 
not  a  navy  one)  at  Cape  Breton  Island  in  1746  (after  the  con- 
quest of  Louisbourg ;  P.  R.  0. :  Colonial  Office  324 :  50,  pp.  132- 
133) ,  but  this  was  a  different  man,  a  kinsman  of  the  merchant 
McCulloh  (W.  H.  Bailey,  "Provincial  Reminiscences:  The  Three 
Brothers-in-Law,"  North  Carolina  University  Magazine,  New 
Series,  X,  p.  40).  It  was  the  Cape  Breton  McCulloch  who  peti- 
tioned Newcastle  repeatedly  for  office  in  the  1750's,  and  it  was  he 
who  finally  secured  the  secretaryship  of  North  Carolina  (in 
1754,  not  1756;  P.  R.  0.:  Colonial  Office  324:  51,  p.  37),  perhaps 
with  the  aid  of  his  more  powerful  relation. 


462  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

In  short,  Henry  McCulloh  was  a  London  merchant,  not  a 
government  clerk.  He  was  wealthy  and  influential  enough  to 
sponsor  and  control  a  governor  of  North  Carolina  and  to  obtain 
land  grants  totalling  over  a  million  acres.  It  was  to  defend  these 
lands  against  hostile  provincial  officials  and  speculators  that  he 
secured  appointment  as  commissioner  of  quit  rents  in  the  Caro- 
linas  in  1739.  And  in  1747  he  returned  to  England  to  advise  the 
government  on  American  policy,  always  with  an  eye  to  advancing 
his  own  interests  as  merchant  and  land  speculator.  Far  from 
being  the  kind  of  man  whose  ideas  could  have  saved  Britain's 
empire  in  America,  he  represented  the  favoritism  in  colonial 
administration  and  the  high  mercantilism  which  helped  push 
the  colonies  into  revolution. 

Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr. 

Princeton  University, 
Princeton,  New  Jersey. 


To  The  Editor:  February  21,  1952 

Thank  you  for  giving  me  the  opportunity  to  reply  to  Mr. 
Sellers'  comments  on  my  recent  article,  "Henry  McCulloh:  Pro- 
genitor of  the  Stamp  Act."  I  find  little  of  importance  to  answer 
except  the  imputation  that  I  have  used  my  source  material  with- 
out regard  to  its  limitations. 

One  of  my  opening  statements  is  "Henry  McCulloh  gave  the 
idea  of  an  American  Stamp  duty  its  first  written  form.  .  .  ." 
This  is  a  qualitatively  different  statement  than  the  one  Mr.  Sel- 
lers evolved  from  my  article:  "Henry  McCulloh,  .  .  .  first  sug- 
gested the  Stamp  Act.  ..."  I  think  we  both  agree  on  my  first 
statement.  Where  McCulloh  found  the  idea  is  completely  obscure ; 
that  he  presented  it  to  the  Earl  of  Bute  is  undeniable.  That  Bute, 
Newcastle,  Pelham,  Halifax,  and  Grenville  endorsed  the  idea  is 
equally  undeniable  if  the  documents  in  the  British  Museum  and 
the  Huntington  Library  are  genuine  (Hunting  Manuscripts 
1480;  Br.  Mus.,  Add.  Mss.,  35910;  137). 

After  McCulloh  gave  his  version  of  a  Stamp  Act  to  the  min- 
istry "it  was  accepted  by  [Grenville]  as  the  basis  for  his  in- 
famous revenue  measure  of  1765  (my  article,  first  page)."  The 
footnote  at  this  point  refers  to  an  article  by  Edmund  S.  Morgan 
which  describes  the  delay  in  perfecting  the  law  from  October, 


Letters  to  the  Editor  463 

1763,  to  March,  1765  (William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  July,  1950). 
That  Grenville  accepted  McCulloh's  draft  as  the  basis  for  his 
subsequent  action  is  given  in  my  article  on  the  strength  of 
McCulloh's  statement  which  is  quoted,  and  on  the  evidence  that 
he  was  interviewed  in  1764  by  the  Treasury  Board.  There  is 
little  point  in  repeating  here  the  evidence  that  is  cited  at  length 
in  the  article. 

The  stringency  of  McCulloh's  mercantilist  views  seems  to 
have  little  bearing  upon  what  he  believed  would  work  as  an 
American  revenue  measure.  I  would  be  the  first  to  underwrite  the 
general  belief  that  men  are  motivated  by  self-interest ;  but  in  this 
case  McCulloh's  best  interest  would  seem  to  me  to  have  been  along 
the  lines  that  he  suggested — keeping  the  American  colonies  in 
the  empire  by  reasonable  means,  which  he  suggested.  The  pos- 
sibility of  his  changing  his  mind  to  suit  different  situations  also 
presents  itself.  He  was  realistic  and  he  did  have  knowledge  of 
the  American  colonies,  however  it  was  achieved. 

As  to  the  identity  of  McCulloh,  Mr.  Sellers  may  be  confused. 
Any  number  of  Henry  McCullohs  may  have  existed.  The  sources 
of  my  impression  of  him  are  all  of  a  primary  nature.  Mr.  Sellers 
has  relied  on  at  least  three  historians  without  much  evident 
criticism  of  their  sources.  In  any  case,  aside  from  interest,  the 
point  is  relatively  unimportant.  There  was  a  Henry  McCulloh 
who  wrote  a  memorandum  concerning  his  part  in  the  Stamp  Act. 
In  the  due  course  of  time  the  manuscript  found  its  way  into  the 
Huntington  Library.  (It  may  be  interesting  to  note  here  that 
nearly  every  colonial  subject  may  be  illustrated,  or  even  essen- 
tially demonstrated,  by  documents  in  that  depository).  I  have, 
with  the  aid  of  the  Review,  presented  McCulloh's  views  in  1765 
on  the  subject  of  the  Stamp  Act — nothing  more. 

McCulloh  may  have  been  a  merchant,  a  government  clerk,  a 
pamphleteer,  or  a  combination  of  those  things.  He  may  even  be 
subdivided  into  two  or  more  persons.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  he 
could  have  been  a  "London  merchant"  at  the  same  time  he  was  a 
resident  crown  officer  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  equally  difficult  to 
believe  that  he  was  "powerful  enough  to  control  a  governor  of 
North  Carolina,"  if  that  governor  happened  to  be  Gabriel  Johns- 
ton who  was  his  implacable  enemy,  or  if  it  happened  to  be  Arthur 
Dobbs  who  finally  succeeded  in  wresting  from  him  his  "land 


464  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

grants  totalling  over  a  million  acres.' '  As  a  footnote,  another 
Henry  McCulloh,  presumably  the  son  of  the  man  whom  I  have 
been  studying,  gained  title  to  about  47,000  acres  of  his  father's 
holdings  "in  Lord  Granville's  tract,"  and  incidentally  became 
a  patriot  in  the  American  Revolution.  At  least  mercantilism  did 
not  prevent  one  member  of  the  family  from  pursuing  his  own 
interest — or,  perhaps  there  are  more  Henry  McCullohs  than 
anyone  can  count. 

James  High. 

University  of  Washington, 
Seattle. 


HISTORICAL  NEWS 

Three  members  of  the  history  department  of  the  Woman's 
College  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  Greensboro,  have 
received  fellowships  from  the  Ford  Foundation  Fund  for  the 
Advancement  of  Education  for  the  next  year.  They  are  as  fol- 
lows: Dr.  Richard  Bardolph,  associate  professor  of  history;  Dr. 
Lenore  R.  O'Boyle,  assistant  professor  of  history ;  and  Dr.  Eugene 
E.  Pfaff,  professor  of  history. 

Dr.  Edward  A.  Guerrant  of  Davidson  College  has  received  a 
fellowship  from  the  Ford  Foundation  and  will  spend  the  next 
year  studying  and  writing  at  the  University  of  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, Los  Angeles.  He  will  also  teach  there  this  summer. 

Miss  Sarah  Lemmon,  assistant  professor  of  history  at  Meredith 
College,  received  her  Ph.D.  in  history  from  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  in  June.  She  will  continue  to  teach  at  Meredith 
College. 

Duke  University's  history  faculty  reports  the  following  ac- 
tivities : 

On  October  3,  1951,  Dr.  Charles  S.  Sydnor  gave  an  address  on 
"The  Englishman  and  American  Politics"  at  the  fall  convocation 
of  Randolph-Macon  College,  Ashland,  Virginia,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  opening  of  Fox  Hall.  On  November  29  he  delivered  a 
Blazer  Lecture  at  the  University  of  Kentucky  on  "English  Econo- 
mies and  American  Politics,"  and  at  the  December  meeting  of  the 
American  Historical  Association  he  talked  on  "American  History 
at  Oxford."  He  will  teach  at  Harvard  University  this  summer. 

Dr.  John  Tate  Lanning  has  been  made  chairman  of  the  Con- 
ference on  Latin  American  History  of  the  American  Historical 
Association  and  has  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  the  Albert  J.  Beveridge  Memorial  Fund. 

Mr.  John  S.  Curtiss  will  teach  at  Stanford  University,  Cali- 
fornia, this  summer. 

Dr.  Arthur  B.  Ferguson  contributed  two  chapters,  "Winter 
Bombing"  and  "Big  Week,"  to  the  history  of  The  Army  Air 
Forces  in  World  War  II,  Volume  III  (Chicago,  1951). 

[465] 


466  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Dr.  Joseph  C.  Robert,  associate  dean  of  the  graduate  school, 
has  been  elected  president  of  Coker  College,  Hartsville,  South 
Carolina,  and  will  take  office  August  1,  1952. 

Miss  Frances  Acomb  will  be  doing  research  in  England, 
France,  and  Switzerland  during  the  fall  semester. 

This  summer  the  number  of  outdoor  historical  dramas  staged 
in  North  Carolina  will  be  larger  than  ever  before.  Paul  Green's 
"The  Lost  Colony"  may  be  seen  as  usual  at  Fort  Raleigh,  and,  at 
the  other  end  of  the  state,  on  the  Cherokee  Indian  Reservation, 
Kermit  Hunter's  "Unto  These  Hills." 

The  first  summer  season  of  the  Southern  Appalachian  Histori- 
cal Association's  production,  "Horn  in  the  West,"  by  Kermit 
Hunter,  will  extend  from  June  27  through  August  31.  The  drama 
will  be  presented  nightly  except  Monday  in  the  Daniel  Boone 
Theater  at  Boone. 

At  a  meeting  in  Asheville,  March  25,  the  name  Sunset  Moun- 
tain Attractions,  Incorporated,  was  chosen  by  the  board  of  di- 
rectors of  the  corporation  which  is  undertaking  the  production 
of  a  drama  dealing  with  the  life  of  Daniel  Boone.  The  drama  is 
"Thunderland,"  written  by  Hubert  Hayes  and  directed  by  Bob 
Porterfield,  with  music  by  Lamar  Stringfield.  Twenty-five  per 
cent  of  the  profits  from  the  production  are  to  go  to  Asheville- 
Biltmore  College,  on  whose  property  at  Chunn's  Cove  the  drama 
will  be  presented  July  3  through  Labor  Day. 

The  Thomasville  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  signed  a  contract 
with  the  John  B.  Rogers  Company  of  Festoria,  Ohio,  for  the  writ- 
ing and  production  of  a  historical  pageant  as  a  part  of  the 
Thomasville  centennial,  which  is  to  be  celebrated  the  week  of 
September  14  to  21.  The  drama  will  have  a  cast  of  at  least  500  and 
will  be  presented  in  City  Memorial  Park  Stadium. 

The  Ashe  County  Historical  Society,  at  a  meeting  in  Jefferson 
on  April  4,  elected  the  following  officers :  Mr.  William  B.  Oliver, 
Jefferson,  president;  Mr.  Joseph  F.  Neal,  Jefferson,  secretary- 
treasurer;  and  Mrs.  Ed  M.  Anderson,  West  Jefferson,  director 
of  publicity.  Its  constitution  has  been  drawn  up  and  mimeo- 
graphed. 


Historical  News  467 

The  Bertie  County  Historical  Association  held  its  spring  meet- 
ing at  the  Courthouse  in  Windsor,  April  18.  Dr.  Hugh  Lefler  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  was  the  speaker,  and  the  Asso- 
ciation announced  the  acquisition  of  an  Empire  desk,  donated  by 
Miss  Stella  Phelps  of  Woodville,  and  of  a  number  of  account 
books  covering  the  activities  of  a  mercantile  business  at  Britton's 
Cross  Road  (Roxobel)  between  1815  and  1817.  These  books  were 
donated  by  Mr.  Herbert  P.  Tyler. 

A  nucleus  committee  of  Gaston  County  citizens  met  on  April 
24  in  preparation  for  the  organization  of  a  new  county  historical 
society.  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt  of  the  Department  of  Archives  and 
History,  Raleigh,  was  the  speaker  of  the  evening  and  talked  to 
the  group  on  the  procedure  for  and  value  of  such  an  organization. 
Mr.  F.  A.  Cathey,  Jr.,  Mrs.  M.  B.  Wales,  and  Miss  Alma  Goode 
were  named  as  a  group  to  select  one  person  from  each  township 
to  form  a  county  committee  to  perfect  the  organization.  It  was 
decided  that  the  society  should  not  be  connected  with  the  old 
Gaston  County  Historical  Society  which  was  formed  for  a  two- 
year  period  in  1946  to  promote  the  Gaston  County  centennial. 

Mrs.  Ernest  L.  Ives  was  re-elected  president  of  the  Moore 
County  Historical  Association  at  a  meeting  in  Southern  Pines 
on  April  26.  Mr.  Leland  McKeithen  of  Pinehurst  was  elected  first 
vice  president,  Mr.  George  Maurice  of  Eagle  Springs,  second  vice 
president,  Mr.  Julian  Bishop,  third  vice  president,  Mrs.  George 
Heinitsh,  secretary,  and  Mr.  Norris  L.  Hodgkins,  Jr.,  treasurer. 
Directors  representing  communities  in  the  county  are  as  follows : 
Mr.  J.  Talbot  Johnson,  Mr.  Edwin  A.  McKeithen,  Mr.  Clyde 
Shaw,  Mr.  Colin  G.  Spencer,  Mr.  Julian  Bishop,  Mrs.  James  Boyd, 
Mrs.  L.  T.  Avery,  Mrs.  Katherine  S.  McColl,  Mrs.  Ernest  L.  Ives, 
Mr.  Norris  L.  Hodgkins,  Jr.,  and  Mr.  R.  E.  Wicker. 

The  Committee  on  Local  Historical  Societies  of  the  State 
Literary  and  Historical  Association  held  a  regional  meeting  in 
Asheville  on  April  26.  Five  members  and  five  non-members  were 
present.  It  was  decided  that  the  organization  of  a  Western  North 
Carolina  Historical  Society  would  be  valuable  in  stimulating 
interest  in  local  groups  and  that  such  groups  should  be  encour- 


468  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

aged  and  aided  where  interest  was  apparent  and  help  wanted. 
Suggestions  were  made  on  the  achievements  possible  to  local 
groups  and  reports  were  made  on  the  activities  of  local  groups. 
Those  present  were  as  follows:  Mr.  George  M.  Stephens,  Ashe- 
ville;  Mr.  Weimar  Jones,  Franklin;  Mrs.  Fred  D.  Hamrick,  Jr., 
Rutherf ordton ;  Mr.  James  S.  Brawley,  Salisbury ;  Dr.  Rosser  H. 
Taylor,  Cullowhee;  Mr.  George  W.  McCoy,  Asheville;  Dr.  D.  J. 
Whitener,  Boone;  Mrs.  Sadie  S.  Patton,  Hendersonville ;  Mr. 
H.  C.  Wilburn,  Waynesville ;  and  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt,  Raleigh. 

The  Western  North  Carolina  Historical  Association  held  its 
organizational  meeting  on  May  10.  Sixty-six  of  the  eighty  per- 
sons attending  joined  as  charter  members.  Eleven  trustees  and 
seven  members-at-large  of  the  board  were  elected  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  association,  which  is  to  be  incorporated  as  a  non-profit 
educational  corporation.  The  following  officers  were  elected: 
Dean  W.  E.  Bird,  president;  Dr.  D.  J.  Whitener,  vice  president; 
Mr.  Albert  McLean,  secretary;  and  Miss  Doris  Kraemer  Hill, 
treasurer. 

The  spring  meeting  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical  Asso- 
ciation of  North  Carolina  was  held  at  Carolina  Beach  May  17 
and  18.  At  the  first  general  session,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  17th, 
Mr.  Hugh  F.  Rankin  of  Chapel  Hill  read  a  paper  on  "Military 
Aspects  of  the  Moore's  Creek  Campaign"  and  Mrs.  Seth  L.  Smith 
of  Whiteville  spoke  on  the  "Significance  of  the  Battle  of  Moore's 
Creek  Bridge."  At  the  evening  meeting  Mr.  E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr., 
of  Chapel  Hill  read  a  paper  on  "The  Colonial  Cape  Fear  and  the 
Spanish  Danger,"  Dr.  Donald  J.  Rulfs  of  Raleigh  spoke  on  "The 
History  of  the  Professional  Theater  in  Wilmington,"  and  Mr. 
Louis  T.  Moore,  chairman  of  the  New  Hanover  Historical  Com- 
mission, talked  on  "Historic  Sites  of  the  Lower  Cape  Fear  Val- 
ley." On  the  morning  of  the  18th  a  tour  of  New  Hanover  County 
was  conducted  by  Mr.  Moore,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  members 
were  taken  on  a  scenic  boat  ride. 

The  High  Point  Historical  Commission,  the  parks  and  recrea- 
tion department,  and  William  G.  Ragsdale  of  Jamestown  have 
undertaken  the  restoration  of  a  Quaker  meeting  house  which  is 


Historical  News  469 

now  located  in  High  Point's  City  Lake  Park.  The  building  is  be- 
lieved to  be  approximately  150  years  old  and  will  be  restored 
as  exactly  as  possible  like  the  original  interior,  with  rough-hewn 
benches  and  a  shoulder-high  partition  dividing  the  hall.  The 
brick  walls,  ceiling  beams,  and  stone  foundation  and  steps  are 
the  only  parts  of  the  original  building  which  remain.  The  fire- 
places at  either  end  are  to  be  covered  over.  Parks  and  Recreation 
Director  Bill  Stronach  is  overseeing  the  work. 


Old  Salem,  Incorporated,  is  proceeding  with  plans  to  restore 
and  preserve  the  historic  town  of  Salem,  now  a  part  of  the  City 
of  Winston-Salem.  Among  the  buildings  to  be  included  are  the 
Fourth  House  (1767),  the  Brothers  House  (1769),  Salem  Tavern 
(1784),  Salem  Academy  and  College  (established  1772),  and  the 
Wachovia  Museum,  formerly  the  Salem  Boys  School  (1794).  It 
is  estimated  that  the  program  will  cost  two  and  one-half  million 
dollars  and  the  date  for  its  completion  has  been  set  as  1966. 

Perry,  Shaw  and  Hepburn,  Kehoe  and  Dean,  the  Boston  firm  of 
architects  that  has  the  contract  for  the  restoration  of  Tryon's 
Palace,  the  colonial  capitol  of  North  Carolina,  has  employed  Mr. 
A.  T.  Dill  of  Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  Mr.  Morley  J.  Williams  of 
Raleigh.  Mr.  Dill,  a  native  of  New  Bern  who  has  done  extensive 
work  on  the  history  of  the  Palace,  will  conduct  the  research  for 
the  project  in  manuscript  and  printed  materials.  Mr.  Williams, 
who  has  had  years  of  experience  in  historical  restoration  at  the 
White  House,  Mount  Vernon,  and  elsewhere,  will  be  in  charge  of 
the  archeological  excavations. 

The  Charles  B.  Aycock  Memorial  Commission,  meeting  near 
Goldsboro  on  March  11,  voted  to  launch  a  campaign  to  raise  the 
necessary  funds  to  restore  Aycock's  birthplace  near  Fremont,  in 
northern  Wayne  County. 

On  April  1  in  Chicago  the  Radio  Pioneers  of  America  made 
its  annual  Hall  of  Fame  award  posthumously  to  Professor 
Reginald  K.  Fessenden,  who  in  1902  conducted  significant  experi- 
ments in  "wireless  telegraphy"  on  Roanoke  Island.  The  award 


470  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

was  accepted  by  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  for  the  Fessenden 
National  Memorial  Association,  of  which  Mr.  R.  Bruce  Etheridge 
of  Manteo  is  president. 

On  April  2  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Henry  W. 
Jordan,  chairman  of  the  State  Highway  Commission,  to  discuss 
what  might  be  done  to  preserve  the  remaining  six  or  eight 
covered  bridges  in  the  state.  Dr.  Clarence  Poe  of  Raleigh  was 
chairman  of  the  citizens'  group  organized  for  the  purpose.  Others 
present  were  Dr.  J.  E.  Pritchard  of  Asheboro  for  the  Randolph 
County  Historical  Society;  Mr.  James  S.  Brawley  of  Salisbury 
for  the  Rowan  County  Historical  Society;  Mrs.  Elias  Carr  of 
Macclesfield  for  the  North  Carolina  Society  for  the  Preservation 
of  Antiquities ;  Mr.  John  Tyler  of  Roxobel  for  the  Bertie  County 
Historical  Society ;  Mr.  George  R.  Ross,  Mrs.  Grace  V.  Lane,  and 
Mr.  Thomas  W.  Walker  for  the  State  Department  of  Conservation 
and  Development;  and  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  and  Mr. 
Edwin  A.  Miles  for  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and  His- 
tory. All  present  favored  the  preservation  of  as  many  covered 
bridges  as  practicable  and  it  was  agreed  that  in  every  instance 
where  such  a  bridge  was  about  to  be  demolished  the  Highway 
Commission  would  notify  the  Department  of  Conservation  and 
Development  so  that  an  effort  could  be  made  to  save  the  structure. 
Dr.  Poe  appointed  Mr.  Ross,  Dr.  Crittenden,  and  Mrs.  Carr  to 
serve  as  a  subcommittee  to  handle  such  matters  as  might  come 
up  in  this  connection. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  Historical  Association 
in  Chicago,  April  17  to  19,  Dr.  Irving  B.  Holley  of  Duke  Univer- 
sity read  a  paper,  "Legislation  in  a  Cold  War  Period,  1941-1942," 
and  Dr.  Fletcher  M.  Green  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
presided  at  a  session  on  the  publication  of  documents. 

The  enlarged  library  building  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina at  Chapel  Hill  was  dedicated  on  April  18.  The  structure  in- 
cludes space  for  the  Southern  Historical  Collection  and  the  North 
Carolina  Collection. 

On  April  19  a  marker  for  the  old  block  house  that  marked  the 
western  terminus  of  the  1772  survey  of  the  boundary  between 


Historical  News  471 

the  two  Carolinas  was  unveiled  on  United  States  Route  176  at 
the  state  boundary  just  south  of  the  town  of  Try  on.  Mr.  Carroll 
P.  Rogers  of  Tryon  welcomed  the  group,  Mr.  Clarence  W.  Grif- 
fin of  Forest  City  and  Mrs.  Sadie  S.  Patton  of  Hendersonville 
made  brief  talks,  and  Miss  Betty  Bishop  of  Tryon,  N.  C,  and 
Miss  Irene  Solesbee  of  Landrum,  S.  C,  unveiled  the  marker. 

The  Historical  Society  of  North  Carolina  met  in  Raleigh,  on 
May  2.  At  the  afternoon  meeting  Mr.  Joseph  F.  Steelman  read  a 
paper  entitled  "The  Immigration  Movement  in  North  Carolina, 
1865-1890";  Dr.  Lawrence  F.  Brewster  read  a  paper  entitled 
"From  the  Sound  to  the  Smokies,  North  Carolina  Health  and 
Travel  Resorts" ;  and  Dr.  Phillip  Rice  read  a  paper  entitled  "The 
Early  Development  of  the  Roanoke  Waterway :  A  Study  in  Inter- 
state Relations."  At  the  evening  session  Dr.  D.  J.  Whitener  read  a 
paper  entitled  "The  Republican  Party  and  Public  Education  in 
North  Carolina,  1867-1900." 

The  Department  of  Archives  and  History  has  just  published 
a  facsimile  edition  of  Lemuel  Sawyer's  Blackbeard.  A  Comedy, 
in  Four  Acts.  Founded  on  Fact.  The  book  contains  one  hundred 
pages  and  includes  an  introduction  by  Richard  Walser  of  the 
department  of  English  at  North  Carolina  State  College.  It  may 
be  obtained  by  sending  $1.00  to  the  Division  of  Publications, 
Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Box  1881,  Raleigh. 

A  bimonthly  historical  newsletter,  Carolina  Comments,  is 
being  published  by  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History  and 
will  be  sent  to  all  members  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association.  The  first  issue  appeared  in  May. 

Two  brochures,  "Let's  Visit  the  Hall  of  History"  and  "The 
State  Literary  and  Historical  Association,"  have  been  published 
by  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History  in  the  past  year. 
The  former  contains  instructions  for  teachers  who  plan  to  bring 
school  classes  to  Raleigh  while  the  latter  is  part  of  a  membership 
campaign. 

Mr.  W.  Frank  Burton,  state  archivist  with  the  Department 
of  Archives  and  History,  has  been  appointed  chairman  of  the 


472  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

State  Literary  and  Historical  Association's  Committee  on  His- 
torical Materials. 

The  Department  of  Archives  and  History  has  ordered  a  Re- 
cordak  planetary  microfilm  camera,  Model  D.  This  piece  of  equip- 
ment will  be  used  to  film  many  of  the  records  of  the  Emergency 
Relief  Administration  and  to  make  microfilm  strips  for  persons 
requesting  copies  of  records  in  the  Department's  custody. 

Mr.  Herbert  R.  Paschal,  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Archives  and  History  since  August  1,  1951,  has  resigned 
from  the  Department  and  will  resume  his  graduate  studies  at 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  on  July  1. 

At  Hazel  wood  on  March  15  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  spoke 
to  a  group  interested  in  forming  a  Western  North  Carolina  His- 
torical Association.  A  temporary  organization  was  set  up  to  pro- 
ceed with  plans  to  establish  the  new  association.  On  March  23  he 
spoke  on  "Liberal  versus  Conservative  in  the  American  Revolu- 
tion" at  the  celebration  of  North  Carolina  Day  in  the  Washington 
Memorial  Chapel  at  Valley  Forge,  Pennsylvania.  On  March  25-26 
Mr.  Sam  Weems,  superintendent  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Parkway,  Mr. 
Herbert  Kahler,  chief  historian  of  the  National  Park  Service,  and 
several  members  of  their  staffs  drove  with  Dr.  Crittenden  over 
portions  of  the  Parkway  in  North  Carolina  to  discuss  the  mark- 
ing and  maintenance  of  historic  sites  and  buildings  in  the  area. 
It  was  agreed  that  the  North  Carolina  Department  of  Archives 
and  History  would  obtain  from  local  groups  a  list  of  such  places 
and  pass  the  list  on  to  Parkway  officials.  At  Pembroke  on  April  23 
he  and  Mrs.  Joye  E.  Jordan  met  with  the  Pembroke  State 
College  committee  that  is  establishing  a  local  historical  museum. 
Plans  were  made  for  collecting  and  displaying  materials  relating 
to  the  history  of  the  area.  Dr.  Crittenden  spoke  on  the  subject, 
"Preserving  Tarheel  History,"  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Florida  Historical  Society  in  Jacksonville  on  April  25,  and  he  at- 
tended the  reopening  of  Woodlawn  Plantation,  Mount  Vernon, 
Virginia,  on  May  9  and  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
National  Trust  for  Historic  Preservation  in  the  United  States  and 
the  Executive  Board  of  the  National  Council  for  Historic  Sites 
and  Buildings  in  Washington  on  May  10. 


Historical  News  473 

Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt  of  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History- 
spoke  before  the  Rotary  Club  of  Gastonia  on  April  24  about  the 
accomplishments  of  the  Department. 

Mrs.  Joye  E.  Jordan,  museum  administrator  of  the  Department 
of  Archives  and  History,  attended  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
American  Association  of  Museums  at  Minneapolis,  Minnesota, 
May  28-31.  She  presided  at  a  session  of  the  History  Section  on 
the  subject,  "Responsibilities  of  the  Museum  to  Its  Public." 

The  Department  of  Archives  and  History  has  received  the 
following  publications:  Annual  Report  of  the  Historical  Com* 
mission  of  South  Carolina  to  the  General  Assembly  of  South 
Carolina  at  the  Regular  Session  of  1952,  &  fifteen-page  booklet; 
South  Carolina  Bibliographies,  No.  3A,  A  Checklist  of  South 
Carolina  State  Publications  issued  during  the  Fiscal  Year  July 
1,  19 50- June  30, 1951,  containing  nineteen  pages;  and  A  History 
of  the  Central  Methodist  Church  of  Asheboro,  North  Carolina,  by 
J.  E.  Pritchard,  a  twenty-six  page  booklet  which  costs  fifty  cents, 
or  sixty  by  mail. 


The  State  Literary  and  Historical  Association,  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Historical  Association,  and  the  North  Carolina 
Society  of  County  and  Local  Historians,  will  hold  a  joint  meeting 
at  Boone,  August  30  and  31. 

An  interesting  program  including  a  tour  of  Watauga  County 
and  a  special  performance  of  Kermit  Hunter's  new  outdoor 
drama,  "Horn  of  the  West,"  will  be  arranged.  It  is  hoped  that 
dormitory  rooms  at  Appalachian  State  Teachers  College  can  be 
made  available  for  members  of  these  groups  who  plan  to  attend 
the  meetings.  Announcement  of  the  entire  program  will  be  made 
in  time  for  members  to  make  arrangements  to  attend. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  of  County  and  Local  Historians 
held  its  first  tour  of  the  summer  season  on  May  25  in  Wilkes 
and  Caldwell  counties.  Dr.  J.  E.  Hodges  of  Maiden  led  the  tour, 
which  started  in  Wilkesboro  and  included  visits  to  Tory  Oak, 
Mourne  Rouge,  the  home  of  Governor  Montford  Stokes,  which 


474  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

was  built  in  1810,  Fort  Defiance,  the  home  of  General  William 
Lenoir,  Clover  Hall,  the  home  of  Colonel  Edmund  Jones,  which 
was  built  about  1840,  and  Riverside,  the  home  of  John  Ludwell 
Jones. 

Dr.  Percival  Perry  has  been  advanced  from  the  rank  of  assist- 
ant to  that  of  associate  professor  of  social  sciences  at  Wake 
Forest  College. 

Professor  J.  Curt  Victorius  of  Guilford  College  and  Dr.  Perry 
are  recipients  of  grants  from  the  Republic  Steel  Corporation  and 
will  attend  a  six  weeks  summer  session  at  Case  Institute  of 
Technology,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  June  23  to  August  1.  The  program 
consists  of  (1)  lectures  by  six  authorities  on  current  problems 
in  economics,  (2)  personal  study  of  selected  industries  in  the 
Cleveland  area,  and  (3)  a  demonstration  of  new  techniques  for 
the  teaching  of  economics  developed  by  the  business  world  for 
instructing  their  personnel. 


CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THIS  ISSUE 

Dr.  David  B.  Quinn  is  a  professor  and  head  of  the  department 
of  history,  University  College  of  Swansea,  Swansea,  Wales. 

Mr.  C.  Robert  Haywood,  assistant  professor  of  history  at 
Southwestern  College,  Winfield,  Kansas,  is  on  leave  of  absence 
while  pursuing  studies  for  a  doctoral  degree  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina. 

Dr.  Donald  J.  Rulfs  is  assistant  professor  of  English  at  North 
Carolina  State  College,  Raleigh. 

Dr.  Wilfred  B.  Yearns,  Jr.,  is  assistant  professor  of  history  at 
Wake  Forest  College,  Wake  Forest. 

Miss  Elaine  von  Oesen  is  assistant  professor  of  library  science 
at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel  Hill. 

Dr.  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson  is  a  reference  consultant 
in  the  Manuscript  Division  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 


CONTENTS  OF  LAST  TWO  NUMBERS 

JANUARY,  1952 
ADELAIDE  LlSETTA  FRIES Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

A  Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Carolina  James  s.  Purceii 
Henry  McCulloh  :  Progenitor  op  the  Stamp  Act  .  James  High 
Some  Aspects  op  Society  in  Rural  South 

CAROLINA  IN  1850 Joseph  Davis  Applewhite 

The  Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro 
Education  in  Virginia William  T.  Aiderson,  Jr. 

Unpublished  Letters  op 
Calvin  Henderson  Wiley Mary  Caiium  Wiley 

Letters  from  North  Carolina  to 

ANDREW  JOHNSON Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

Book  Reviews 
Historical  News 

APRIL,  1952 

The  Bar  Examination  and  Beginning  Years  of 
Legal  Practice  in  North  Carolina, 

1820-1860     . .  Fannie  Memory  Farmer 

Electioneering  in  North  Carolina, 

1800-1835     John  Chalmers  Vinson 

JIM  POLK  GOES  TO  CHAPEL  HILL Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr. 

The  Hatteras  Expedition,  August,  1861 James  m.  Merrill 

Paper  Manufacturing  in  South  Carolina 

BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR Ernest  M.   Lander,  Jr. 

Papers  from  the  Fifty-First  Annual  Session  of  the  State 
Literary  and  Historical  Association,  Raleigh,  December  7, 
1951 

INTRODUCTION    Christopher  Crittenden 

Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a 

COLONIAL  TOWN E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr. 

North  Carolina  Non-Fiction  Works 

FOR  1951 Frontis  W.  Johnston 

Letters  from  North  Carolina  to 

ANDREW  JOHNSON Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

North  Carolina  Bibliography, 

1950-1951 Mary  Lindsay  Thornton 

Book  Reviews 
Historical  News 


i        n     >  * 


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THK 


North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 


Issued  Quarterly 


Volume  XXIX 


Number  4 


OCTOBER,  1952 


Published  by 

STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Corner  of  Edenton  and  Salisbury  streets 
Raleigh,  N.  C. 


...  ...  •     •    <crr  A  cl  %« 


« «    *   ,   <  <  « *  •  * 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORICAL  REVIEW 


Published  by  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and  History 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


Christopher  Crittenden,  Editor 
David  Leroy  Corbitt,  Managing  Editor 


ADVISORY  EDITORIAL  BOARD 
Walter  Clinton  Jackson  Hugh  Talmage  Lefler 

Frontis  Withers  Johnston  Douglas  LeTell  Rights 

George  Myers  Stephens 


STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARCHIVES  AND  HISTORY 

Benjamin  Franklin  Brown,  Chairman 
Gertrude  Sprague  Carraway  McDaniel  Lewis 

Clarence  W.  Griffin  Mrs.  Sadie  Smathers  Patton 

William  Thomas  Laprade  Mrs.  Callie  Pridgen  Williams 

Christopher  Crittenden,  Director 


This  review  was  established  in  January,  192U,  as  a  medium  of  publication 
and  discussion  of  history  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  issued  to  other  institutions 
by  exchange,  but  to  the  general  public  by  subscription  only.  The  regular 
price  is  $2.00  per  year.  To  members  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association  there  is  a  special  price  of  $1.00  per  year.  Back  numbers  may  be 
procured  at  the  regular  price  of  $2.00  per  volume,  or  $.50  per  number. 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  OCTOBER,  1952  Number  4 

CONTENTS 

WALTER  HINES  PAGE  AND  THE  SPIRIT  OF 

THE  NEW  SOUTH 481 

Charles  Griek  Sellers,  Jr. 

CALVIN  H.  WILEY'S  NORTH  CAROLINA  READER   ...  .500 

Howard  Braverman 

THE  LAND  VALUATIONS  OF  IREDELL  COUNTY 

IN  1800 523 

Hugh   Hill  Wooten 

PAMELA  SAVAGE  OF  CHAMPLAIN, 

HEALTH  SEEKER  IN  OXFORD 540 

Helen  Harriet  Salls 

LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO  ANDREW 

JOHNSON 569 

Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

BOOK  REVIEWS    579 

Griffin's  History  of  Rutherford  County,  1937-1951 — 
By  Percival  Perry;  McCoy's  The  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Asheville,  N.  C,  1794-1951— By  George  W. 
Paschal;  Woody' s  The  Papers  and  Addresses  of  Wil- 
liam Preston  Feiv:  Late  President  of  Duke  University — 
By  David  A.  Lockmiller;  Stick's  Graveyard  of  the 
Atlantic:  Shipwrecks  of  the  North  Carolina  Coast — 
By  Robert  H.  Woody;  Willison's  Behold  Virginia! 
The  Fifth  Crown — By  William  S.  Powell;  Ches- 
NUTT'S  Charles  Waddell  Chesnutt:  Pioneer  of  the  Color 
Line — by  Louise  Greer;  Montgomery's  Cracker 
Parties — By  Glenn  W.  Rainey  ;  Mangum's  The  Legal 
Status  of  the  Tenant  Farmer  in  the  Southeast — By 
Fannie  Memory  Farmer. 

HISTORICAL  NEWS  590 

Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  29,  1928,  at  the  Post  Office  at 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

[i] 


The  North  Carolina 
Historical  Review 

Volume  XXIX  OCTOBER,  1952  Number  4 

WALTER  HINES  PAGE  AND  THE  SPIRIT  OF 

THE  NEW  SOUTH 

By  Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr. 

Appomattox  marked  the  national  triumph  of  an  aggressive 
capitalism  over  the  agrarian  economy  of  an  older  America.  South 
of  the  Potomac  scores  of  leaders  of  the  Confederacy  itself  set  to 
work  to  make  over  the  conquered  land  in  the  image  of  the  vic- 
torious North.  But  apathy,  inertia,  and  the  ghosts  of  the  past 
fought  as  stiff  a  rear  guard  action  against  the  forces  of  the 
future  as  had  the  armies  of  Lee.  Commercial  and  industrial  in 
its  essence,  the  New  South  program  called  to  its  aid  not  only  men 
like  Joseph  E.  Brown  and  James  B.  Duke,  but  also  a  corps  of 
younger  men.  Rebelling  against  the  nostalgia  and  complacency  of 
the  1870's  and  1880's,  these  younger  men  were  often  patriots 
and  idealists;  they  added  to  the  campaign  for  industrialization 
proposals  for  public  schools,  improved  agriculture,  and  better- 
ment of  the  Negro's  lot.  One  of  the  most  effective  members  of 
this  group  was  Walter  Hines  Page,  whose  role  as  a  prophet  of 
the  New  South  has  been  overshadowed  by  his  more  conspicuous 
service  as  American  ambassador  in  London  during  World  War  I. 

The  Pages  had  not  sympathized  with  the  exaggerated  sec- 
tionalism of  the  prewar  South.  Walter's  grandfather,  Anderson 
Page,  a  member  of  North  Carolina's  unpretentious  small  planter 
class,  had  shaped  his  thinking  before  Jeffersonian  liberalism  was 
blighted  by  slavery  and  intersectional  strife.  The  spirit  of  these 
earlier  days  was  eagerly  absorbed  by  young  Walter  during  fre- 
quent visits  to  the  "Old  Place."  To  Nicholas  Worth,  hero  of 
Page's  semi-autobiographical  novel,  The  Southerner,  "the  Old 
Place  was  the  background  of  my  life,  therefore,  a  sort  of  home 
back  of  my  home."1  Nor  did  Walter's  father,  Allison  F.  Page,  look 


Nicholas  Worth  [pseud.,  Walter  H.  Page],  The  Southerner   (New  York,  1909),  25. 

[  481  ] 


482  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

back  fondly  to  the  days  before  the  war ;  he  had  denounced  seces- 
sion as  "the  most  foolhardy  enterprise  that  man  ever  under- 
took."2 After  the  war  he  laid  off  a  town,  established  an  academy, 
built  cotton  and  tobacco  factories  and  a  railroad,  and  began  the 
development  of  the  North  Carolina  sandhills  region.3 

Walter  Page's  experiences  as  a  young  man  produced  in  him  a 
nationalism  as  strong  as  the  unionism  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father. Most  of  his  formal  education  was  in  southern  schools — 
the  celebrated  Bingham  School  at  Mebane,  North  Carolina,  tiny 
Trinity  College,  and  Randolph-Macon  College.  His  fine  work  in 
Greek  at  Randolph-Macon  brought  him  a  momentous  opportunity 
upon  his  graduation  in  1876.  He  was  selected  as  one  of  the  first 
twenty  fellows  of  Johns  Hopkins  University,  then  beginning  the 
unique  program  of  graduate  study  which  had  such  a  profound 
effect  on  American  scholarship.  The  broadening  influence  of 
Page's  association  at  Hopkins  with  an  unusually  gifted  group 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  is  suggested  by  Nicholas  Worth's 
description  of  his  parallel  experience  at  Harvard : 

But  what  an  emancipation  I  owed  to  that  candid  and  straight 
habit  of  thought  and  life  which  had  no  intellectual  punishment 
for  those  who  differed  with  it,  at  least  on  the  subjects  about  which 
I  was  then  especially  concerned. 

I  even  now  recall  with  gratitude  the  freedom  that  I  felt.  .  .  .4 

Page  was  born  to  preach — whether  his  forum  were  pulpit, 
lecture  room,  or  editorial  column — and  his  favorite  target  was 
the  South.  His  earliest  exhortation  came  at  the  end  of  his  first 
year  at  Hopkins,  when,  in  the  course  of  a  pilgrimage  to  the  great 
German  universities,  he  addressed  a  long  letter  to  The  Observer 
(Raleigh,  North  Carolina).  By  now  a  bit  of  an  intellectual  snob, 
he  complained  mainly  of  the  narrowness  of  the  South.  The  most 
important  lesson  for  southerners  to  learn  was  "the  lesson  of 
scholarship,  the  lesson  of  education,  the  lesson  of  culture."5  His 
mind  was  already  turning  to  practical  measures,  and  his  letter 
hailed  "the  coming  of  an  earnester  interest  in  our  educational 
matters,"  as  "an  expression  of  the  spirit  of  the  old  days  in  its 


2  Burton    J.    Hendrick,    The    Life   and    Letters   of    Walter    H.    Page    (3    vols.    Garden    City, 
1922-1925),  I,  5. 

3  J.   N.    Cole,    "Allison    Francis    Page,"    in    Samuel    A.    Ashe,    ed.,    Biographical    History    of 
North  Carolina  from  Colonial  Times  to  the  Present    (8  vols.  Greensboro,  1905-1917),  III,  308. 

4  Worth,   The  Southerner,  96. 

G  Burton    J.    Hendrick,    The    Training   of   an   American:    The   Earlier    Life    and    Letters    of 
Walter  H.  Page,  1855-19 IS   (Boston,  1928),  93. 


Walter  Hines  Page  483 

second  coming."  But  he  attached  a  fundamental  condition  to  this 
appeal  to  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Place,  the  spirit  of  Calvin  Wiley 
and  Archibald  Murphey. 

For  it  is  after  all  only  the  spirit  of  the  old  time  that  we  must  re- 
tain. .  .  .  we  can  afford,  and  must  afford,  for  the  methods  of  our 
fathers  to  die  with  the  age  they  served.  For  we  need  newer  and 
later  for  our  newer  and  later  life.  Thus  alone  can  we  make 
advances.6 

Before  his  second  year  at  Hopkins  was  out,  Page  tired  of 
literary  scholarship,  resigned  his  fellowship,  and  returned  home. 
The  next  few  years  saw  him  struggling  to  find  a  proper  field  for 
his  hortatory  talents— he  even  considered  the  Unitarian  ministry 
for  a  time.7  But  he  finally  settled  on  teaching.  His  failure  to 
obtain  a  permanent  position  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
rankled  deeply.  "I  shall  some  day,"  he  wrote,  "buy  a  home  where 
I  was  not  allowed  to  work  for  one,  and  be  laid  away  in  the  soil 
that  I  love.  I  wanted  to  work  for  the  old  state ;  it  had  no  need  for 
it,  it  seems."8  After  a  year's  teaching  in  a  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
high  school  and  an  abortive  attempt  to  launch  a  magazine,  he 
turned  to  journalism  and  obtained  a  place  on  the  St.  Joseph 
Gazette  (Missouri). 

It  was  in  this  period  that  Page  wrote  for  The  Atlantic  Monthly 
his  first  formal  critique  of  southern  society,  a  "Study  of  an  Old 
Southern  Borough."9  In  this  picture  of  the  complacent  squalor 
of  the  southern  small  town,  there  appears  the  gentleman  of  the 
old  school,  reading  eighteenth-century  literature  and  talking 
interminably,  often  as  not  about  the  theory  of  secession.  Here  is 
the  great  host  of  idle  and  unambitious  storekeepers.  They  are 
proud  of  the  borough  as  it  is ;  "they  are  the  hardest  men  in  the 
world  to  move  to  put  forth  an  effort,  even  for  their  own  improve- 
ment." Here  is  the  energetic  lad  being  driven  from  home  by  "the 
mental  stagnation  of  his  surroundings."  And  here  also  is  another 
figure — along  with  the  educator  to  be  Page's  premier  saviour  of 
the  South — the  enterprising  man  of  business.  He  has  "a  fresher 


«  Observer  (Raleigh),  October  27,  1877. 

7  Hendrick,  Training  of  an  American,  128-129. 

8  Hendrick,   Life  and  Letters,   I,   31. 

9  Walter   H.    Page,    "Study    of   an    Old    Southern    Borough,"    in    Atlantic    Monthly,    XLVII 
(May,  1881),  648-658. 


484  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

tone  of  voice,  a  more  energetic  step,  a  readier  wit  for  a  bargain, 
than  any  other  man  in  the  borough/'  "  'If  we  had  men  of  capital 
to  build  here,'  "  he  says. 

...  we  could  grow  to  be  of  some  commercial  importance.  Here  is 
waterpower  enough  to  spin  and  weave  all  the  cotton  grown  in 
the  State,  and  the  facilities  for  shipping  would  enable  us  to  be- 
come a  great  manufacturing  people.  .  .  .  We  need  a  more  spirited 
public — more  push.  Indeed,  the  very  worst  lingering  effect  of  the 
war  upon  our  society  is  this  narrow  way  of  looking  upon  the 
State's  advancement  and  this  immovable  prejudice  in  favor  of 
old  institutions. 

Page's  article  had  no  sooner  appeared  than  he  resigned  his 
Missouri  position  and  set  out  on  a  tour  of  the  South,  writing  a 
series  of  letters  for  the  World  (New  York)  and  other  papers.  He 
again  elaborated  his  criticisms  of  the  old  southern  borough,  but 
he  also  reported  many  signs  that  the  past  was  being  forgotten 
and  that  a  new  spirit  was  stirring.10  On  the  strength  of  these 
articles,  Page  secured  a  job  with  the  World.  Here  he  moved  more 
than  ever  before  in  a  national  setting.  After  less  than  two  years, 
however,  he  resigned  with  the  rest  of  the  editorial  staff  when 
Joseph  Pulitzer  took  over  the  paper.  With  a  broad  journalistic 
experience  behind  him,  he  felt  again  the  desire  to  return  and 
serve  the  old  commonwealth ;  and  the  best  organ  for  his  message 
would  be  a  newspaper  in  the  state  capital. 

Purchasing  the  weekly  State  Chronicle  at  Raleigh  in  1883, 
Page  took  up  the  new  enterprise  with  energy  and  ability.  The 
forceful  make-up  he  adopted  and  his  terse,  lively,  hard-hitting 
style  quickly  placed  the  Chronicle  in  happy  contrast  with  the 
dreary  productions  of  his  competitors.  It  was  characteristic  of 
the  man  that  he  substituted  the  third  person  for  the  pompous 
editorial  "we."  But  the  content  and  spirit  of  the  paper  were  its 
most  striking  qualities.  Page  spent  much  of  his  time  traveling  up 
and  down  North  Carolina  looking  for  indications  of  enterprise, 
and  he  filled  his  columns  with  enthusiastic  descriptions  of  what- 
ever educational  or  industrial  activity  he  could  find.  Every  issue 
described  the  stirrings  of  progress  in  two  different  towns  of  the 
state. 


10  These  articles  are  reprinted   in   Hendriek,   Training  of  an  American,   137-154. 


Walter  Hines  Page  485 

Page's  editorials  featured  constructive  plans  for  developing 
North  Carolina.  The  new  editor  was  barely  embarked  before  he 
suggested  holding  a  Raleigh  Exposition,  modeled  on  the  Atlanta 
Exposition;  his  ninth  issue  was  able  to  report  that  Raleigh 
businessmen  and  other  groups  over  the  state  had  rallied  to  the 
idea,  and  the  exposition  was  held  successfully  in  the  fall  of  1884.11 
Page  stressed  again  and  again  the  need  for  public  schools.12 
Businessmen  were  praised  at  every  opportunity;  for  example, 
"the  builders  of  railroads  are  now  without  exception  the  most 
important  developers  of  North  Carolina."13  Through  it  all  runs 
the  challenge  to  be  up  and  doing.  "The  work  we  have  to  do  in 
North  Carolina  now  is  to  improve  our  farms,  to  build  up  our 
waste  places,  and  to  turn  our  manifold  natural  wealth  into 
articles  of  use.  We  need  money  and  muscle  more  than  we  need 
anything  else.14 

The  special  tobacco  number  deserves  particular  mention.  It 
boasted  of  being  the  largest  paper  and  the  largest  edition — 25,000 
copies — ever  published  in  the  state.  General  accounts  of  the 
tobacco  industry,  pictures  of  tobacco  factories,  maps,  charts, 
statistics,  and  descriptions  of  the  principal  producing  and 
processing  towns,  counties,  and  companies  went  to  make  up  an 
impressive  brochure.  One  of  the  themes  of  the  issue  was  splashed 
in  bold  letters  across  the  bottom  of  one  page :  "The  Health  of  our 
Dukes — When  our  old  Civilization  was  Rolled  up  by  War  as  a 
Scroll  and  Filed  aivay,  They  and  such  as  They  by  their  Industry 
and  Daring  made  on  our  Empoverished  Soil  a  Richer  Civilization 
than  the  Old  Times  Kneiv."  And  in  the  editorial  appeared  the 
perennial  Page  optimism :  "We  are  all  in  a  new  humor  in  North 
Carolina.  We  propose  to  make  things  go."15 

Page  wisely  refrained  from  stepping  on  too  many  toes  in  print. 
He  joined  vigorously  in  the  local  game  of  Republican  baiting. 
When  the  state  Democratic  convention  met  in  1884,  he  contented 
himself  with  suggesting  that  a  well-trained  man  be  nominated 
for  superintendent  of  public  instruction  and  then  endorsed  the 
entire  party  ticket  without  qualification.  Nowhere  in  the  sur- 
viving copies  for  these  years  are  to  be  found  the  direct  attacks 


11  State  Chronicle   (Raleigh),  November  10,  1883. 
^State  Chronicle,  November  17,  1883;  June  7,  1884, 

13  State  Chronicle,  June  28,  1884. 

14  State  Chronicle,  November  10,  1883. 
16  State  Chronicle,  May  31,  1884. 


486  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

on  state  officials  which  appear  under  the  later  editorship  of 
Josephus  Daniels.16  But  tact  on  the  printed  page  did  not  guaran- 
tee harmony  with  the  Confederate  veterans  who  ruled  Raleigh 
society  and  North  Carolina  politics.  It  is  all  too  likely  that  they 
were  annoyed  by  Page's  impatience  for  change  and  his  fondness 
for  the  clever  but  cutting  phrase.  A  key  to  the  real  situation  may 
be  found  in  Nicholas  Worth's  experience  in  Marlborough,  a 
thinly  disguised  Raleigh. 

In  men's  society  in  Marlborough,  a  freedom  was  granted  that  was 
never  allowed  at  the  fireside  or  in  public.  I  could  talk  in  private 
with  Senator  Barker  himself  about  Jefferson  Davis  or  about  edu- 
cating the  Negro.  He  was  tolerant  of  all  private  opinions,  pri- 
vately expressed  among  men  only.  But  the  moment  that  an 
objectionable  opinion  was  put  forth  publicly  or  in  the  presence 
of  women  or  to  Negroes,  that  was  another  matter.  Then  it 
touched  our  Sacred  Dead,  our  Hearthstones,  etc.,  etc.  .  .  .  For 
these  men  who  ruled  by  the  ghost  called  Public  Opinion  held  the 
country  and  all  the  people  back  almost  in  the  same  economic  and 
social  state  in  which  slavery  had  left  them.  There  was  no  hope  for 
the  future  under  their  domination.17 

At  any  rate,  Page  was  dissatisfied.  In  order  to  extend  his  in- 
fluence, he  converted  the  Chronicle  into  a  daily,  but  was  soon 
having  a  desperate  time  financially.  Finally,  in  the  winter  of 
1884-1885,  he  made  a  last  effort  to  keep  the  paper  going  by  trying 
to  get  the  state  printing.  But  as  another  Tarheel  editor  reported, 
"Page  was  no  politician,  not  even  a  general  mixer,  and  did  not 
win."18  Forced  back  onto  a  weekly  basis  and  thoroughly  dis- 
couraged, Page  in  February,  1885,  abandoned  his  final  attempt 
to  make  a  way  for  himself  in  the  old  commonwealth  and  returned 
to  the  North. 

Back  in  New  York,  Page  joined  the  staff  of  the  Brooklyn 
Union.  But  he  by  no  means  forgot  North  Carolina.  In  October, 
1885,  the  Chronicle,  which  had  been  taken  over  by  Page's  friend, 
Josephus  Daniels,  began  to  publish  a  series  of  weekly  Page  let- 
ters. The  early  numbers  dealt  mainly  with  national  affairs, 
especially    civil    service    reform,    but   occasional   barbed    para- 


18  State  Chronicle,  November  10,  1883;  June  14,  28,  1884.  No  considerable  file  of  the 
Chronicle  for  the  period  of  Page's  editorship  has  been  located.  Scattered  issues  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Library  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel  Hill,  and  in  the  North 
Carolina  State  Library,  Raleigh. 

"Worth,   The  Southerner,  314-315. 

18  Josephus  Daniels,   Tar  Heel  Editor   (Chapel  Hill,  1939),  96. 


Walter  Hines  Page  487 

graphs19  presaged  a  major  assault  on  the  backwardness  of  the 
Old  North  State.  Early  in  February,  1886,  appeared  the  first  of 
the  celebrated  "Mummy  Letters." 

It  is  an  awfully  discouraging  business  to  undertake  to  prove  to 
a  Mummy  that  it  is  a  Mummy.  You  go  up  to  it  and  say,  "Old 
Fellow,  the  Egyptian  dynasties  crumbled  several  thousand  years 
ago;  you  are  a  fish  out  of  water.  .  .  ."  The  old  thing  grins  that 
grin  which  death  put  on  its  solemn  features  when  the  world 
was  young ;  and  your  task  is  so  pitiful  that  even  the  humour  of 
it  is  gone. 

Give  it  up !  It  can't  be  done.  .  .  .  They  don't  want  an  industrial 
school.  That  means  a  new  idea  and  a  new  idea  is  death  to  the 
supremacy  of  the  Mummies.  .  .  .  There  is  not  a  man  whose 
residence  is  in  the  State  who  is  recognized  by  the  world  as  an 
authority  on  anything.  Since  time  began,  no  man  or  no  woman 
who  lived  there  has  ever  written  a  book  that  has  taken  a  place 
in  the  permanent  literature  of  the  country.  Not  a  man  ever  lived 
and  worked  there  who  fills  twenty-five  words  in  any  history  of  the 
United  States.  Not  a  scientific  discovery  has  been  made  and 
worked  out  and  kept  its  home  in  North  Carolina  that  has  ever 
become  famous  for  the  good  it  did  the  world.  It  is  the  laughing 
stock  among  the  States.  .  .  . 

The  most  of  the  active  and  useful  and  energetic  men  born  in 
North  Carolina  have  gone  away.  .  .  .  Even  with  our  material  ad- 
vancement of  late  years,  there  is  no  appreciation  of  scholarship, 
no  chance  for  intellectual  growth.  .  .  .  When  every  effort  to 
broaden  the  people  into  a  great  commonwealth  that  shall  lead 
in  the  Union — every  movement — is  balked  by  the  dead  weight  of 
these  provincial  and  ignorant  men,  who  are  suffered  to  rule  by 
heredity  and  by  their  general  respectability  in  private  life — 
there  is  absolutely  no  chance  for  ambitious  men  of  ability,  pro- 
portionate to  their  ability.  We  say  easily  that  it  is  the  fault  of 
the  times,  of  circumstances.  It  is  the  fault  of  the  insufferable 
narrowness  and  mediocrity  that  balks  everything.  .  .  . 

It  is  the  Mummies.  And  the  Mummies  have  the  directing  of 
things.  .  .  .  Yet  when  a  man  tells  the  plain  truth  because  he  loves 
North  Carolina,  the  same  fellows  yell,  "Traitor!".  .  .  The  mis- 
fortune is,  nobody  questions  their  right.  Of  the  thousands  of 
men  who  know  I  am  writing  the  truth,  not  one  in  ten  will  say  so 
publicly. . . .  Men  in  North  Carolina  do  not  speak  what  they  think, 
but  submit  (as  no  other  people  have  ever  submitted)  to  the 
guidance  of  the  dead.  I  hold  this  to  be  cowardly.  I  think  the  time 
has  come  for  getting  at  the  truth,  for  independent  action,  for  a 
declaration  of  independence  from  the  tyranny  of  hindering  tra- 
ditions. In  God's  name,  with  such  a  State,  filled  with  such  people, 
with  such  opportunities,  are  we  to  sit  down  quietly  forever  and 
allow  every  enterprise  that  means  growth,  every  idea  that  means 

19  See  especially  Page's  letters  in  the  State  Chronicle  for  October  6,  November  6,  26,  Decem- 
ber 3,  1885;  January  28,  1886. 


488  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

intellectual  freedom,  to  perish,  and  the  State  to  lag  behind  al- 
ways, because  a  few  Mummies  will  be  offended?  It  would  be 
cheaper  to  pension  them  all,  than  longer  to  listen  to  them.20 

The  letter  stirred  up  a  storm  in  the  state,  with  seven  or  eight 
newspapers  criticizing  the  Chronicle  for  publishing  it  and  with 
Daniels  urging  a  fair  hearing  for  his  correspondent  and  partly 
agreeing  with  him.  The  controversy — with  replies  and  further 
charges  by  Page,  editorials  by  Daniels,  and  contributions,  pro, 
con,  and  neutral — filled  the  pages  of  the  Chronicle  for  many 
weeks.  Page's  last  blast  appeared  April  22,  though  his  letters  on 
national  affairs  continued  to  run  until  October.21  Intemperate  as 
it  was,  Page's  attack  probably  made  few  converts  to  his  cause. 
But  his  bold  words  found  a  ready  response  in  the  minds  of  the 
rising  generation  of  builders  of  a  new  North  Carolina.  A  young 
Goldsboro  lawyer,  Charles  B.  Aycock,  wrote  to  Page  that  "fully 
three  fourths  of  the  people  are  with  you  and  wish  you  God  speed 
in  your  effort  to  arouse  better  work,  greater  thought  and  activity, 
and  freer  opinions  in  the  State."22 

All  the  while,  Page  was  busily  engaged  in  newspaper  work 
in  New  York.  After  two  years  on  the  Brooklyn  Union  and  a  short 
period  on  the  New  York  Post,  he  entered  the  magazine  field,  be- 
coming business  manager  of  Forum.  It  was  in  this  area  that 
he  was  to  have  his  greatest  success,  and  his  progress  was  rapid. 
Within  four  years  he  was  promoted  to  the  editorship  of  Forum, 
and  he  quickly  made  that  moribund  journal  the  most  widely  cir- 
culated magazine  of  its  kind.  Following  a  dispute  with  the 
owners  over  the  magazine's  control,  he  went  in  1895  to  the 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company  of  Boston  as  literary  adviser ;  within 
two  years  he  was  associate  editor  of  their  Atlantic  Monthly  and 
a  year  later  he  became  sole  editor.  But  in  1899,  determined  to 
have  a  magazine  of  his  own,  he  resigned  from  the  Atlantic  and 
joined  with  Frank  N.  Doubleday  to  found  the  publishing  house 
of  Doubleday,  Page  and  Company.  In  November,  1900,  appeared 
the  first  number  of  World's  Work,  which,  under  Page's  editor- 
ship, rapidly  gained  a  wide  circulation.  It  was  to  be  his  personal 
organ  until  his  departure  for  Great  Britain  in  1913. 


20  State  Chronicle,  February  4,  1886. 

21  State  Chronicle,  February  11-April  22,  1886. 

22  Hendrick,  Training  of  an  American,  182. 


Walter  Hines  Page  489 

Despite  the  great  activity  and  success  of  these  years,  the 
problems  of  his  native  South  continued  to  absorb  much  of  Page's 
thought  and  energy.  In  addresses,  articles,  books,  and  the  col- 
umns of  his  magazines,  he  continued  to  pound  away  at  all  the 
things  which  hindered  southern  progress.  But  his  criticisms 
underwent  a  change.  As  he  got  farther  away  from  the  personal 
disappointments  of  the  earlier  years,  his  strictures  came  to  be 
merely  incidental  to  sound  proposals  for  remedying  southern  ills. 
It  was  a  wiser  Page  who  wrote  in  1902 : 

After  many  impatient  efforts  we  should  learn  the  wisdom  of  try- 
ing to  find  out  their  point  of  view  and  of  contenting  ourselves 
with  seeing  them  advance  in  their  own  way,  even  if  they  came 
slowly  and  seemed  stupid.  Teaching  one's  ancestors  is  at  best  a 
difficult  undertaking;  for  it  is  not  the  same  task  as  teaching 
one's  descendants.  What  a  lot  of  disappointing  effort  this  genera- 
tion might  have  been  saved  if  it  had  known  this  simple  truth 
somewhat  sooner.23 

As  his  emphasis  shifted  the  South  itself  began  to  put  a  different 
valuation  on  his  message.  When  Page  gave  his  memorable  "For- 
gotten Man"  address  at  the  North  Carolina  Normal  School  in 
1897,  the  speech  was  applauded  by  the  state's  leading  news- 
papers, the  Charlotte  Observer  saying : 

Mr.  Walter  Page  spoke  the  truth  very  bluntly  about  us  all ;  it 
hurt  and  we  squealed.  But  we  believe  that  he  had  then  and  has 
now  the  true  interests  of  North  Carolina  deeply  at  heart.  We  are 
used  to  praise,  and  to  adulation.  We  need  sometimes  to  be  re- 
minded with  plain  speaking  of  our  faults.24 

What,  then,  were  Page's  prescriptions  for  the  South?  His 
philosophy  of  southern  progress  centered  around  "two  great 
constructive  forces."  The  first  was  industry,  which  had  "already 
given  the  essential  power  over  to  a  class  of  men  that  bring  mo- 
bility to  social  life  and  opportunity  to  them  that  can  take  it."25 
Men  of  affairs  were  better  able  than  anyone  else  to  overcome  the 
Mummies.  "Commerce,"  Page  pointed  out,  "has  no  social  il- 
lusions ;  it  has  the  knack  of  rooting  up  vested  social  interests  that 


23  Walter  H.  Page,  "The  Rebuilding  of  Old  Commonwealths,"  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  LXXXIX 
(May,  1902),  651. 

2i  News  and  Observer  (Raleigh),  September  22,  1938,  quoting  Charlotte  Observer,  May  19, 
1897. 

25  Page,  "The  Rebuilding  of  Old  Commonwealths,"  659. 


490  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

stand  in  its  way."26  All  of  this  was,  of  course,  in  addition  to  the 
fundamental  fact  that  only  through  industrialization  could  the 
South  make  the  most  of  its  natural  and  human  resources. 

Page's  second  great  regenerative  force  was  universal  public 
education,  which  he  championed  not  only  on  the  basis  of  democ- 
racy but  also  from  practical  considerations.  "The  doctrine  of 
equality  of  opportunity,"  he  wrote,  "is  at  the  bottom  of  social 
progress,  for  you  can  never  judge  a  man's  capacity  except  as  he 
has  opportunity  to  develop  it."27  It  was  with  this  in  mind  that  he 
so  often  spoke  of  education  as  "training."  Right  training  is  that 
which  increases  people's  earnings.  The  result  is  a  prosperous 
community,  and  this,  he  asserted,  makes  for  real  democracy.28 
Page's  ideal  school,  by  training  both  people's  hands  and  their 
minds,  "simply  opens  to  them  all  the  intellectual  life  and  the 
way  to  useful  occupations  at  the  same  time."29  Page  insisted  that 
even  the  most  stubborn  southern  problems  would  disappear  in  the 
face  of  educational  progress.  Education  in  the  South  is,  therefore, 

something  more  than  the  teaching  of  youth ;  it  is  the  building  of 
a  great  new  social  order.  The  far-reaching  quality  of  the  work 
that  the  energetic  educators  of  the  South  are  doing  lifts  them  out 
of  the  ranks  of  the  mere  schoolmasters  and  puts  them  on  the  level 
of  constructive  statesmen.30 

Fortified  by  his  faith  in  industry  and  education,  Page  faced 
the  problems  of  the  Negro's  place  in  southern  life  with  great 
optimism.  He  based  his  attitude  on  sound  democratic  doctrine, 
writing  that  "in  any  proper  scheme  of  education,  there  are  no 
white  men,  no  black  men — only  men."31  In  the  same  vein  he  once 
chided  Edwin  A.  Alderman  and  Charles  D.  Mclver  for  their 
southern  prejudice  in  refusing  to  have  lunch  with  Booker  T. 
Washington  and  another  Negro.32  He  was  thoroughly  opposed  to 
Negro  disfranchisement,  though  he  advised  his  northern  readers 
that  the  South  could  not  be  forced  to  let  the  Negro  vote,  by  ruling 
of  the  Supreme  Court  or  by  any  other  means.33  Believing  as  he 


28  Walter  H.  Page,  "The  Last  Hold  of  the  Southern  Bully,"  in  Forum,  XVI  (November, 
1893),  313-314. 

27  Walter  H.  Page,  The  Rebuilding  of  Old  Commonwealths:  Being  Essays  Towards  the 
Training  of  the  Forgotten  Men  in  the  Southern  States  (New  York,  1902),  4. 

28  Walter  H.  Page,  "The  Unfulfilled  Ambition  of  the  South,"  in  Proceedings  of  the  Confer- 
ence for  Education  in  the  South.  7th  Session   (New  York,  1904),  101-103. 

29  Page,  Rebuilding  of  Old  Commonwealths,  80-82. 

80  Page,  Rebuilding  of  Old  Commonwealths,  150. 

81  Worth,  The  Southerner,  385. 

82  Daniels,   Tar  Heel  Editor,  258. 

83  W.  H.  Page,  "How  Negro  Disfranchisement  Has  Worked,"  in  World's  Work,  I  (Feb- 
ruary, 1901),  361-362;  W.  H.  Page,  "The  Supreme  Court  and  Negro  Suffrage."  in  World's 
Work,  VI   (1903),  3491-3492. 


Walter  Hines  Page  491 

did  in  education  and  work  as  regenerative  social  forces,  it  is 
not  surprising  to  find  that  he  was  a  warm  supporter  of  Booker 
T.  Washington's  program  for  the  Negro.  He  approved  Washing- 
ton's statement  that  "in  the  final  test  the  success  of  our  race  will 
be  proportionate  to  the  service  that  it  renders  the  world,"34  and 
agreed  with  him  that  the  job  was  one  of  both  industrial  education 
and  character  building.35  These  measures,  he  thought,  would  take 
care  of  the  situation.  "What  you  mean  by  the  race  problem,"  he 
said,  "is,  we  hope,  a  temporary  trouble.  ...  It  is  all  a  matter  of 
right  training."36  And  yet,  at  other  times,  he  showed  real  insight 
into  the  depths  of  the  problem  of  race,  as  when  he  recorded 
Nicholas  Worth's  shock  at  the  movement  for  Negro  disfranchise- 
ment. 

A  large  part  of  the  Southern  people  had  persuaded  themselves 
that  the  Negro  must  be  kept  to  a  level  reminiscent  of  slavery,  for- 
getting that  on  this  level  he  can  be  only  a  burden.  .  .  .  Yet,  clear 
as  this  conclusion  is,  when  it  is  reasoned  out,  what  are  we  to 
expect  of  the  emotional  qualities  of  Southern  life?  Have  slavery 
and  the  presence  of  the  Negro  caused  a  permanent  loss  of  white 
character  in  the  South,  so  that  fear  rules  where  reason  ought  to 
sit?37 

Nationalist  that  he  was,  Page  hoped  the  South  might  one  day 
resume  the  place  in  national  political  life  that  it  had  held  in  the 
early  years  of  the  republic.  With  the  advent  of  Bryan,  he  had 
deserted  the  Democrats,  and  he  regretted  that  "the  best  character 
and  thought  of  the  South  should  find  political  expression  through 
neither  party."38  Urging  "Southern  men  of  character"  to  organize 
a  movement  "for  sound  money  and  national  honor,"39  he  looked 
forward  to  a  revival  of  Republicanism  and  the  two-party  system. 
The  address  in  which  President-elect  Taft  promised  to  follow  a 
conciliatory  course  toward  the  South  was  delivered  to  the  North 
Carolina  Society  of  New  York  and  followed  a  speech  by  Page  in 
which  he  asserted  that  "we  [North  Carolinians]  rush  in  where 
Texas  and  Virginia  fear  to  tread,  and  we  shall  welcome  the  im- 
pending and  inevitable  breaking  of  the  Solid  South  (perhaps  we 


34  W.  H.  Page,  "Lincoln  and  the  Negro,"  in  World's  Work,  XVII    (April,  1909),  11,  420. 

35  Walter  H.  Page,  "Mr.  Washington's  Book,"  in  Book  Buyer,  XX   (March,  1900),  144-145. 

36  Worth,  The  Southerner,  385. 

37  Nicholas  Worth   [pseud.,  Walter  H.  Page],   "The  Authobiography  of  a  Southerner  since 
the  Civil  War,"  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  XCVIII    (October,  1906),  486. 

38  Walter  H.  Page,  "Is  the  Solid  South  Passing?"  in  World's  Work,  XVII    (January,  1909), 
11,076. 

39  Walter  H.  Page,  "New  Political  Sentiment  in  the  South,"  in  World's  Work,  I   (December, 
1901),  134-135. 


492  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

shall  lead  it)."40  And  President  Taft's  announcement  that  he 
would  appoint  the  best  men,  regardless  of  party,  to  offices  in  the 
South,  followed  hard  on  repeated  Page  editorials  urging  this 
policy.41  But  both  Page  and  the  President  were  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment, for  "respectable"  Republicanism  proved  to  be 
hardly  more  virile  than  the  old-fashioned  kind. 

Walter  Page  was  important  to  the  New  South  for  more  than 
his  ideas.  He  was,  first  of  all,  an  assiduous  propagandist.  During 
his  Chronicle  days  he  claimed  that  he  had 

written  and  caused  to  be  published  in  the  influential  Northern 
press  more  about  North  Carolina,  its  Democratic  policies,  its 
vast  resources  and  opportunities,  than  any  other  journalist  in  the 
State.  The  Chronicle  was  the  first  journal  to  devote  its  columns 
and  energies  to  a  strong  effort  to  make  known  to  our  own  people 
their  opportunities  and  to  stimulate  industrial  development.  It 
has  within  the  year-and-a-half  of  its  existence  published  more 
descriptions  of  more  towns  and  counties  and  industries  than  any 
other  journal;  and  it  set  the  example  and  turned  journalism  in 
this  very  useful  direction.42 

His  magazine  career  offered  him  infinitely  wider  opportunities  to 
publicize  the  South  and  its  needs.  The  approximately  fifty  issues 
of  Forum  under  his  editorship  contained  thirteen  articles  on  the 
South.  When  he  took  over  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  he  gave  a  truly 
national  outlook  to  that  rather  provincial  New  England  journal, 
including  in  the  twenty-one  numbers  he  edited  eight  articles  on 
southern  subjects  alone. 

It  was  not  until  Page  got  a  magazine  of  his  own,  however,  that 
he  gave  free  rein  to  his  interest  in  the  old  commonwealths.  Eighty- 
two  articles  concerning  the  South  were  published  in  the  151  is- 
sues of  World's  Work  which  appeared  while  he  was  editor, 
1900-1913.  Twenty-two  were  on  the  Negro,  14  on  agriculture,  8 
on  Southern  progress  generally,  6  on  education,  4  on  business  and 
industry,  2  each  on  hookworm,  immigration,  and  general  health 
conditions,  and  1  each  on  child  labor,  conservation,  Tillman,  the 
Georgia  convict  system,  southern  mountaineers,  and  many  other 
subjects.  As  to  authors,  Page  wrote  13  of  the  articles,  Booker 
T.  Washington  12,  Clarence  Poe  4,  Edwin  Mims  4,  W.  E.  B. 


™  Walter  H.  Page,  "Breaking  the  Solid  South,"  in  Outlook,  XV    (December,  1908),  874. 

41  Page,  "Is  the  Solid  South  Passing?"  11,076;  W.  H.  Page,  "Breaking  the  Solid  South  by 
Better  Appointments,"  in  World's  Work,  XVII  (April,  1909),  11,412;  W.  H.  Page,  "An  Era 
of  Good  Feeling,"  in  World's  Work,  XVIII    (July,  1909),  11,733. 

12  Daily  Chronicle,   January   10,    1885. 


Walter  Hines  Page  493 

DuBois  3,  Robert  R.  Moton  3,  and  E.  C.  Branson  2,  while  among 
those  with  a  single  article  were  Joel  Chandler  Harris,  Seaman  A. 
Knapp,  Edwin  A.  Alderman,  D.  A.  Tompkins,  and  W.  W.  Finley. 
Page  habitually  solicited  articles  on  particular  subjects  from  the 
persons  he  thought  could  do  them  best,  so  this  compilation  reflects 
his  own  view  of  which  topics  and  writers  were  most  significant. 
But  even  more  important  were  Page's  141  editorials  on  southern 
matters.  The  South  also  provided  subjects  for  brief  Page  articles 
in  such  regular  departments  of  the  magazine  as  "The  March  of 
the  Cities,"  "Little  Stories  of  Men  in  Action,"  "Among  the 
World's  Workers,"  and  "Forward  to  the  Land." 

Page  was  likewise  trying  to  use  his  position  as  publisher  to 
awaken  interest  in  southern  problems.  To  his  friend,  Edwin 
Mims,  he  wrote : 

...  I  wish  to  get  reduced  to  some  specific  shape,  if  it  is  possible 
and  if  the  time  be  ripe,  both  magazine  matter  and  books — 
especially  books — which  shall  be  written  with  such  fervor  and  at 
such  an  angle  to  life  as  will  hasten  the  broadening  of  Southern 
development.  .  .  ,43 

It  is  probable  that  in  the  period  of  Page's  activity  Doubleday, 
Page,  and  Company  issued  more  books  by  southerners  and  more 
books  about  the  South  than  any  other  publishing  house.  Their 
authors  ranged  from  Booker  T.  Washington,  through  Sidney 
Lanier  and  Ellen  Glasgow,  to  Thomas  Dixon,  whose  vicious 
novels  Edwin  Mims  says  were  published  because  of  Page's  belief 
in  unlimited  freedom  of  opinion.44 

Page  was  more  than  an  able  propagandist.  As  early  as  his 
Raleigh  sojourn,  he  had  an  active  hand  in  particular  projects 
for  southern  progress.  It  was  at  Page's  instance  that  a  number  of 
young  men  in  the  capital  formed  a  "Social  Science  Club."  This 
organization  soon  became  the  famous  Watauga  Club  and  included 
in  its  membership  at  various  times  such  men  as  Charles  W. 
Dabney,  Walter  Clark,  Josephus  Daniels,  E.  C.  Branson,  and 
Clarence  Poe.  The  group  early  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
state's  most  pressing  need  was  for  an  industrial  school.  On  Page's 
motion  it  was  decided  to  petition  the  legislature  on  the  subject, 
and  he  was  on  the  committee  of  three  which  prepared  and  pre- 


43  Edwin    Mims,    "Walter    Hines    Page:     Friend    of    the    South,"    in    The    South    Atlantic 
Quarterly,  XVIII   (April,  1919),  105. 

**  Mims,  "Walter  Hines  Page:   Friend  of  the  South,"  105. 


494  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

sented  the  petition.  The  legislature  approved  the  idea,  provided 
someone  would  give  the  land  and  part  of  the  money  needed.  Page 
left  the  state  about  this  time,  but  continued  to  urge  the  club  by 
letter  to  push  the  project.  It  was  as  a  result  of  this  movement 
that  North  Carolina  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  (now 
North  Carolina  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Engineering) 
was  finally  established.45 

Page's  most  important  work  for  the  South  was  done  in  the 
field  of  public  education.  His  "Forgotten  Man"  speech  at  Greens- 
boro, North  Carolina,  in  1897  created  a  sensation  and  made  him 
one  of  the  chief  prophets  in  the  movement  for  public  schools  in 
the  South.  He  was  a  leader  in  the  so-called  Ogden  Movement.  A 
vice  president  of  the  fourth  annual  Conference  for  Education 
in  the  South,  in  1901,  he  was  also  on  the  resolutions  committee 
whose  report  instructed  President  Robert  C.  Ogden  to  appoint 
an  executive  committee.  Page  consulted  with  Ogden  as  to  the 
membership  of  the  committee  and  was  himself  named  to  it.  It 
was  this  executive  committee  which  became  the  Southern  Educa- 
tion Board.  The  importance  of  the  Board's  work  in  bringing 
together  earnest  educational  workers  North  and  South,  providing 
encouragement  for  the  educational  forces  of  the  South,  and 
mobilizing  public  opinion  in  the  far-reaching  campaign  for 
public  schools  can  hardly  be  overestimated.46 

During  its  first  year  the  Southern  Education  Board  appointed 
Page  and  four  others  as  a  committee  to  consider  the  problem 
of  raising  money  for  southern  schools.  As  a  result  of  the  activities 
of  this  committee  and  the  interest  of  John  D.  Rockefeller,  the 
General  Education  Board  was  organized  in  1902,  with  Page  as 
one  of  its  charter  members.  Rockefeller  gave  the  new  board  one 
million  dollars  in  its  first  year  and  followed  this  gift  with  many 
more  millions  as  the  work  of  the  Board  expanded.  Both  the 
Southern  Board  and  the  General  Education  Board  were  composed 
of  southerners  and  northerners  alike.  Page  and  several  others 
were  members  of  each,  so  that  the  two  worked  closely  together 
and  were  a  powerful  force  for  southern  educational  improve- 
ment. As  a  key  leader  in  the  school  campaign,  Page  also  became 


,r>  Hendrick,    Training    of   an   American,    169-170,    173;    Charles    William    Dabney,    Universal 
Education  in  the  South   (2  vols.  Chapel  Hill,  1936),  I,  185;  Daniels,  Tar  Heel  Editor,  295. 
40  Dabney,  Universal  Education  in  the  South,  II,  32-73. 


Walter  Hines  Page  495 

a  member  of  two  other  important  agencies  for  education  in  the 
South,  the  boards  of  the  Jeanes  and  Slater  funds.47 

Nor  was  Page  a  merely  nominal  member  of  these  organiza- 
tions. Some  idea  of  his  activity  is  revealed  by  a  memorandum  he 
sent  in  1902  to  Dr.  Wallace  Buttrick  of  the  General  Education 
Board. 

I  send  you  this  while  I  think  of  it — for  no  use  but  only  for  your 
personal  information,  if  it  should  at  any  time,  or  in  any  way,  turn 
out  that  I  can  serve  the  Board  on  any  of  these  trips,  or  through 
any  of  these  channels,  by  getting  specific  information,  or  by 
doing  anything  else. 

June  13th — I  shall  address  the  North  Carolina  Teachers*  As- 
sociation at  Wrightsville,  on  Education  Towards  Freedom  of 
Speech.  .  .  . 

On  June  17th  I  am  going  to  deliver  the  Commencement  Ad- 
dress at  the  Jacob  Tome  Institute  at  Fort  Deposit,  Maryland. 

Later  (in  July)  I  am  going  to  Dabney's  summer  school  at 
Knoxville  to  speak  about  a  week.  ...  I  shall  soon  have  off  the 
press  a  little  volume  of  addresses  and  magazine  articles  by  me, 
called  "The  Rebuilding  of  Old  Commonwealths.".  .  .  This  is 
printed  at  my  own  expense  to  give  away  to  anybody  who  will  read 
it. 

I  shall  publish  indefinitely  in  almost  every  number  of  the 
World's  Work  editorials  and  articles  along  the  same  lines,  sug- 
gestions for  which  will  be  thankfully  received. 

The  Outlook  in  the  fall  will  begin  a  series  of  twelve  or  more 
articles  by  me  on  the  general  Southern  situation,  wherein  I  shall 
follow  out  in  detail  my  article  that  will  soon  appear  in  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  on  The  Development  of  Democracy  (not  politi- 
cal, of  course)  in  the  Old  Southern  States. 

I  sometimes  snap  the  Sunday  ministrations  of  Dr.  Rainsford 
and  write  editorials  on  our  subject  for  The  Outlook  or  The  Times 
or  other  papers ;  and  I  am  under  promise  to  write  for  the  Boston 
Transcript,  the  Kansas  City  Journal,  the  St.  Louis  Globe  Demo- 
crat, and  the  Chicago  Record-Journal  sl  number  of  articles  on 
the  same  general  subject. 

Everybody's  Magazine  is  edited  in  our  office  and  I  shall  follow 
my  recent  sketch  of  Booker  T.  Washington  with  some  similar 
matter  later. 

I  shall  write  in  the  summer  another  article  for  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  on  The  Political  Side  of  Southern  Education. 

So  that  whatever  I  can  write,  wherever  I  can  get  in  a  word, 
or  wherever  at  any  time  I  can  go  and  do  anything  for  the  cause — 
these  are  my  tools  and  channels  and  ways  of  doing  it ;  and  I  am 
at  the  service  of  the  Board  for  field-work,  pen-work,  or  tongue- 
work — all,  of  course,  and  always  at  my  own  expense.48 

47  Dabney,  Universal  Education  in  the  South,  II,  123-135,  243. 

48  Hendrick,  Training  of  an  American,  407-408. 


496  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

And  this  was  an  outline  of  the  work  for  but  part  of  a  single  year. 
"In  my  judgment,"  President  Ogden  once  wrote  to  Page,  "you  are 
furnishing  a  large  proportion  of  the  brains  of  the  campaign."49 
And  a  southern  worker  in  the  campaign  has  reported  that  his  co- 
laborers  all  felt  that  "the  work  in  its  fullest  scope  would  have 
been  impossible  but  for  the  influence,  moral  and  financial,  which 
Walter  Page  was  largely  responsible  in  bringing  to  their 
support."50 

As  the  southern  states  themselves  began  to  provide  for  their 
school  systems  more  adequately,  the  General  Education  Board 
shifted  its  attention  to  other  phases  of  southern  development. 
Dr.  Wallace  Buttrick,  who  was  convinced  that  economic  condi- 
tions lay  at  the  root  of  southern  backwardness,  became  interested 
in  the  farm  demonstration  program  being  developed  in  Texas  by 
the  then  unknown  Seaman  A.  Knapp.  In  1906  Buttrick  brought 
Knapp  to  New  York  and  introduced  him  to  Page.  Page  was  im- 
mediately enthusiastic,  and  the  two  became  close  friends.  At  the 
urging  of  Page  and  Buttrick,  the  General  Education  Board 
worked  out  a  cooperative  arrangement  with  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  extending  Knapp's  work.  Altogether,  the  Board 
spent  over  a  million  dollars  on  the  project.  To  Page,  therefore, 
belongs  some  of  the  credit  for  the  inauguration  of  today's  vast 
farm  extension  program.51 

Another  avenue  of  service  to  the  South  was  opened  for  Page 
in  1908,  when,  as  a  member  of  President  Roosevelt's  Country  Life 
Commission,  he  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Charles  W.  Stiles. 
Stiles  had  become  convinced  that  much  of  the  anaemia  and 
shiftlessness  which  prevailed  among  the  poorer  white  people 
of  the  South  was  due  to  hookworm,  a  disease  then  little  under- 
stood in  the  United  States.  He  had  been  unable  to  convince  any- 
one of  the  validity  of  his  discovery,  but  Page  was  much  impressed 
with  his  story.  When  Stiles  told  him  that  a  gentleman  who  had 
promised  to  finance  a  campaign  against  hookworm  had  died  in- 
opportunely, Page  replied,  "Well,  don't  get  discouraged.  Perhaps 
we  can  get  some  money  from  some  other  sources."52  Through 
Buttrick,  Page  interested  Dr.  Frederick  Gates,  Rockefeller's  ad- 


49  Henrlrick,  Training  of  an  American,  413. 

50  R.   D.   W.   Connor,    "Walter   Hines    Page:    A    Southern    Nationalist,"    in    The    Journal    of 
Social  Forces,  II   (January,  1924),  164. 

G1  Hendrick,    Life    and    Letters,    I,    96-97;    Dabney,    Universal    Education    in    the    South,    II, 
185-186,  244;  Mims,  "Walter  Hines  Page:   Friend  of  the  South,"  114. 
52  Dabney,  Universal  Education  in  the  South,  II,  252. 


Walter  Hines  Page  497 

viser  on  philanthropies,  and  a  meeting  with  the  Southern  Board 
was  arranged  to  sound  southern  opinion  on  the  subject.  The 
outcome  of  this  conference  was  the  organization  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission  for  the  Eradication  of  Hookworm,  with  Page  as  a 
member  and  with  a  million-dollar  grant  from  Rockefeller. 
The  campaign  undertaken  by  the  Commission  revealed  the 
startling  prevalence  of  the  disease  and  virtually  eliminated  it.  Out 
of  the  Commission  grew  the  International  Health  Board,  which 
carried  on  similar  campaigns  against  malaria  and  pellagra  in 
the  South  and,  with  additional  Rockefeller  funds,  inaugurated 
the  most  extensive  international  health  program  in  history.53 

The  changes  which  took  place  in  the  South  during  the  years  of 
Page's  activity  are  difficult  to  measure  with  precision.  But  from 
the  vantage  point  of  four  decades  later,  one  is  inclined  to  endorse 
the  exuberant  progress  report  he  made  in  1907 : 

There  is  no  longer  any  Southern  problem  of  the  old  sort.  Prob- 
lems there  are,  and  enough  of  them.  But  the  discouraging  old 
Southern  depression  and  aloofness  are  gone.  It  is  a  different 
people.  And  I  am  astonished  to  find  that  the  very  programme  that 
I  laid  down  in  the  Chronicle  in  Raleigh  twenty  years  ago  is  the 
programme  that  has  brought  this  change  not  only  in  the  condi- 
tion but  in  the  very  character  of  the  people.54 

Much  did  remain  to  be  done.  But  the  New  South  had  conquered 
the  Old  South  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  And  in  effecting  this 
essential  revolution,  Walter  Page  had  borne  an  honorable  part. 

Page's  social  philosophy  was  fundamentally  Jeffersonian,  with 
a  strong  emphasis  on  equality  of  opportunity.  Yet  he  was  some- 
times strikingly  blind  to  the  implications  of  democracy.  His 
faith  in  the  capitalist  as  southern  reformer  and  his  long  associa- 
tion with  some  of  the  most  generous  and  public-spirited  members 
of  the  northern  business  community  made  it  hard  for  him  to  see 
economic  injustices  which  stood  in  the  way  of  an  equal  chance 
for  all.  As  editor  of  the  Chronicle  he  had  commented  complacently 
on  a  cotton  mill  where  "little  girls  twelve  years  old  may  be  seen 
attending  the  spindles  and  many  even  at  this  age  become  very 
proficient."55  Never  a  word  escaped  him  questioning  the  long 
hours,  low  pay,  employment  of  children,  and  large  profits  which 


63  Dabney,  Universal  Education  in  the  South,  II,  252-264. 
5*  Hendrick,  Training  of  an  American,  427. 
55  State  Chronicle,  November  10,  1883. 


498  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

were  characteristic  of  southern  industry.  In  the  1890's  he  showed 
no  appreciation  of  the  real  plight  of  the  farmers,  and  he  had 
nothing  but  scorn  for  "the  Farmers'  Alliance  with  its  unsettling 
economic  demands."56  He  predicted  dire  effects  from  an  "ex- 
treme" North  Carolina  law  to  regulate  railroads57  and  filled  the 
pages  of  World's  Work  with  eulogistic  sketches  of  the  captains 
of  industry  who  were  building  and  directing  the  trusts.  Though 
the  forces  of  industrialism  had  aided  Page  in  freeing  himself 
from  the  shibboleths  and  prejudices  of  the  post-reconstruction 
South,  they  had  fastened  on  him  a  new  bias,  and  a  new  emancipa- 
tion was  necessary  before  he  could  see  the  problems  of  democracy 
whole. 

The  implications  of  Page's  democratic  philosophy  were  yet  to 
work  themselves  out.  By  1911  he  was  cautiously  endorsing  the 
program  of  the  progressives  of  both  parties,  "a  programme  of 
opposition  to  the  undue  influence  of  corporations  and  special 
classes  in  government  and  its  benefits."58  The  following  year  he 
returned  to  the  Democratic  party  for  the  first  time  since  Cleve- 
land, an  ardent  supporter  of  Woodrow  Wilson  and  the  ideal  of 
social  justice  embodied  in  the  New  Freedom;59  and  Wilson's 
"The  New  Freedom"  appeared  serially  in  World's  Work.60  It  was 
in  an  address  in  1912  that  Page  most  forthrightly  recognized  the 
facts  of  modern  economic  life. 

The  present  organization  of  our  society,  or  to  be  more  exact, 
its  financial  organization,  is  based  to  a  great  extent  on  privileges, 
on  class  distinction  and  advantage.  .  .  .  The  thing  that  we  call 
democracy  now  means  to  us  chiefly  equality  of  opportunity  in 
politics,  in  the  organization  and  conduct  of  government,  and 
equal  opportunity  for  education.  It  does  not  mean  an  equal  eco- 
nomic chance.  .  .  . 

The  strong  movement  of  our  day  towards  greater  helpfulness 
cannot  stop.  Do  you  believe  in  giving  the  utmost  opportunity  that 
can  be  given  to  every  man  without  any  exception  whatever,  pre- 
cisely as  you  would  have  that  opportunity  given  to  you?  Search 
your  heart.  .  .  . 

M  Walter  H.  Page,  "The  Democratic  'Split'  in  South  Carolina,"  in   World's  Work,  II    (July, 
1901),  910. 

57  Walter   H.   Page,    "North   Carolina   Railroad   Regulation,"    in    World's    Work,   XIV    (Sep- 
tember, 1907),  9272-9275. 

58  Walter  H.   Page,   "The  Progressive   Programme,"   in    World's   Work,   XXII    (June,   1911), 
14,427. 

Gn  Walter  H.  Pae;e,  "The  March  of  Events,"  in   World's  Work,  XXIV    (August.   1912),   364. 
00  Woodrow  Wilson,  "The  New  Freedom,"  in   World's   Work,   XXV    (January-March,   1913), 
253,  421,  540,  628;  XXVI   (May-July,  1913),  59,  182,  302. 


Walter  Hines  Page  499 

If  any  of  these  things  seem  radical  to  you  today,  be  sure  that 
they  will  be  very  conservative  tomorrow.61 

Page's  valedictory  to  his  work  in  the  South  and  in  America,  de- 
livered at  the  Southern  Education  Conference  of  1913,  contained 
a  significant  paragraph : 

In  our  early  days  the  characteristic  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  was  individualism.  Great  as  this  was  for  the  cause  of 
democracy,  it  rested  upon  a  false  economic  basis.  A  man's  home 
cannot  be  his  castle,  for  he  is  mutually  linked  as  his  brother's 
keeper,  whether  he  will  or  no.62 

Walter  Page's  education  never  really  ceased.  And  surely  that  is 
one  measure  of  a  man's  greatness. 

When  Page  came  back  to  North  Carolina  in  December,  1918, 
to  die,  the  New  South  was  ready  to  put  an  appreciative  valuation 
on  his  services.  As  Edwin  Mims  wrote, 

Neither  his  national  nor  international  fame  can  obscure  the 
thought  in  the  minds  of  some  that  he  was  one  of  the  great 
Southerners  of  his  generation,  and  that  no  man  has  helped — 
positively  helped — so  many  individuals,  institutions,  organiza- 
tions, and  movements  that  had  as  their  primary  aim  the  rebuild- 
ing of  these  old  commonwealths.63 

Perhaps  the  finest  tribute  of  all  was  that  recorded  by  a  Raleigh 
newspaperwoman : 

The  day  I  visited  the  little  cemetery  an  ancient,  rattle-trap 
Ford  came  banging  into  the  church-yard  .... 

It  contained  a  tall,  lanky  man,  and  seven  children.  He  was  a 
MacNeill  from  the  next  county — and  was  looking  for  Walter 
Hines  Page's  grave. 

"It's  been  on  my  mind  for  a  right  smart  time  to  bring  my 
grandchildren  here  to  see  this  grave.  We're  goin'  to  Southern 
Pines,  so  we  just  turned  off  here.  They've  seen  Aycock's  statue 
at  the  Capitol,"  he  added  proudly. 

"I  tell  'em  them  two  men's  the  reason  they  done  got  a  chance 
for  a  schoolin' — which  their  grandpap  didn't  have." 

He  removed  his  hat  gravely  and  stood,  paying  tribute  in  his 
own  way — as  gracious  and  sincere  a  tribute  as  has  ever  been 
paid  to  the  memory  of  a  man.64 

61  Walter    H.    Page,    "The    Farmers'    Credit,"    in    Proceedings    of    the    15th    Conference    for 
Education  in  the  South    (Washington,  1912),  97. 

62  Remarks  of  Walter  H.   Page  as  presiding  officer,   in   Proceedings  of  the   16th  Conference 
for  Education  in  the  South   (Washington,  1913),  282. 

63  Mims,  "Walter  Hines  Page:   Friend  of  the  South,"  97. 

6*  Charlotte    Hilton    Green,    "World    Is    Now    Beating    Pathway    to   Tomb    of    Walter    Hines 
Page,"  in  News  and  Observer   (Raleigh),  November  24,  1929. 


CALVIN  H.  WILEY'S  NORTH  CAROLINA  READER 

By  Howard  Braverman 

To  many  North  Carolinians  of  the  present  day  the  name  of 
Calvin  H.  Wiley  is  associated  with  the  North  Carolina  Reader 
even  more  than  with  his  role  as  the  state's  first  superintendent 
of  common  schools. 

In  the  years  before  he  became  superintendent,  Wiley  took  an 
active  part  in  the  movement  for  the  development  of  state  pa- 
triotism and  of  a  local  literature  which  was  then  sweeping  North 
Carolina.  When  the  Reader  appeared  in  1851,  he  had  already 
acquired  some  reputation  in  the  state  as  the  author  of  two  his- 
torical novels  with  a  North  Carolina  setting,  Alamance  and 
Roanoke.  In  the  columns  of  the  Southern  Weekly  Post  (Raleigh) , 
of  which  he  was  editor  in  1851  and  1852,  he  carried  on  an  ardent 
campaign  to  raise  North  Carolinian  self-esteem.  The  Reader, 
however,  was  his  most  important  contribution  to  the  develop- 
ment of  state  pride;  used  by  several  generations  of  school 
children,  it  was  to  reach  a  much  wider  audience  and  to  be  far 
more  influential  than  any  of  his  other  works. 

In  the  South  generally  there  was  a  growing  demand  for  a 
purely  southern  literature,  for  which  many  parallels  can  be 
found  in  the  earlier  national  desire  for  a  complete  end  to  literary 
subservience  to  England.1  In  both  cases  the  demand  for  literary 
and  intellectual  independence  was  mirrored  on  the  level  of  the 
elementary  schools  in  the  condemnation  of  textbooks  which  were 
not  compiled  from  native  sources  and  which  thus  did  not  support 
native  institutions. 

As  late  as  1835  the  preface  to  the  North  American  Reader, 
edited  by  Lyman  Cobb,  expressed  such  a  view : 

The  English  Reader  [Lindley  Murray's] ,  most  generally  used  in 
the  schools  of  our  country,  does  not  contain  a  single  piece  or 
paragraph  written  by  an  American  citizen.  Is  this  good  policy? 
Is  it  patriotism?  Shall  the  children  of  this  great  nation  be  com- 
pelled to  read,  year  after  year,  none  but  the  writing  and  speeches 
of  men  whose  views  and  feelings  are  in  direct  opposition  to  our 
institutions  and  government?  The  United  States  have  political 
and  civil  institutions  of  their  own ;  and  how  can  these  be  upheld, 

1  See  Jay   B.   Hubbell,   "Literary   Nationalism   in   the   Old    South,"    in   American   Studies   in 
Honor  of  William  Kenneth  Boyd,  edited  by  D.  K.  Jackson    (Durham,  1940),  197, 

[  500] 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  501 

unless  the  children  and  youth  of  our  country  are  early  made  to 
understand  them  by  books  and  other  means  of  instruction?2 

Toward  the  North  southerners  came  to  feel  the  same  sort  of 
resentment  of  literary  subservience  and  the  same  fear  of  the 
dangers  from  doctrines  alien  to  local  institutions;  in  southern 
readers  after  1840  there  may  be  found  the  expression  of  senti- 
ments almost  identical  with  those  of  Cobb.  The  preface  of  a 
commonly  used  southern  reader,  first  published  in  1840,  stated: 

All  will  admit  that  the  reading  books  procured  from  the  North, 
prepared  by  men  with  Northern  prejudices  and  feelings,  are 
neither  safe  nor  suitable  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  our  youth, 
leading  as  they  do,  their  uninformed  minds,  by  insidious  reason- 
ing, exciting  declamation,  or  pathetic  narrative,  to  view  our 
domestic  institutions  as  condemned  by  the  best  feelings  of  our 
nature.3 

Many  other  post-1840  southern  readers  clearly  show  this  theme 
of  literary  sectionalism.4 

Literary  patriotism  in  North  Carolina  was,  however,  of  a 
somewhat  different  sort  from  that  of  the  South  as  a  whole,  in 
that  North  Carolina  was  forced  to  fight  a  battle  on  two  fronts  at 
once.  She  not  only  resented  the  literary  domination  of  the  North, 
but  also  suffered  from  a  well-known  inferiority  complex  in  re- 
lation to  her  sister  states  of  the  South,  particularly  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina.  The  famous  jibe  "Who  reads  an  American 
book?"  had  long  been  attributed  to  the  North  by  sensitive  south- 
erners in  the  form  of  "Who  reads  a  Southern  book?"5  and  the 
Philadelphia  Drawing  Room  Journal  prefaced  a  review  of  Wiley's 
Reader  with  the  question  "Who  ever  read  a  North  Carolina 
book?"6 

The  comparative  isolation  of  North  Carolina  from  both  North 
and  South  was  one  reason  for  Wiley's  confining  his  Reader  to 
his  home  state  rather  than  extending  its  appeal  to  a  general 


2  Rudolph  R.  Reeder,  "The  Historical  Development  of  School  Readers  and  of  Method  in 
Teaching  Reading,"  Columbia  University  Contributions  to  Philosophy,  Psychology,  and  Edu- 
cation, VIII    (May,  1900),  36. 

3  S.  L.  Griffin,   The  Southern  Second  Class  Book    (New  York,   1854:   copyright  1840). 
4M.  M.  Mason,   Southern  First  Class  Book    (New   York    [1857]:    first   edition    1839);    The 

Southern  Reader  (New  Orleans,  1845);  The  Southern  Reader  and  Speaker  (Charleston, 
1848).  See  also  Hubbell,  "Literary  Nationalism  in  the  Old   South,"  193-194. 

5Hubbell,   "Literary  Nationalism   in   the  Old   South,"   190. 

6  Quoted  in  the  Southern  Weekly  Post  (Raleigh),  December  27,  1851.  In  the  preface  to 
Alamance;  or,  the  Great  and  Final  Experiment  (New  York,  1847),  v,  Wiley  represents  a 
fictional  visitor  to  North  Carolina  exclaiming  in  effect,  "Who  writes  a  North  Carolina  book?" 
("A  North  Carolina  Book!  What  a  gem  for  the  curious  in  literature!") 


502  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

southern  audience.  In  seeking  a  publisher  in  1851  he  wrote  for 
advice  to  a  Mr.  Babcock,  whose  brother  was  the  publisher  of 
William  Gilmore  Simms's  School  History  of  South  Carolina.  With 
regard  to  the  prospects  of  the  North  Carolina  Reader,  Babcock 
suggested  that  Wiley  write  for  the  entire  South,  since  books 
confined  to  one  state  in  their  subject  matter  and  appeal  seldom 
paid.7 

Since  there  were  a  number  of  southern  readers  already  on  the 
market,  Wiley  might  have  reasoned  that  a  reader  with  a  pre- 
dominantly North  Carolina  emphasis  would  perhaps  have  suf- 
ficient local  appeal  to  gain  in  North  Carolina  what  it  might  lose 
in  other  states.  However,  his  genuine  patriotic  fervor  was 
probably  enough  to  influence  him  in  the  choice  of  his  material, 
aside  from  financial  considerations.  At  any  rate,  Wiley  did  not 
take  Babcock's  advice.  His  Reader  is  intensively  North  Caro- 
linian in  viewpoint,  and  in  the  introduction  he  takes  occasion  to 
argue  against  the  state's  use  of  outside  texts  on  much  the  same 
ground  as  that  taken  against  the  use  of  English  books  by  Ameri- 
can schools  or  of  northern  books  by  southern  schools : 

Will  the  North  Carolinians  continue  to  patronize  Readers  whose 
authors  have  blotted  North  Carolina  from  their  maps,  or  who 
mention  it  only  to  defame?  Will  they  send  their  money  to  enrich 
writers  whose  pens  labour  to  make  them  infamous,  and  whose 
works  inspire  a  veneration  for  all  other  places  but  their  own 
homes — for  the  deeds  of  all  other  people  but  those  of  their 
honoured  and  illustrious  progenitors?8 

In  his  two  novels  Wiley  had  presented  a  rose-colored  picture 
of  North  Carolina's  past  glories  during  the  Revolutionary  period. 
In  the  Reader  he  emphasized  the  contemporary  qualities  and 
resources  of  the  state  and  predicted  for  it  a  glowing  future; 
among  his  avowed  aims  was  the  checking  of  the  flow  of  emigra- 
tion which  was  threatening  to  depopulate  the  state. 

Another  literary  project  on  which  he  was  working  in  1850  and 
1851,  at  the  same  time  as  on  the  Reader,  is  closely  connected  with 


7  T.  Babcock  to  Wiley,  May  5,  1851,  Mary  C.  Wiley  MSS,  private  collection.  The  limited 
market  which  Wiley's  book  would  have  was  also  commented  upon  by  a  South  Carolinian 
shortly  after  the  Reader  appeared:  "Would  not  your  series  of  books  have  a  larger  sale  and 
wider  acceptability  if  they  had  a  title  less  local?  I  do  not  know  how  they  feel  in  Virg*.  but 
in  this  State  we  should  not  be  very  likely  to  adopt  a  book  with  the  North  Carolina  brand." 
M.  A.  Curtis  to  Wiley,  November  18,  1851,  Wiley  MSS,  North  Carolina  Department  of 
Archives  and  History,  Raleigh. 

8  The  North  Carolina  Reader:  Containing  a  History  and  Description  of  North  Carolina, 
Selections  in  Prose  and  Verse,  Many  of  Them  by  Eminent  Citizens  of  the  State,  Historical 
and  Chronological  Tables,  and  a  Variety  of  Miscellaneous  Information  and  Statistics  (Phila- 
delphia, 1851),  11. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  503 

it  in  many  ways.  In  gathering  information  for  his  novels  he  had 
amassed  a  great  deal  of  historical  material,  and  this  material, 
combined  with  contributions  from  other  North  Carolinians,  he 
planned  to  work  up  into  a  gazetteer,  which  he  felt  would  be  useful 
to  the  development  of  the  state  and  which  he  also,  no  doubt, 
hoped  would  be  more  remunerative  than  the  novels  had  been. 
The  preparation  of  this  work,  which  reached  a  fairly  advanced 
stage,  was  abandoned,  but  much  of  the  material  eventually 
found  its  way  into  the  Reader,  for  example  the  census  data  and 
chronological  tables  at  the  end,  as  well  as  a  good  deal  of  the 
geographical  information;  and  the  introduction  to  the  Reader 
corresponds  closely  in  wording  and  content  with  a  letter  regard- 
ing the  gazetteer  which  he  had  sent  to  the  papers  in  May,  1850.9 
That  the  Reader  was  intended  in  part  to  serve  the  purposes  of 
the  abandoned  gazetteer  is  also  indicated  by  Wiley's  statement 
in  the  "Notice"  at  the  front:  ".  .  .  it  [the  Reader\  is  designed 
for  universal  use  in  the  State,  to  go,  with  the  Bible  and  the 
Almanac,  into  every  home.  The  other  numbers  of  the  series  will 
be  intended  exclusively  for  schools.  .  .  ."10 

This  "Notice"  states  the  purpose  and  sets  the  theme  for  the 
entire  book: 

The  peculiar  situation  of  North-Carolina  renders  necessary  pe- 
culiar remedies.  Hence  this,  the  first  number  of  the  NORTH- 
CAROLINA  READER,  is  different,  in  plan  and  execution,  from 
modern  Readers  generally ;  and  is  intended  exclusively  for  North- 
Carolina,  to  be  used  in  families  and  in  schools. 

Its  object  is  to  sow  in  the  young  minds  of  North-Carolina  the 
seeds  of  a  true,  healthy,  and  vigorous  North-Carolina  spirit.  .  .  . 

Wiley's  claim  for  the  difference  of  his  Reader  from  others  of  the 
time  is  borne  out  by  a  comparison  with  some  of  the  better-known 
readers  then  in  common  use,  including  the  southern  ones  then 
on  the  market.11  In  addition  to  its  inclusion  of  many  of  the 
features  of  a  gazetteer,  it  differs  in  that  it  is  largely  the  writing 
of  a  single  individual,  rather  than  a  compilation  of  short  extracts 


9  North  Carolina  Standard    (Raleigh),  May  1,   1850,  quoting  the  Greensborough  Patriot. 

10  This  Reader  was  to  be  the  most  advanced  work  of  a  series,  which  was  to  consist,  in 
addition,  of  a  Primer,  Juvenile  Reader,  and  Spelling  Book  "all  of  a  Carolina-ish  character." 
Wiley  to  John  W.  Ellis,  December  29,  1851,  Ellis  MSS,  Southern  Historical  Collection,  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  Library,  Chapel  Hill.  Wiley  never  published  this  projected  series. 

11  In  addition  to  the  various  readers  already  mentioned,  cf.  Caleb  Bingham,  The  American 
Preceptor  (Boston,  1801);  T.  E.  Birch,  The  Virginian  Orator  (Richmond,  1808):  J.  L.  Blake, 
The  Historical  Reader  (Concord,  N.  H.,  1825);  Samuel  Worcester,  Fourth  Book  of  Lessons 
for  Reading  (Boston,  1851:  original  edition  1834).  I  have  seen  no  other  reader  of  the  time  so 
strictly  confined,  in  source  of  selections,  in  subject  matter,  and  in  general  appeal,  to  a  single 
state. 


504  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

from  numerous  English  and  American  authors.  Of  the  selections 
which  it  does  contain,  a  good  ninety  per  cent  are  the  work  of 
North  Carolinians.  Finally  the  total  emphasis  throughout  the 
volume  is  almost  exclusively  upon  North  Carolina. 

To  pay  for  the  cost  of  publication,  Wiley  managed  to  borrow 
$350  from  a  number  of  friends,  among  them  David  L.  Swain, 
H.  W.  Washington,  Andrew  Joyner,  and  Weldon  N.  Edwards.12 
In  the  early  fall  he  went  to  Philadelphia  and  negotiated  an  agree- 
ment with  Lippincott,  Grambo,  and  Company  to  print  500  copies 
"on  good,  clear  white  paper,  and  bound  in  semi-arabesque,  with 
black  cloth  sides  .  .  .  and  for  the  cost  of  production  they  [Lippin- 
cott] are  to  be  allowed  twenty-three  cents  per  copy."13  The  book 
appeared  at  the  end  of  October,  1851,  retailing  at  one  dollar 
a  copy. 

The  first  part  of  the  Reader,  consisting  of  a  "General  Descrip- 
tion of  North  Carolina,"  employs  the  device  of  a  travelogue  to 
acquaint  the  children  with  the  various  sections  of  the  state.  Some 
care  has  been  taken  to  simplify  the  language  for  school  use,  al- 
though as  the  section  progresses  it  becomes  more  involved  and 
elaborate.  The  introductory  paragraphs  give  a  fair  sample  of  the 
style  and  tone : 

Young  people  generally  like  to  travel. 

All  classes  and  all  ages  are  fond  of  novelty  and  variety;  but 
we  may  often  travel  hundreds  of  miles  without  finding  much  of 
either. 

There  is,  however,  in  the  American  Union,  a  certain  State  in 
which  it  is  impossible  to  go  far,  in  any  direction,  without  meet- 
ing with  something  new  and  interesting  in  the  aspect  of  the 
country,  and  in  the  character  and  pursuits  of  the  people.  .  .  . 

This  State  is  North-Carolina;  and  to  travel  over  it  from  the 
swamps  and  lakes  and  pine-forests  of  the  east,  to  the  high  moun- 
tains of  the  west,  would  be  a  delightful  and  profitable  pastime. 

Now,  this  is  what  we  propose  to  do ;  and  if  our  young  friends 
will  follow  us  attentively  through  these  pages,  we  will  give  them 
a  jaunt  over  a  beautiful  country,  without  cost  and  without 
danger.  We  will  start  in  the  east :  population  has  always  traveled 
from  the  east  towards  the  west.14 

In  his  descriptions  of  the  major  regions  of  the  state,  Wiley 
shows  his  preference  for  the  small  freeholders  of  the  "Upland 

12  Agreement  signed  by  Wiley,  July  17,  1851,  W.  M.  Clark  MSS:  John  A.  Gilmer  to  Wiley, 
July  19,  1851,  Wiley  MSS;  both  in  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History. 

13  Agreement  sipned  by  Wiley  and  Lippincott,  Grambo  and  Company,  October  7,  1851, 
Wiley  MSS.  Stereotyping  the  Reader  cost  Wiley  $404.86.  Bill  from  L.  Johnson  Company,  Type 
and   Stereotype  Founders,   Philadelphia,   October  9,   1851,   Wiley  MSS. 

"Reader,  21. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  505 

Regions"15  as  against  the  planters  of  the  east.  In  very  much  the 
same  exaggerated  fashion  as  he  had  done  in  Alamance,  he  em- 
phasizes the  homely  virtues  of  his  native  region : 

In  the  humblest  log-cabin  by  the  wayside,  you  will  find  the 
walls  garnished  with  files  of  newspapers ;  and  you  will  find  every 
member  of  the  family  well  versed  in  the  news  and  politics  of  the 
day,  and  acquainted  with  the  general  history  of  the  country  and 
of  the  world.  Nay,  more ;  you  will  often  find  in  these  log-cabins 
philosophers  dressed  in  homespun.  You  will  find  deep,  and  close, 
and  logical  thinkers,  well-read  theologians,  and  profound  states- 
men, who  eat  the  bread  they  have  made  themselves,  and  are 
clothed  in  garments  spun,  wove,  and  sewed  by  their  wives  and 
daughters. 

There  is  a  general  absence  of  levity  among  them;  they  are  a 
grave,  and  moral,  and  thinking  people.16 

Those  who,  like  Wiley,  were  interested  in  the  development  of 
North  Carolina  of  course  laid  emphasis  on  the  necessity  of 
making  the  fullest  possible  use  of  the  material  resources  of  the 
state  and  of  promoting  internal  improvements  such  as  railroads ; 
this  necessity  is  urged  throughout  the  Reader.  Linked  with  the 
development  of  material  resources  was  the  need  for  an  educated 
populace;  only  by  the  exploitation  of  her  intellectual  resources 
through  mass  education  could  North  Carolina  be  developed  in 
line  with  her  own  interests.  Thus,  as  might  be  expected,  Wiley 
spends  a  good  deal  of  time  in  the  Reader  on  the  educational 
facilities  of  North  Carolina,  describing  the  state  university  and 
the  schools  established  by  the  various  denominational  groups. 

As  the  climax  to  his  treatment  of  the  "heaven-descended  cause 
of  education,"  he  includes  his  discussion  of  the  common  schools, 
since  in  the  availability  of  education  without  cost  to  the  masses 
of  the  people  he  finds  the  basis  for  North  Carolina's  future  cul- 
tural leadership.  Also,  specialists  such  as  geologists,  engineers, 
and  miners  had  to  be  trained  so  that  they  could  fill  the  important 
posts  in  government  and  industry  for  which  people  thus  far  had 
had  to  be  imported  from  other  states.  He  urges  the  children  of 
North  Carolina  to  remain  within  the  state  and  develop  its  tre- 
mendous resources  rather  than  migrate  elsewhere. 


15  By  "upland  regions"  he  means  the  piedmont.  Wiley  always  seemed  to  think   of  this,   his 
own  home,  as  the  essence  of  North  Carolina. 

16  Reader,  52. 


506  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Pointing  out  that  already  students  were  coming  to  North 
Carolina  from  the  other  southern  states  to  go  to  the  various 
colleges  and  academies,  he  looks  forward  to  the  time  when  the 
work  of  these  institutions  together  with  that  of  the  common 
schools  will  make  the  state  the  very  center  of  southern  culture.17 

Wiley's  final  eulogy  of  North  Carolina  in  this  section  repre- 
sents the  state  as  a  golden  mean  between  North  and  South,  one 
of  his  favorite  ideas : 

It  is  a  land  between  extremes;  it  knows  not  the  rigours  of  a 
Northern  winter,  and  it  is  free  from  the  tornadoes  and  earth- 
quakes of  the  South.  Equally  exempt  it  is  from  the  gloomy  fanati- 
cism and  chilling  selfishness  of  the  North,  and  from  the  bloody 
scenes  and  blazing  passions  of  the  South.18 

Part  II,  "An  Historical  Sketch  of  North  Carolina/'19  seems 
poorly  adapted  for  the  age  group  which  attended  the  common 
schools.  Wiley  apparently  made  no  effort  to  simplify  the  language 
of  this  section,  as  he  did  in  the  descriptive  sketch  of  the  state.20 
However,  the  eulogistic  tone  of  the  initial  section  is  maintained : 
North  Carolinians  are  represented  as  the  noblest  and  most  virtu- 
ous of  men,  and  Wiley  takes  occasion  to  refute  Williamson's 
charges  that  they  are  "riotous  and  licentious."21  He  goes  into 
great  detail  on  the  subject  of  the  Regulators,  presenting  a  very 
favorable  version  of  their  movement.22  It  is  made  to  appear  that 
North  Carolina  was  almost  solely  responsible  for  initiating  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  also  for  winning  it. 


17  Reader,  75. 

18  Reader,  89. 

19  Among  his  main  sources  were:  George  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States:  From  the 
Discovery  of  the  American  Continent  (10  vols.  Boston,  1834-1874),  three  volumes  of  which 
had  been  published  by  1850:  Joseph  Sea  well  Jones,  A  Defense  of  the  Revolutionary  History 
of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  from  the  Aspersions  of  Mr.  Jefferson  (Boston  and  Raleigh, 
1834);  William  Henry  Foote,  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  Historical  and  Biographical  (New 
York,  1846);  E.  W.  Caruthers,  A  Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  the  Rev.  David 
Caldwell,  D.  D.  (Greensboro,  1842);  Fordyce  M.  Hubbard,  Life  of  William  Richardson  Davie 
(Boston,  1848);  Francois-Xavier  Martin,  The  History  of  North  Carolina,  from  the  Earliest 
Period  (2  vols.  New-Orleans,  1829);  and  Hugh  Williamson,  The  History  of  North  Carolina 
(2   vols.   Philadelphia,   1812). 

20  A  critic  of  the  Reader  remarked  that  in  the  historical  section  Wiley  had  "lost  all  sight 
of  the  urchins  whose  heads  should  thereafter  be  bumped  and  cracked.  .  .  ."  Raleigh  Register, 
January  21,  1852. 

a y  Reader,  171. 

22  Upon  the  publication  of  the  Reader,  John  H.  Wheeler  wrote  to  Wiley  commenting  on 
this  feature  of  Wiley's  historical  account:  "I  am  glad  that  you  have  indicated  the  character 
and  conduct  of  the  Regulators.  ...  It  is  singular  in  the  history  of  our  country,  that  the 
conduct  of  these  people,  after  being  condemned  by  Williamson,  degraded  bv  Martin,  and 
abused  by  even  .  .  .  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  should  have  after  a  lapse  of  eighty  years  their 
fair  fame  brightened,  their  motives  and  ends  vindicated  and  principles  eulogize-1,  by  justice 
and  truth.  The  pages  of  Caruthers,  and  your  book,  and  the  documents  procured  from  London 
in  mine  [Historical  Sketches  of  North  Carolina  (Philadelphia,  1851)]  place  the  case  of  the 
Regulators  on  high  and  impregnable  ground."  John  H.  Wheeler  to  Wilev,  December  10,  1851, 
Wiley   MSS. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  507 

Part  III  is  made  up  of  "Selections  in  Prose  and  Verse."  The 
prose  selections,  highly  moral  in  tone  and  calculated  to  encourage 
the  highest  virtues,  are  all  by  North  Carolinians,  largely  extracts 
from  essays  and  sermons.  A  few  sample  titles  are:  "Integrity 
the  Most  Important  Element  of  Character,"  by  William  Gaston; 
"Only  the  True  Benefactors  of  the  Human  Race  Leave  a  Name 
Grateful  to  Posterity,"  by  Robert  Strange ;  "Every  Human  Heart 
the  Seat  of  Conflict  Between  the  Angel  of  Good  and  the  Demon 
of  Evil,"  by  James  B.  Shepard. 

Several  essays  on  the  subject  of  education  are  included,  all  of 
which  praise  the  common  school  system  highly.  There  are  also 
a  number  which  fall  into  the  category  of  state  pride  and  literary 
nationalism.  For  example :  "We  Want  a  North  Carolina  Spirit," 
by  the  Rev.  Simeon  Colton ;  "The  Importance  of  a  Home  Litera- 
ture," by  William  Eaton,  Jr. ;  and  "The  Advantages  of  State 
Pride,"  by  W.  W.  Avery.  The  remainder  of  the  prose  extracts  are 
largely  descriptions  of  scenery  in  North  Carolina. 

Many  of  these  prose  pieces  are  by  Wiley's  friends,  some  of 
them  relatively  unknown  even  in  North  Carolina.23  The  selections 
of  poetry  are  a  combination  of  North  Carolina  verse  and  passages 
from  Whittier,  Longfellow,  Addison,  Pope,  Milton,  Young,  Thom- 
son, etc.  The  poems  comprise  only  fifteen  pages,  and  the  selec- 
tions, aside  from  the  North  Carolina  pieces,  are  very  conven- 
tional, many  the  same  as  those  in  other  readers  then  in  use. 

Finally  the  Reader  concludes  with  a  miscellaneous  group  of 
items  of  the  type  found  in  almanacs,  probably  a  heritage  from 
the  projected  gazetteer:  chronological  tables,  glossaries,  census 
figures,  and  a  pronouncing  vocabulary  of  North  Carolina  geo- 
graphical and  proper  names. 

Some  time  before  its  publication,  Wiley  had  sent  his  manu- 
script to  David  L.  Swain,  president  of  the  state  university,  and 
had  received  the  following  reply : 

Your  style  is  an  easy  one,  and  your  descriptive  sketch  of  the 
state  well  calculated  to  make  a  favorable  impression  upon  the 
youthful  mind.  .  .  . 

23  Among  these  friends  were  D.  M.  Barringer,  John  A.  Gilmer,  Lawrence  Badger,  John  W. 
Ellis,  Henry  B.  Elliott,  and  Frank  T.  Wilson.  Wiley  wrote  to  D.  F.  Caldwell,  whose  contribu- 
tion had  unfortunately  been  lost,  expressing  his  regret  because  "I  had  it  in  my  power  to 
honor  my  friends  by  putting  their  names  in  this  book,  and  it  was  for  this  that  I  was  anxious 
to  get  a  piece  from  you."  Wiley  to  Caldwell,  September  23,  1851,  D.  F.  Caldwell  MSS,  Duke 
University,  Durham. 


508  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

You  seem  in  your  historical  essay  to  have  made  a  judicious 
use  of  the  few  materials  at  your  command.  Your  stock  however 
is  meager  in  extent,  and  not  always  accurate.  .  .  . 

A  perfect  history  of  the  State  can  never  be  written  from  ma- 
terials accessible  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.24 

Swain  offered  to  give  Wiley  further  suggestions  and  criticism 
if  he  wished  them,  but  there  is  no  indication  that  Wiley  discussed 
the  Reader  further  with  him  before  its  publication.  On  November 
8,  after  it  appeared,  Swain  wrote  again,  saying  that  he  was 
pleased  with  the  Reader,  but  felt  that  it  could  be  greatly  improved 
in  a  second  edition.  He  did  not  go  into  detail  in  his  criticism,  but 
said  that  he  would  "take  pleasure  when  we  meet  in  commending 
its  merits,  and  calling  attention  to  its  defects,  that  you  may  be 
both  encouraged  and  admonished  to  amend  it."25 

When  Wiley  was  collecting  testimonials  from  the  heads  of 
the  various  schools  in  the  state,26  Swain  provided  a  statement 
which  was  designed  to  be  used  publicly,  once  more  pointing  out 
inaccuracies  in  the  historical  account,  but  in  general  praising 
the  work,  saying  that  the  introduction  of  the  Reader  into  the 
common  schools  would  "not  merely  tend  to  awaken  a  more  lively 
and  general  interest  in  the  history  of  the  State,  but  excite  patri- 
otic emotions  in  the  youthful  bosom,  which  cannot  be  without 
effect  upon  the  character  of  our  future  rulers."27 

William  H.  Owen,  Professor  of  Languages  at  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege, sent  Wiley  a  flowery  endorsement  of  the  Reader,  but  added 
a  critical  personal  note : 

The  above  will  do  for  buncomb — now  for  a  little  private  remark 
between  ourselves.  Whilst  I  think  that  you  have  done  your  part 
admirably  well  with  your  very  meager  materials — I  must  whisper 
in  your  year  [sic]  that  many  of  the  contributions  of  our  dis- 
tinguished men  are  absolutely  poor  I  was  going  to  say  con- 
temptible. This  is  their  fault  not  yours.  Allow  me  to  suggest  a 
new  edition  as  soon  as  possible.28 

2*  D.  L.  Swain  to  Wiley,  January  12,  1851,  Wiley  MSS. 

25  Swain  to  Wiley,  November  8,  1851,  Wiley  MSS.  A  new  edition  never  appeared;  although 
the  book  was  reprinted  several  times,  only  minor  changes  were  made. 

26  Albert  Smedes  (of  St.  Mary's  school  in  Raleigh)  to  Wiley,  October  28,  1851.  Wiley  MSS; 
President  Fory  (of  the  Chowan  Female  Collegiate  Institute  in  Murf reesboro )  to  Wiley, 
October  29,  1851,  Wiley  MSS. 

27  Swain  to  Wiley,  n.d.,  Wiley  MSS.  Wiley  apparently  later  asked  Swain  if  he  might  delete 
some  of  the  less  complimentary  passages  in  this  testimonial;  Swain  replied:  "I  cannot  say 
that  I  have  any  great  objection  to  your  printing  my  criticism,  in  the  manner  you  propose.  I 
think  however  that  it  is  better  calculated  to  advance  your  purposes  in  its  present  shape.  .  .  . 
The  tricks  of  publishers  are  so  well  understood  at  the  present  day  that  a  fragmentary  notice 
gives  rise  at  once  to  a  suspicion.  .   .  ."  Swain  to  Wiley,   January  14,   1852,  Wiley  MSS. 

28  William  H.  Owen  to  Wiley,  October,  1851,  Wiley  MSS. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  509 

After  thus  castigating  the  calibre  of  the  selections  which  Wiley- 
had  included,  Owen  remarked:  "I  must  plead  firstly  a  little 
selfishness  in  desiring  a  second  edition.  I  shall  ever  regret  that 
I  furnished  no  Article  for  the  first  and  wish  to  atone  for  the 
neglect  by  appearing  in  the  next.  .  .  ."  He  went  on  to  put  his 
finger  on  one  of  the  most  obvious  defects  of  the  Reader  in  so 
far  as  it  was  intended  for  school  use :  "I  think  you  might  greatly 
improve  upon  the  first  [edition]  by  simplifying  the  language 
and  reducing  the  redundancy  of  your  narrative.  .  .  Z'29 

John  H.  Wheeler,  whose  Historical  Sketches  of  North  Carolina 
appeared  about  the  same  time,  wrote  to  Wiley  praising  the 
Reader,  but  questioning  a  number  of  points  of  historical  ac- 
curacy which  seemed  doubtful  to  him.  Most  important  of  these 
was  Wiley's  "account  of  the  female  adventurer  who  passed  her- 
self off  as  sister  to  the  Queen  in  1772."30  Wheeler  also  pointed 
out  that  Wiley  seemed  to  have  followed  his  own  sketch  of  the 
state  of  "Frankland"  very  closely  and  should  have  acknowledged 
his  debt.31  He  ended,  however,  by  stating  that  he  would  intro- 
duce the  Reader  into  the  schools  in  his  district  (in  his  capacity 
as  county  superintendent)  ,32 

Wiley  probably  did  not  receive  Wheeler's  criticisms  with  par- 
ticularly good  grace,  since  he  resented  what  he  thought  to  be 
Wheeler's  appropriation  of  some  of  his  own  ideas.  In  September 
he  had  written  to  Caldwell  from  Philadelphia : 

I  know  my  book  will  deserve  success :  hence  I  hope — .  Still  I  am 
often  melancholy:  the  world  knows  little  of  the  un justice  done 
me  by  Wheeler.  That  he  stole  my  thunder  there  is  ample  evidence ; 
and  he  has  copied  me  in  almost  all  things — .  You  saw  my  circular, 
well,  Wheeler  came  on  here  with  a  chronology  and  census  and 
gravely  advised  me  to  get  something  of  the  kind.  He  had  never 
dreamed  of  them  till  he  saw  my  circular ;  and  that  caused  him  to 
stop  in  Washington  and  get  them.  And  then  his  impudence  in 
advising  me  to  get  something  of  the  kind!  But  that  is  a  mere 

29  William  H.  Owen  to  Wiley,  October,  1851,  Wiley  MSS. 

30  One  would  think  that  Wheeler  would  have  been  acquainted  with  Martin's  History,  from 
which  Wiley  took  this  incident.  See  Martin,  The  History  of  North  Carolina,  II,  292-293.  Wiley 
had  also  developed  the  incident  at  some  length  in  Roanoke. 

31  Wheeler  is  correct;  Wiley's  sketch  of  "Frankland"  is  a  brief  synopsis  of  Wheeler's  and 
follows  it  point  by  point.  Although  Wheeler's  work  appeared  after  Wiley's,  many  of  the 
Historical  Sketches  had  been  published  during  the  preceding  year  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
state.  Four  months  before  the  publication  of  their  respective  works,  Wheeler  wrote  to  Wiley 
inviting  him  to  meet  him  in  Chapel  Hill  to  examine  some  documents  he  had  from  England, 
relative  to  North  Carolina's  role  in  the  Revolution,  and  also  remarking  that  he  would  like 
Wiley's  advice  as  to  a  sketch  which  was  to  be  included  in  his  Historical  Sketches.  Wheeler  to 
Wiley,  May  30,  1851,  Wiley  MSS. 

32  Wheeler  to  Wiley,  December  10,  1851,  Wiley  MSS. 


510  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

bagetelle :  I  mention  it  to  show  the  nature  of  the  man.  I  troubled 
the  waters  and  he  stepped  in  before  me.33 

A  note  from  Lippincott,  Grambo  and  Company,  who  were  also 
publishing  Wheeler's  book,  indicates  that  Wiley  was  vitally 
interested  in  having  the  Reader  appear  before  the  Historical 
Sketches:  "Col.  Wheeler's  book  will  be  out  this  week.  You  have 
about  ten  days  start  of  his."34 

The  Reader  received  a  good  deal  of  attention,  for  the  most  part 
quite  favorable.  It  was  Wiley's  patriotic  motif  which  received 
most  approbation  from  the  newspaper  editors  of  the  state.  Many 
also  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Reader  was  more  than 
a  conventional  schoolbook: 

While  it  modestly  purports  to  be  a  school  reader,  it  embraces  an 
amount  of  historical  and  other  information  relative  to  the  State 
of  North  Carolina  which  can  be  found  in  no  other  single  volume — 
indeed,  it  would  require  diligent  research  into  many  volumes  to 
come  at  it.35 

Almost  the  same  comment  was  made  by  Norton's  Literary  Adver- 
tiser of  New  York.36 

The  leading  Whig  paper  in  the  state,  the  Raleigh  Register,  re- 
viewed the  book  immediately  upon  publication,  saying  that  it 
had  "long  been  anxiously  expected"  and  that  it  lived  up  to  the 
high  expectations  which  its  announcement  had  aroused.  The 
editorial  particularly  praised  Wiley's  "faithful  and  minute 
history  of  the  State"  and  his  "life  like  delineation  of  the  character 
of  the  People."37  The  faithfulness  of  the  historical  account  was 
less  unreservedly  endorsed  by  certain  other  reviewers,  but  there 
were  few  objections — although  those  were  rather  violent  ones — 
to  Wiley's  delineation  of  North  Carolina  character. 

The  leading  Democratic  paper,  the  Standard,  hoped  that  the 
Reader  would  be  circulated  widely  because  of  "its  facts,  its  ap- 
peals to  patriotism,  its  descriptions  of  localities  and  scenery,  its 
delineations  of  the  noble  virtues  of  our  people,  its  rapid  but 


33  Wiley  to  D.  F.  Caldwell,  September  23,  1851,  Caldwell  MSS. 

31  Lippincott  to  Wiley,  October  29,  1851,  Wiley  MSS  I,  Southern  Historical  Collection.  As 
things  turned  out,  Wiley  really  had  little  to  fear  from  Wheeler's  rivalry.  Wheeler's  book  was 
almost  universally  damned  as  an  inaccurate,  narrowly  partisan  and  indiscriminate  hodge- 
podge. See,  for  example,  Raleigh  Times,  February  7,  1852,  for  a  wittily  demolishing  review: 
also   Wilminfjton  Journal,   December  9,   25,    1851. 

3r>  Raleigh  Register,  November  12,   1851,  quoting  the  Christian  Statesman. 

30  Raleigh  Register,  January  28,  1852,  quoting  Norton's  Literary  Advertiser,  December  15, 
1851. 

37  Raleigh  Register,  October  29,  1851. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  511 

glowing  sketches  of  the  history  and  resources  of  the  state,"  etc.38 
The  Raleigh  Times  stressed  the  point  that  the  youth  of  North 
Carolina  were  well  acquainted  with  the  history  and  geography 
of  virtually  every  place  except  their  own  state,  of  which  they 
were  almost  as  ignorant  as  was  the  rest  of  the  country ;  Wiley's 
Reader  thus  filled  a  long-felt  need.39 

Somewhat  more  qualified  praise  is  to  be  found  in  two  Wilming- 
ton papers,  which  carefully  limited  the  pretensions  of  Wiley's 
book  to  the  schoolroom,  in  contrast  to  other  claims  that  its  publi- 
cation was  a  literary  event  of  general  importance.  The  Wilming- 
ton Herald  urged  that  the  Reader  be  "adopted  as  a  Class  Book 
in  all  our  primary  schools,"  but  hastened  to  add : 

Now  we  do  not  mean  to  speak  in  the  language  of  unqualified 
praise  or  to  class  this  production  beyond  the  place  justly  obtained 
by  its  merits ;  it  is  not  free  from  errors  or  imperfections,  but  we 
really  consider  it  as  admirably  filling  a  hiatus  in  the  ordinary 
range  of  instruction.  .  .  .40 

The  Daily  Journal  adopted  the  same  tone:  it  too  advocated  the 
use  of  the  Reader  in  the  schools  throughout  the  state,  but  never- 
theless qualified  its  praise : 

A  book  of  this  kind  is  not  to  be  criticised  according  to  those 
aesthetic  principles,  by  which  works  of  a  purely  literary  charac- 
ter, intended  for  sages  and  philosophers,  are  tried.  The  only 
question  of  importance  to  be  solved  in  its  review,  is,  does  it 
answer  the  purpose  for  which  it  claims  to  be  intended?41 

W.  D.  Cooke,  the  publisher  of  the  Weekly  Post,  which  Wiley 
was  then  editing,  inserted  a  highly  favorable  review  of  the 
Reader  from  the  Draiving  Room  Journal  of  Philadelphia.  He 
prefaced  the  insertion  with  the  remark  that  since  Wiley  was  too 
modest  to  insert  it  himself,  Cooke  had  taken  the  liberty  of  pre- 
senting it  to  Wiley's  many  North  Carolina  friends.  The  Draiving 
Room  Journal  dramatically  began:  "Most  of  our  readers  have 
probably  heard  of  Congressional  speeches  from  Buncombe;  but 
who  ever  read  a  North  Carolina  book?"  It  then  went  on  to  admit 
its  own  ignorance  of  the  history,   customs,   and  literature  of 


38  North  Carolina  Standard,   October  29,   1851. 

39  Raleigh  Times,  January  15,  1852. 

i0  Raleigh  Register,  December  31,  1851,  quoting:  the  Wilmington  Herald. 
41  Daily  Journal   (Wilmington),  November  22,  1851. 


512  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

North  Carolina,  but  pointed  out  that  now,  fortunately,  such 
ignorance  could  be  removed  by  the  book  under  review — 

.  .  .  which  gives  evidence  of  high  literary  attainments,  abounding 
in  emanations  of  decided  genius.  It  is  edited  by  C.  H.  Wiley,  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  who  has  shown  in  it  that  he  is  an 
elegant  and  able  writer,  and  an  intense  North  Carolinian ;  and  the 
prose  extracts  from  eminent  citizens  of  the  State,  are  often 
models  of  style,  chaste  and  nervous,  and  give  a  complete  treatise 
on  all  the  moral,  social,  and  political  duties.  Why  have  we  not 
heard  more  of  these  writers  and  orators  of  the  Old  State?  .  .  . 
We  repeat,  it  is  the  book  of  a  far-seeing  Statesman,  the  out- 
pouring of  an  ardent  and  patriotic  heart.  .  .  ,42 

Nine  months  after  the  publication  of  the  book,  there  appeared 
in  the  Southern  Quarterly  Review  an  appraisal  which  added 
nothing  new  to  the  criticism  of  the  Reader,  but  which  commented 
on  the  book's  reception:  "We  learn  with  pleasure  that  the 
patriotism  of  the  people  has  amply  seconded  that  of  the  editor 
of  this  little  volume,  by  giving  it  a  friendly  welcome  in  all  the 
counties  of  the  State."43 

Public  reaction  to  the  Reader  was  not  entirely  favorable,  how- 
ever; the  book  provided  the  immediate  occasion  for  a  spirited 
discussion  of  the  whole  subject  of  literary  localism  and  state 
patriotism  as  it  was  manifesting  itself  in  North  Carolina. 

This  discussion  was  touched  off  by  a  series  of  letters  to  the 
Raleigh  Register  by  an  individual  who  signed  himself  "Fitz 
Van  Winkle/'44  In  his  first  letter  on  the  subject  of  literary  pro- 
vincialism, "Fitz"  said  that  North  Carolina,  after  so  many  years 
of  scornful  and  contemptuous  treatment,  was  now  suddenly  in 
danger  of  becoming  even  more  laughable  as  a  result  of  the  ex- 
travagant eulogies  which  some  of  her  native  sons  were  heaping 
upon  her.  He  singled  out,  as  an  example  of  the  kind  of  localistic 
trumpeting  which  he  was  attacking,  the  following  passage  from 
Wiley's  Reader: 

The  North-Carolina  character,  much  as  it  has  been  misrepre- 
sented, is  unequalled  by  any  in  the  world.  Take  it  in  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  in  the  far  West,  and  it  is  proverbial  for 

42  Weekly  Post,  December  27,  1851,  quoting  the  Drawing  Room  Journal.  This  review,  about 
the  most  extravagant  which  the  Reader  received,  may  have  been  written  by  one  of  Wiley's 
Philadelphia  literary  friends.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  be  sure  that  there  is  not  a  slight 
tongue-in-cheek  element  in  it. 

43  Southern  Quarterly  Review,  VI    (July,  1852),  265. 

44  The  identity  of  "Fitz"  aroused  considerable  speculation  among  Wiley  and  his  friends. 
Although  it  was  never  established  with  certainty,  suspicion  finally  came  to  rest  on  Dr.  Joseph 
Hooper  of  the  state  university.  W.   D.   Cooke  to  Wiley,   January   3,   7,   13,   1852,   Wiley   MSS. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  513 

honesty,  probity,  and  honour ;  and  to  it  does  the  great  South-west 
owe  much,  if  not  most,  of  its  real  greatness.  There  is  no  other 
people  so  honest  and  so  reliable;  and  while  they  are  the  most  un- 
assuming, the  least  ambitious,  and  the  least  ostentatious  of  all 
the  races  of  the  world,  they  are,  undoubtedly,  among  the  very 
bravest.  .  .  . 

To  these  elements  are  added  an  unconquerable  love  of  liberty, 
and  a  strong  religious  sense ;  an  ardent  attachment  to  the  freedom 
of  law,  and  an  intellectual  or  mental  piety.  .  .  . 

Such  are  the  elements  of  the  North-Carolina  character — 
elements  which  have  not  yet  received  their  final  polish,  or  been 
developed  into  the  highest  state  of  which  they  are  easily  suscepti- 
ble. Much,  however,  as  this  character  has  been  withdrawn  from 
the  gaze  of  mankind,  it  has  had  its  effect  in  fixing  the  destinies 
of  the  world :  it  set  the  ball  of  the  Revolution  in  motion,  and  it 
has,  over  much  of  this  continent,  carried  law  and  religion,  and 
opposed  itself  a  sturdy  barrier  to  the  wild,  erratic,  licentious 
tendencies  of  the  age.  It  is  the  very  salt  of  the  South-west,  and 
the  fairest  and  sweetest  blossoms  of  humanity  in  the  great  Mis- 
sissippi valley  have  sprung  from  it.  .  .  .45 

With  a  good  deal  of  justification,  "Fitz"  pointed  out  that  if  such 
extravagant  language  appeared  in  a  book  "got  up  by  a  Virginian, 
South  Carolinian,  New  Yorker,  or  Massachusetts  man,  it  would 
excite  disgust  as  a  mark  of  overweening  arrogance,  or  be  laughed 
at  as  a  proof  of  swollen  vanity :  and  would  directly  provoke  taunt- 
ing and  satirical  remarks."46  He  then  proceeded  to  attack  the 
proponents  of  North  Carolina's  economic  self-sufficiency,  which 
he  declared  impossible  because  of  physiographic  factors.  He 
objected  to  those  who,  like  Wiley,  insisted  upon  encouraging 
home  manufactures  despite  the  fact,  he  said,  that  these  would  be 
inferior  to  those  available  elsewhere. 

Wiley  replied  in  the  Weekly  Post  with  vehemence,  remarking 
sarcastically  that  an  awakening  in  the  form  of  economic  ex- 
pansion and  literary  activity  in  North  Carolina  seemed  to  trouble 
"Fitz."  Wiley  actually  made  little  effort  to  reply  to  "Fitz's" 
charges  of  literary  provincialism  and  ignorance  of  economic 
fact.  Instead  he  immediately  raised  the  argument  to  the  abstract 
plane  of  state  loyalty,  a  plane  upon  which  most  of  "Fitz's"  an- 
tagonists continued  to  move  during  the  entire  controversy.  Wiley 
accused  "Fitz"  of  attempting  to  repress  all  aspirations,  economic 
and  literary,  of  North  Carolinians,  and  closed  by  urging  that 


45  Reader,  222. 

46  Raleigh  Register,  December  24,  1851. 


514  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

"Fitz"  reveal  his  name  so  that  North  Carolinians  would  know 
this  traitor  in  their  midst.47 

Also  possibly  as  an  answer  to  "Fitz,"  Wiley  inserted  an  edi- 
torial in  the  Post  entitled  "Cause  and  Effect,"  describing  the 
influence  produced  by  the  Reader.  Many,  according  to  the  edi- 
torial, who  had  planned  to  leave  North  Carolina  for  the  West 
and  Southwest,  had,  as  a  result  of  the  Reader's  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  the  resources  and  beauties  of  their  home  state,  developed 
a  new  appreciation  for  the  merits  of  North  Carolina  and  had 
resolved  to  remain.48 

In  a  letter  to  John  W.  Ellis,  Wiley  set  forth  his  purpose  in  pre- 
senting North  Carolina  in  the  brilliant  colors  which  he  had  used 
in  the  Reader,  offering  a  slightly  different  defense  against 
"Fitz's"  charges  from  that  of  the  blind  state-loyalty  appeal  which 
he  adopted  in  his  public  editorials.  He  was  aware,  he  explained, 
that  the  glowing  passages  to  which  "Fitz"  objected  were  not 
actually  a  realistic  description  of  present  conditions,  but  rather 
a  hopeful  prognostication;  the  Reader  was  intended  to  produce 
a  kind  of  pious  deception,  to  serve  as  an  instrument  for  molding 
the  favorable  attitude  which  was  an  essential  ingredient  in  the 
future  development  of  the  state : 

North  Carolina  may  not  be  exactly  what  I  have  represented  her : 
but  the  youth  of  the  State  will  work  it  up  to  any  standard  which 
their  text  books  form  in  their  minds.  A  State  will  be  sure  to  be- 
come what  its  youthful  inhabitants  are  taught  to  believe  that  it 
is  ?  and  if  they  are  taught  to  think  they  inhabit  a  wilderness  such 
their  country  will  become  whatever  be  its  advantages.49 

"Fitz's"  second  letter  expressed  further  objections  to  the  nar- 
row sectionalism  of  Wiley's  Reader,  but  directed  most  of  its 
jibes  this  time  at  Wheeler's  Historical  Sketches,  thus  placing 
Wiley  in  the  same  camp  with  his  erstwhile  rival.50  The  appear- 
ance of  "Fitz's"  third  letter  occasioned  an  advance  apology  from 
Seaton  Gales,  editor  of  the  Register,  to  Wiley.  Gales  wrote  that  he 
was  in  no  way  responsible  for  "Fitz's"  sentiments,  but  that,  for 
reasons  which  he  could  not  explain,  he  had  felt  compelled  to 
publish  his  letters.  He  said  he  had  always  had  a  very  high 


47  Weekly  Post,  December  27,  1851. 

48  Weekly  Post,  December  27,   1851. 

49  Wiley  to  Jobn  W.  Ellis,  January  7,  1852,   Ellis  MSS. 

50  Raleigh  Register,  December  31,  1851. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  515 

opinion  of  Wiley's  literary  abilities,  and  he  hoped  that  Wiley 
would  understand  his  position.51 

The  reason  Gales  felt  such  an  apology  necessary  is  evident 
upon  reading  "Fitz's"  third  letter,  which  went  beyond  a  discussion 
of  the  merits  of  the  Reader  itself  to  attack  also  Wiley's  ability 
as  a  writer  of  fiction. 

"Fitz"  began  by  denouncing  Wiley's  inclusion  in  the  Reader  of 
many  selections  by  North  Carolinians  which  possessed  absolutely 
no  literary  merit.  He  then  went  on  to  ridicule  Wiley's  attempt  to 
intimidate  in  advance  the  critics  of  the  Reader  and,  in  fact,  the 
critics  of  any  North  Carolina  writer.  Wiley  had  said  in  his  in- 
troduction : 

Some  there  will  be  who  will  war  on  such  designs  even  as  the 
Tories  of  the  Revolution,  now  damned  to  an  eternity  of  infamy, 
warred  on  the  champions  of  Independence.  Unerring  instinct, 
which  governs  especially  the  brute  creation,  leads  some  to  the 
vocation  of  critics.  These,  too  feeble  to  build  and  under  a  neces- 
sity to  labor,  maintain  a  sickly  and  filthy  existence  in  the  world 
of  letters,  by  picking  out  carious  spots  in  the  fabrics  of  better 
men.  .  .  .  There  are  a  few  of  another  class,  who  profess  to  be  too 
good  and  worthy  for  their  State ;  men  who  look  on  their  mother 
as  a  shame  to  them,  and  who  make  a  merit  of  scandalizing  her 
before  the  world.  .  .  .  The  authors  of  their  own  State,  of  course, 
they  despise;  nor  would  they  have  tolerated  Milton  or  Shake- 
speare had  they  been  their  fellow  citizens  and  neighbors.52 

"Fitz"  caustically  commented  on  Wiley's  power  of  logic : 

We  venture  to  think  that  it  is  a  non  sequitur  to  infer,  that  every 
one  questioning  Mr.  Wiley's  title  to  the  monopoly  of  literary 
patronage,  must  of  necessity  have  been  a  Tory  in  the  Revolution 
— must  have  been  insensible  to  the  merits  of  Milton  and  Shake- 
speare, had  those  mighty  geniuses  sprung  up  by  his  side. 

"Fitz"  allowed  himself  some  grudging  admission  of  certain 
merits  on  Wiley's  part  as  to  style  and  purpose : 

As  to  Mr.  Wiley's  own  contributions  ...  we  are  not  disposed  to 
deny  him  merit  as  a  writer  of  real  history,  as  a  describer  of 
natural  scenery,  and  as  a  compiler  of  valuable  statistics.  He  is  a 
master  of  considerable  richness  of  language  and  vigor  of  style; 
and  certainly  his  zeal  to  kindle  our  partiality  for  our  own  native 

51  Seaton  Gales  to  Wiley,  January  9,  1852,  Wiley  MSS.  In  the  Register  on  the  day  that 
"Fitz's"  letter  appeared,  an  editorial  note  said  the  same  thing,  that  the  Register  was  in  no 
way  responsible  for  the  attitude  of  "Fitz,"  and  that  all  were  aware  that  the  paper  had  never 
tried  in  the  slightest  way  to  detract  from  Mr.  Wiley's  reputation.  Raleigh  Register,  January 
14,  1852. 

52  Reader,  10. 


516  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

State,  by  setting  forth  all  its  real  excellencies  and  advantages, 
is  truly  commendable. 

He  reiterated,  however,  his  objections  to  Wiley's  "excess  of  zeal, 
as  transporting  him  beyond  the  bounds  of  discretion."  The  faint 
praise  which  he  allowed  Wiley  as  historian  and  statistician  was 
made  the  more  damning  by  the  slashing  attack  which  followed 
upon  an  original  literary  contribution  by  Wiley  to  the  Weekly 
Post,  "Redwood  the  Regulator:  or  The  Wizard  of  the  Pilot." 
Turning  the  Post's  own  words  against  Wiley,  "Fitz"  agreed  with 
the  editors  in  their  condemnation  of  the  trashy  fiction  which  had 
been  inundating  the  South ;  and  yet,  he  said,  Wiley's  romance  was 
nothing  more  than  a  production  of  the  very  type  condemned, 
the  only  difference  being  the  local  scene  portrayed.  Thus  he 
contemptuously  dismissed  Wiley's  pretensions  as  a  creator  of 
fiction : 

We  would  not  .  .  .  pluck  a  single  leaf  from  any  laurels  to  which 
Mr.  Wiley  may  be  worthily  entitled.  But  this  story  of  the  Wizard 
of  the  Pilot  convinces  us  that  he  is  not  destined  to  excel  in  the 
walks  of  fiction,  and  we  sincerely  advise  him  to  confine  himself 
to  the  utilitarian  channel  of  matter  of  fact,  where  he  is  qualified 
to  be  more  useful.  We  cannot  discover  in  what  respect  novels  and 
tales  are  more  profitable  because  the  author  lives  and  the  scene 
is  laid  in  North  Carolina.  .  .  ,53 

Immediately  after  "Fitz's"  first  letter,  James  Waddell54  came 
to  Wiley's  defense  in  a  letter  to  the  Post  signed  "Southerner." 
Against  "Fitz's"  attacks  on  home  literature  and  home  products, 
he  argued  that  a  state  situated  like  North  Carolina  should 
emulate  the  Dutch  and  the  Swiss  by  attempting  to  make  itself 
virtually  self-sufficient,  rather  than  continue  its  "commercial 
vassalage."55 

Several  letters  in  defense  of  Wiley's  position  were  also  written 
to  other  Raleigh  papers,  primarily  upholding  his  North  Carolina 
zeal.  A  sarcastic  reply  to  "Fitz  Van  Winkle"  appeared  under 
the  signature  of  "Fitz  Van  Fizzle" ;  it  opened  by  commending 
"Fitz"  for  his  bold  attack  on  the  "lamentable  folly"  of  "im- 
provement" in  North  Carolina,  which  would  interfere  with  the 
providential  arrangement  by  which  the  state  contributed  to  the 


f*3  Raleigh  Register,  January  14,  1852. 

M  Identified  by  Cooke.  W.  D.  Cooke  to  Wiley,  January  3,  1852,  Wiley  MSS.  Waddell  was  a 
teacher  at  the  Institution  for  the  Deaf,   Dumb,  and  Blind,   of  which  Cooke  was  principal. 
«  Weekly  Pout,  December  27,   1851. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  517 

enrichment  of  other  states.  He  pronounced  himself  in  agreement 
with  "Fitz"  that  North  Carolina  "always  was  a  miserable  place, 
is  now  a  very  shabby  State,  and  always  will  be  a  sort  of  Rogue's 
Harbor. . . ."  So  desperate  was  the  situation  of  North  Carolinians 
that  the  problem  could  not  be  solved  even  by  emigration,  since 
the  stigma  of  their  origin  would  follow  them  to  other  states. 
Therefore  he  proposed  this  remedy : 

That  the  sovereignty  of  the  State  be  disbanded,  and  her  name 
blotted  out,  and  that  the  next  Legislature  call  a  Convention  of  the 
people,  to  petition  Virginia  and  South  Carolina  to  appoint  Com- 
missioners to  divide  our  territory  and  hand  over  a  half  to  each 
of  their  States.56 

Another  correspondent,  "Voontor,"  conjectured  that  "Fitz" 
was  undoubtedly  an  old  fogey  who  was  concerned  with  maintain- 
ing his  own  aristocratic  privileges — which  were  threatened  by 
the  upsurge  of  vitality  in  the  state — and  pictured  him  holding 
forth  at  great  length,  with  the  aid  of  heavy  meals  and  much 
claret,  to  his  small  circle  of  fogeyish  admirers.  "Voontor"  satiri- 
cally expressed  pity  for  Wiley,  Wheeler,  and  other  victims  of 
"Fitz's"  wrath,  but  insisted  that  their  attempt  to  inflate  the  North 
Carolinian  ego  was  a  crime  fully  deserving  of  the  horrible  death 
which  "Fitz"  would  no  doubt  mete  out  to  them.57 

Another  sarcastic  letter  appeared  in  the  Post,  over  the  signa- 
ture of  "Q,"  advocating,  instead  of  dividing  North  Carolina  be- 
tween Virginia  and  South  Carolina,  as  "Van  Fizzle"  had  recom- 
mended, that  the  state  be  auctioned  off,  the  proceeds  be  used  to 
settle  the  poor  inhabitants  elsewhere,  and  "aliens"  be  imported 
who  would  be  more  tractable  to  "Fitz's"  recommendations.  If 
this  scheme  should  prove  impracticable,  "Q"  suggested  that  the 
permanent  position  of  state  critic  be  established,  the  main  func- 
tion of  the  office  being  to  remind  North  Carolinians  of  their 
failings  and  teach  them  to  "know  their  places."  "Q"  particularly 
emphasized  that  "the  rough  country  boys  of  North  Carolina" 
must  cherish  no  presumptuous  literary  ambitions.  "Let  us  learn 
.  .  .  that  however  favorable  the  soil  of  our  State  may  be  to  the 
growth  of  critics,  it  must  for  centuries,  remain  barren  of  authors 
and  original  literature."58 


68  Raleigh  Register,  January  7,  1852. 

57  Raleigh  Times,  January  16,  1852. 

58  North  Carolina  Star   (Raleigh),  January  28,  1852,  quoting  the  Weekly  Post. 


518  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

This  letter  from  "Q"  occasioned  an  editorial  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina Star  (Raleigh),  expressing  faith  in  North  Carolina's  future 
and  mentioning  the  "noble  beginning"  which  had  been  made  by 
some  of  her  talented  sons,  among  them  Wiley  with  his  Reader. 
The  editorial  dismissed  "Fitz's"  ilk  with  the  customary  appeal  to 
state  loyalty:  North  Carolina  could  be  great,  and  "whoever 
doubts  it  is  a  traitor  to  her  interests."59 

Two  letters  signed  "Pax  Vobiscum"  took  what  appeared  to  be 
a  conciliatory  role  in  the  controversy  between  Wiley  and  "Fitz," 
although  questioning  the  wisdom  of  over-ardent  defense  of  local 
literary  efforts.  In  his  first  letter  "Pax"  attacked  the  whole 
conception  of  literary  nationalism,  arguing  that  a  literary  "tariff" 
would  not  improve  the  home  product:  "Will  the  purchase  of  an 
author's  silly  or  indifferent  productions  stimulate  him  to  greater 
excellence?"  He  hoped,  however,  that  the  current  controversy 
could  be  settled  "without  the  use  of  deadly  weapons"  or  the 
division  of  the  state  between  South  Carolina  and  Virginia.60 

In  his  second  letter  "Pax"  said  that  Wiley  had  not  been  given 
enough  credit  for  his  plan  in  the  Reader,  and  that  the  idea  of 
producing  such  a  book  specifically  for  the  schools  of  North  Caro- 
lina was  highly  praiseworthy.  Wiley  should  realize,  nevertheless, 
that  some  of  his  glowing  eulogies  of  his  native  state  and  those  by 
others  could  be  sacrificed  "to  the  knife  of  Fitz  Van  Winkle"  and 
a  second  edition  of  the  book  be  thereby  greatly  improved.  "Pax" 
went  on  to  appraise  the  historical  portion  of  the  Reader: 

Mr.  Wiley  has  produced  the  very  best  narrative  of  the  annals 
of  North  Carolina  which  has  yet  seen  light;  it  is,  however,  no 
history.  Everything  is  couleur  de  rose.  The  annalist  would  have 
his  readers  believe  and  perhaps  believes  himself  that  there  never 
has  been  a  native  born  North  Carolina  rascal  from  1584  down. 

"Pax"  doubted  if  Wiley  ever  paused  to  simplify  his  language  for 
schoolroom  use,  and  he  thought  that  most  of  the  extracts  by  other 
North  Carolina  writers  and  orators  were  "execrable."61 

Wiley  seems  to  have  thought  that  "Pax"  was  "Fitz"  under  a 
new  guise.  He  remarked  that  "Fitz"  had  retreated  in  confusion, 
"but  it  is  supposed  that  he  has  come  to  his  own  relief  in  a  new 


m  North  Carolina  Star  (Raleigh),  January  28,  1852. 

00  Raleigh  Register,  January  14,  1852. 

61  Raleigh  Register,  January  21,  1852.  "Pax's"  criticisms  of  the  Reader  are  similar  to  those 
which  William  H.  Owen  of  Wake  Foi-est  had  written  to  Wiley;  it  is  quite  possible  that  Owen 
was  "Pax." 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  519 

mask,  and  under  a  name  calculated  to  terrify  those  who  do  not 
understand  the  dead  languages."62 

After  the  letters  of  "Pax"  the  controversy  was  allowed  to  die 
down;  "Fitz"  may  have  found  it  advisable  to  drop  his  attacks  on 
literary  provincialism  because  of  the  heated  charges  as  to  his 
loyalty  which  were  generated  by  the  whole  affair.  "Fitz"  of 
course  had  a  good  deal  of  abstract  right  on  his  side;  literary 
nationalism,  whether  North  Carolinian  or  any  other  kind,  always 
had  a  tendency  to  gather  up  a  good  deal  of  chaff  along  with  work 
of  genuine  merit,  and  to  make  insufficient  distinction  between 
them.  In  this  particular  case  it  may  be  noted  that  most  of  those 
who  sided  against  "Fitz"  seemed  to  concentrate  their  praise  for 
the  Reader  more  upon  its  intended  object  than  upon  its  intrinsic 
merit. 

To  further  the  sale  of  the  Reader  Wiley  made  vigorous  efforts 
to  have  the  superintendents  of  common  schools  in  the  various 
counties  of  the  state  adopt  it  officially.  He  made  a  proposal  to 
give  the  copyright  and  the  plates  of  the  Reader  to  the  Literary 
Board  without  charge,  if  the  Board  would  first  order  twelve 
copies  of  the  book  for  every  school  district  in  the  state — approxi- 
mately twenty  thousand  copies — at  the  retail  price  of  one  dollar.63 
This  would  have  been  over  three  times  as  many  copies  as  were 
actually  sold  during  the  time  that  Wiley  held  the  copyright. 
Wiley's  proposal  was  hailed  by  the  Mountain  Banner  (Ruther- 
fordton)  as  "a  magnificent  offer  from  one  of  the  most  devoted 
of  North  Carolina's  sons — one  who  seems  to  have  nothing  so 
much  at  heart  as  the  interests  of  his  native  state."64  However, 
Wiley's  magnanimity  does  not  seem  quite  so  impressive  when 
one  realizes  that  he  would  have  made  a  tidy  profit  from  the 
initial  sale  of  the  twenty  thousand  copies,  without  the  payment 
of  any  agents'  fees.  At  least  the  offer  would  scarcely  have  in- 
volved the  "sacrifice"  on  his  part  which  the  Banner  praised  him 
for. 

This  plan  was  not,  however,  accepted  by  the  Literary  Board, 
and  Wiley  made  offers  to  individual  counties;  for  example,  he 
suggested  to  the  school  superintendents  of  Guilford  County  that 
if  they  would  buy  $400  worth  of  Readers  at  sixty-five  cents  each, 


62  Weekly  Post,  January  24,  1852. 

63  Wiley  to  Lyndon   Swaim,   December   29,    1851,   typed   copy,   Mary   C.   Wiley   MSS,   private 
collection. 

64  Raleigh  Register,  January  14,  1852,  quoting  the  Mountain  Banner   ( Rutherf ordton ) . 


520  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

he  would  then  sell  them  Readers  at  thirty-five  cents  a  copy  until 
the  copyright  expired.65 

This  offer  was  not  accepted  either.  However,  the  Reader  was 
adopted  by  some  counties,66  and  Wiley's  expectation  of  its  success 
is  indicated  by  a  new  agreement  with  Lippincott,  just  one  month 
after  the  initial  publication  of  five  hundred  copies,  to  print  an 
additional  four  thousand  on  the  same  terms,  making  some  cor- 
rections that  Wiley  had  indicated.67  By  November,  1853,  when 
Wiley  relinquished  his  interest  in  the  book,  5,543  copies  of  the 
Reader  had  been  distributed  to  agents  throughout  the  state,  out 
of  an  edition  of  6,000  which  had  been  printed.68 

Although  the  Reader  was  not  officially  adopted  in  more  than  a 
few  counties,  it  gradually  came  into  general  use;  but  this  was 
mainly  after  Wiley  had  relinquished  his  copyright,  and  his 
financial  returns  on  the  book  were  not  great.69 

While  the  Reader  was  in  preparation  in  1850  and  1851  Wiley 
was  serving  in  the  legislature  as  a  Whig  member  from  Guilford 
County,  and  during  this  session  he  introduced  a  bill  to  provide 
for  the  appointment  of  a  superintendent  of  common  schools,  to 
which  post  he  hoped  to  be  elected.70  The  bill  did  not  pass  at  this 
time,  but  was  approved  at  the  1852  session,  at  which  time  Wiley 
was  elected  superintendent. 

As  the  copyright  holder  of  a  textbook  already  in  use  in  many 
parts  of  the  state,  Wiley  was  placed  in  a  rather  delicate  position 
with  regard  to  recommending  textbooks.  In  an  open  letter  to  the 
county  superintendents  in  March,  1853,  he  remarked  that  he  was 
authorized  by  law  to  recommend  texts : 

The  reasons  for  investing  this  authority  in  some  one,  are  obvious 
to  all  experienced  teachers ;  and  many  of  these,  in  view  of  exist- 
ing difficulties,  are  even  of  opinion  that  some  one  should  have  the 
power  of  prescribing,  absolutely,  what  books  should  be  used.71 


65  Wiley  to  Lyndon  Swaim,  December  29,  1851,  typed  copy,  Mary  C.  Wiley  MSS,  private 
collection. 

00  Wiley  to  John  W.  Ellis,  December  9,  1851,  Ellis  MSS. 

07  Lippincott  to  Wiley,  November  7,  1851,  Wiley  MSS. 

08  Memorandum   in   Wiley's   handwriting,   Wiley   MSS. 

69  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  ascertain  just  how  much  Wiley  realized  from  the  sale  of  the 
Reader,  because  of  the  great  variations  in  agreements  with  his  agents  and  because  of  the 
heavy  freight  charges  which  he  had  to  pay;  however,  it  can  be  estimated  that  he  made  fifteen 
to  twenty  cents  on  each  of  the  copies  sold — which  would  not  have  been  all  of  the  5,543  dis- 
tributed when  he  sold  the  copyright.  The  ultimate  price  for  which  he  sold  it,  $600,  was  not 
quite  $200  more  than  he  had  paid  for  the  initial  stereotyping,  so  that  his  total  profit  on  the 
book  probably  was  not  much  more  than  $1,000. 

70  Wiley  to  his  mother,  Mrs.  Anne  Wiley,  December  6,  1850,  Mary  C.  Wiley  MSS,  private 
collection. 

71  North  Carolina  Standard,  March  30,  1853. 


Calvin  H.  Wiley's  N.  C.  Reader  521 

This  power  of  prescribing  "absolutely,"  however,  Wiley  did  not 
have;  the  bill  creating  his  post,  passed  by  the  legislature  in  1852, 
had  specifically  omitted  that  portion  of  the  1850  bill  which  would 
have  given  the  superintendent  that  power.  Wiley  wrote  to  Gov- 
ernor David  S.  Reid:  "I  am  perplexed  in  regard  to  the  form  of 
suggestion  as  to  books — teachers  are  calling  on  me  for  advice 
while  you  seem  to  be  rather  of  opinion  that  it  is  not  proper  to  give 
it.  If  I  advise,  it  will  be  merely  in  the  way  of  suggestions,  &c."72 
The  North  Carolina  Reader  did  not  appear  on  Wiley's  first  list 
of  recommended  books.  Since  he  was  the  author,  he  felt  that  he 
could  not  safely  include  it  so  long  as  he  would  derive  any  financial 
benefit  from  it.  To  dissociate  himself  from  the  Reader,  he  pro- 
posed to  Governor  Reid  that  he  sell  the  copyright.  As  the  work 
was  widely  used  and  designed  specifically  for  the  children  of 
North  Carolina,  he  would  then  like  to  recommend  it,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  one  or  more  elementary  readers  to  be  compiled  by  Pro- 
fessor Hubbard  of  the  university.73  In  emphasizing  the  value  of 
such  a  series,  he  pointed  out  the  danger  of  anti-southern  bias 
in  many  readers  then  in  use :  ".  .  .  many  of  these — two  to  my 
certain  knowledge — contain  doctrines  striking  at  the  root  of  our 
Southern  Institutions:  in  one  the  Higher  Law  doctrine  is  dis- 
tinctly laid  down."74  He  asked  for  Reid's  opinion  of  his  plan  to 
dispose  of  the  copyright  of  the  Reader : 

. . .  the  plan  I  propose,  will  not  be  advantageous  to  myself,  except, 
of  course,  as  a  North-Carolinian :  I  once  refused  more  than  four 
times  six  hundred  dollars  for  the  copyright  of  my  work,  &  with- 
out being  pushed  by  me,  it  would  be  worth  to  me  very  con- 
siderably more  than  the  sum  proposed. 

I  once  thought  of  giving  it  to  the  Literary  Fund;  but  after 
much  reflection,  I  felt  that,  in  my  situation,  it  would  not  be  just 
to  give  away  entirely  the  proceeds  of  my  labor. 

If  I  were  more  independent  I  would  be  glad  to  do  so,  confident 
especially,  that  the  kind  of  readers  proposed  will  make  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  State.75 


72  Wiley  to  David  S.  Reid,  July  24,  1853,  Governors'  Papers,  North  Carolina  Department  of 
Archives  and  History. 

73  As  superintendent,  Wiley  felt  that  he  was  not  the  person  to  complete  the  series  of 
readers  himself,  as  he  had  previously  planned  to  do.  Hubbard  agreed  to  do  two  numbers  of 
the  series,  to  precede  Wiley's  Reader,  which  was  to  be  the  most  advanced.  Wiley  in  1855, 
however,  claimed  to  have  "made  over"  both  volumes  himself  ("Third  Annual  Report  of  the 
General  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,"  10,  Legislative  Documents,  1855-1857) .  These 
readers  appeared  in  1855.  They  are  similar  to  the  other  elementary  readers  of  the  day,  con- 
taining short  selections  of  prose  and  verse,  without  any  particular  emphasis  upon  North 
Carolina,  although  they  retain  the  title  of  North  Carolina  Readers. 

7*  Wiley  to  Reid,  July  24,  1853,  Governors'  Papers. 
76  Wiley  to  Reid,  July  24,  1853,  Governors'  Papers. 


522  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

In  March,  1853,  Wiley  had  offered  to  sell  the  copyright  to  Lip- 
pincott  and  Grambo  for  $500  plus  the  balance  of  $872.69  which 
he  owed  them  for  books  which  had  been  sent  out.  Lippincott 
respectfully  declined  the  offer.76  In  December,  1853,  he  succeeded 
in  selling  the  copyright  to  A.  S.  Barnes  and  Company  of  New 
York,  for  $600,  and  Barnes  agreed  to  purchase  from  Lippincott 
the  remaining  unsold  copies.  Barnes  remarked : 

We  presume,  there  will  be  no  obsticle  [sic~\  to  prevent  you  from 
issuing  your  circular77  at  as  early  a  date  as  you  choose — after 
making  an  entire  disposal  of  your  interest  in  the  book.  In  this 
connection  we  cannot  but  express  our  admiration  of  the  high 
ground  you  have  taken  in  regard  to  the  total  freedom  of  your 
position,  from  all  pecuniary  interest  in  books.  It  is  an  example 
worthy  of  all  imitation.78 

Important  as  the  Reader  was  as  a  textbook,  its  reception  at  the 
time  of  its  publication  indicates  that  it  was  considered,  by  its 
critics  and  admirers  alike,  to  be  even  more  important  as  a  mani- 
festation of  North  Carolinian  patriotism  and  literary  inde- 
pendence. As  in  all  of  his  writing,  Wiley  was  in  the  Reader 
tilting  with  the  William  Byrd  delineation  of  North  Carolina 
character  and  with  other  derogatory  commentators  on  North 
Carolina.  In  his  exaltation  of  the  state  as  possessing  all  possible 
virtues  and  resources,  he  no  doubt  indulged  at  times  in  somewhat 
ridiculous  hyperbole;  but,  as  he  himself  suggested,  it  could  be 
argued  that  a  certain  amount  of  exaggeration  was  necessary  for 
purposes  of  emphasis.  The  enthusiastic  confidence  expressed  by 
the  Reader  in  North  Carolina's  agricultural  and  industrial  po- 
tentialities may  have  had  some  effect,  as  has  been  maintained,  in 
reducing  the  large-scale  emigration  from  the  state.  Certainly 
its  geographical  and  historical  sketches,  however  roseate,  brought 
together  a  considerable  amount  of  concrete  information  to  serve 
as  a  frame  of  reference  for  the  rising  wave  of  state  pride. 


78  Lippincott  to  Wiley,  March  28,  1853,  Wiley  MSS. 

77  Perhaps  this  refers  to  Wiley's  "Second  Letter  of  Instructions,"  which  appeared  at  the 
end  of  January,  1854,  and  which  did  include  the  Reader  among  the  list  of  recommended 
texts. 

78  A.  S.  Barnes  to  Wiley,  December  24,  1853,  Wiley  MSS. 


THE  LAND  VALUATIONS  OF  IREDELL  COUNTY  IN  1800 

By  Hugh  Hill  Wooten 

Studies  of  early  agriculture  which  have  been  carried  out  in  the 
southern  United  States  frequently  fail  to  give  much  idea  of  the 
purchase  of  land,  development  of  farms,  degree  of  improvement, 
and  manner  of  life  of  farmers  in  the  back  country  or  western 
frontier  of  the  time.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina piedmont,  where  the  family-sized  farm  settlement  pattern 
was  quite  different  from  that  of  the  coastal  plain  plantation 
areas. 

The  absence  of  adequate  written  accounts  covering  the  settle- 
ment and  the  land  records  of  the  piedmont  from  1740  to  1840 
deprives  students  and  citizens  of  information  which  would  help 
in  an  understanding  of  the  development  of  the  region.  While  the 
possibilities  of  evolving  a  history  of  land  development  in  the 
North  Carolina  piedmont  are  limited,  there  are  many  opportuni- 
ties to  study  public  land  records,  to  assemble  family  papers,  and 
to  trace  some  important  steps  in  the  improvement  and  settlement 
of  the  region.  Much  additional  information  can  be  obtained  from 
land  valuations,  surveyors'  notes,  family  and  church  histories, 
personal  letters,  and  land  papers  such  as  deeds,  wills,  inventories 
of  sales,  and  farm  accounts.  A  wealth  of  material  is  buried  in  the 
record  books  and  files  of  the  county  courthouses  and  in  old  papers 
stored  away  in  the  homes  of  the  area.  Inquiry  in  this  and  other 
counties  in  the  piedmont  doubtless  would  yield  much  similar  data 
essential  for  an  understanding  of  the  land  history  of  this  im- 
portant region. 

In  this  paper  emphasis  is  placed  upon  land  use  and  ownership 
in  Iredell  County  in  1800,  as  revealed  by  the  County  Land  Valua- 
tion Book  for  that  year,  supplemented  by  land  records  and  other 
papers.  Family  papers,  deeds,  surveyors'  notes,  farm  accounts, 
and  old  letters  made  available  through  the  kindness  of  two 
citizens  of  the  county  did  much  to  clarify  the  information  in  the 
public  records.1 


1  Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County,  North  Carolina,  1800,  For  a  Direct  Tax.  Alexander 
Hunter,  Clerk,  112  pp.  This  is  a  manuscript  book  listing  the  names  and  acreages  of  all 
landowners  prepared  by  six  county  assessors  for  assessment  of  a  special  direct  tax  for 
national  defense  authorized  by  the  Congress  in  July,  1798.  For  details  on  this  tax  refer  to: 
John  Bach  McMaster,  A  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States  from  the  Revolution  to 

[  523  ] 


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Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         525 
Land  Development  in  1800 

The  typical  features  of  a  North  Carolina  piedmont  county  in 
1800 — forest-clad  hills,  family-sized  farms,  fields,  pastures  and 
meadows  fenced  with  wooden  rails,  log  houses  and  barns,  with 
nearby  springs,  red  clay  roads,  with  here  and  there  a  gristmill 
and  blacksmith  shop  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  community — are 
thrown  into  bold  relief  by  the  land  valuation  book  of  Iredell 
County  for  that  year.  The  land  valuation  book  for  1800  lists  996 
farms,  6  stores,  13  sawmills,  4  tanneries,  34  mills,  53  stillhouses, 
49  blacksmith  shops,  and  25  shops  of  various  other  kinds,  such 
as  wagon,  wheelwright,  cooper,  gunsmith,  carpenter,  hatter, 
potter,  saddler,  and  shoe  shops. 

By  1800  cleared  land  in  Iredell  County  averaged  perhaps  fifty 
to  sixty  acres  per  farm,  and  many  larger  areas  were  being  used 
as  pasture.2  One  of  the  most  stupendous  achievements  was  the 
clearing  by  hand  labor  of  about  sixty  thousand  acres  of  the  forest 
for  fields,  and  the  cutting  of  timber  and  building  of  houses,  barns, 
fences,  and  roads  in  a  wilderness  area.  Family-sized  farms 
operated  by  their  owners  were  predominant. 

So  rapid  was  the  development  that  by  1800  the  pioneer  stage 
was  passing.  Already  people  were  beginning  to  push  out  upon 
the  steeper  hill  lands  and  small  mountains  to  the  north  and  west, 
or  to  move  across  the  Appalachian  Mountains  to  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky.  Although  over  three-fourths  of  the  county  was  still 
tree-covered,  many  fenced  fields  and  pastures,  orchards,  well- 
built  frame  houses,  and  large  barns  were  in  evidence.  A  few  vil- 
lages had  begun  to  take  form  at  important  crossroad  centers,  and 
strictly  subsistence  agriculture  was  passing. 

The  following  quotation  from  George  Washington's  diary  was 
descriptive  of  nearby  localities  in  Iredell,  Rowan,  Mecklenburg, 

the  civil  War  (6  vols.  New  York,  1897)  II.  passim;  and  William  Hoyt  The  Papers  of 
Archibald  D.  Murphey    (2  vols.,  Raleigh,   1914),   11,   164-166. 

The  copy  of  Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County,  1800,  was  preserved  among  books  and  papers 
of  the  Robert  and  James  Hill  families  and  passed  down  to  a  descendant,  Mr.  James  R.  Hill, 
248  North  Center  Street,  States ville,  who  kindly  made  the  book  available  for  study  in  prep- 
aration of  this  paper.  Miss  Mattie  R.  Hall,  237  Bost  Street,  Statesville,  also  gave  valuable 
help  by  lending  a  collection  of  papers  relating  to  the  Adams,  Hall,  McClelland,  and  Stevenson 
families,  including  surveyors'  notes,  land  plats  and  deeds  by  William  McClelland,  Iredell 
County  surveyor  in  1800,  and  an  original  manuscript  map  by  William  Sharpe  showing  the 
location  of  the  homes  of  196  families  of  Fourth  Creek  Congregation  in  1773. 

2  O.  E.  Baker,  "Rural-Urban  Migration  and  the  National  Welfare,"  Annals,  Association  of 
American  Geographers  (1933),  59-126;  special  studies  of  land  use  (partly  unpublished)  made 
by  Dr.  Baker  for  the  Graphic  Summaries  of  American  Agriculture,  Miscellaneous  Publica- 
tions Nos.  105  and  260  (U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  1931  and  1937);  and  the  Atlas  of 
American  Agriculture    (U.   S.  Department  of  Agriculture,   1936). 


526  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

and  Forsyth  counties.  In  the  account  of  his  visit  to  North  Caro- 
lina in  1791  Washington  wrote  that  'The  lands  between  Charlotte 
and  Salisbury  are  very  fine,  and  the  first  meadows  I  have  seen 
since  I  left  Virginia ;  and  here  also  we  appear  to  be  getting  into 
a  wheat  country."  As  to  central  piedmont  towns,  he  said,  "Salis- 
bury is  but  a  small  place.  There  are  about  300  souls  in  it  and 
tradesmen  of  different  kinds.  .  . .  Salem  is  a  small  but  neat  village 
having  within  itself  all  kinds  of  artisans."3 

The  Land  Valuation  Book  of  1800 

The  land  valuation  book  of  Iredell  County  for  1800  gives  a 
glimpse  of  many  interesting  details  of  land  and  buildings  now 
almost  forgotten.  In  this  old  book,  written  by  the  six  Iredell 
County  assessors  while  the  United  States  was  a  new  nation  and 
the  piedmont  region  still  a  newly  settled  country,  are  the  names 
of  the  owners  and  occupants  of  all  the  farms,  the  dimensions  of 
the  barns  and  outhouses,  and  the  value  of  the  dwellings.4  The 
entries  show  not  only  how  many  acres  of  land  were  held  by  indi- 
viduals and  the  kind  of  buildings,  but  in  addition,  indicate  what 
many  did  for  a  living,  besides  farming.  Many  of  the  early  occupa- 
tions later  grew  into  industries.  For  example,  several  shops  de- 
veloped into  machine  works  and  foundries.  Handmade  furniture 
possibly  was  the  forerunner  of  the  furniture  factories.  The  early 
grain  mills  likewise  have  been  continued  and  expanded.  The  first 
store  in  the  county,  according  to  local  tradition,  was  built  and 
operated  by  John  Nisbet  at  a  crossroads  near  the  center  of  the 
Fourth  Creek  settlements.5  Here  an  important  north-south  road 


3  Samuel  A'Court   Ashe,   History  of  North   Carolina    (Greensboro,    1925),   II,   131,   242,   269. 

4  The  six  Iredell  County  assessors  were:  Andrew  Caldwell,  principal  assessor;  William 
Falls,  William  Simonton,  James  Alexander,  Elia  Gaither,  and  Joseph  Sharpe,  assistant 
assessors. 

Secretary  for  the  assessors  is  believed  by  old  residents  to  have  been  James  Hill.  Local 
tradition  as  well  as  family  papers  such  as  deeds  and  wills  indicate  that  the  Iredell  County 
Land  Valuation  Book  of  1800  is  in  his  handwriting. 

On  the  flyleaf  under  the  title — Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County,  North  Carolina,  1800, 
for  a  direct  tax — there  appears  the  following  note: 

"This  certifies  that  the  Board  of  Commissioners  at  their  meeting  at  the  University 
in  July  1800  in  equalizing  the  different  valuations  of  lands  within  the  District  of 
North  Carolina  for  a  direct  tax  did  order  that  on  the  valuations  of  lands  in  the 
County  of  Iredell  there  should  be  added  25  percent  of  which  the  surveyor  of  said 
county  is  to  take  notice  in  making  out  his  list  of  taxes  and  add  the  same  accordingly. 

Attest 
(signed)         Thos.  Henderson 

Comm.    5th   Division 
North   Carolina" 

5  The  Iredell  County  Land  Valuation  Book,  1800,  lists  two  store  buildings  in  the  name  of 
John  Nisbet,  one  at  the  Nisbet  home  place  on  Fourth  Creek,  and  another  in  Statesville.  An 
Iredell  Express  news  article  of  April  16,  1860,  mentions  that  the  first  store  in  Statesville  (1790) 
was  operated  by  John  Nisbet.  Dr.  E.  A.  Hall  (1839-1928),  grandson  of  John  Nisbet  and  a 
lifetime  resident  of  the  community,  stated  on  different  occasions  that  the  John  Nisbet  store 
on  Fourth  Creek  was  the  first  store  in   Iredell  County. 


Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         527 

from  Pennsylvania  to  Georgia,  by  way  of  Salem,  intersected  the 
east- west  road  from  Salisbury  to  the  Catawba  River  and  onward 
to  Morganton  and  the  mountains. 

The  pages  of  the  land  valuation  book  also  reflect  the  story  of 
the  Revolutionary  War  with  names  of  several  officers  and  many 
other  soldiers  who  served  in  the  nation's  armies  of  the  time. 
Names  also  appear  of  men  serving  the  new  state  and  nation  in 
civil  affairs.  The  names  range  up  the  years  and  across  the 
countries  of  western  Europe  and  the  United  States.  Names  like 
Milligan,  McClanahan,  McDogle,  and  McGuire  betray  their  origin 
as  Ireland.  Others  like  Adams,  Allison,  Brandon,  Osborn,  Evans, 
Ewing,  Nisbet,  Long,  Guy,  Clark,  Johnston,  Locke,  Stevenson, 
Sharpe,  Sloan,  Hill,  Hall,  Hampton,  Houston,  Stockton,  Steel, 
Dunmore,  Wooten,  and  Young  probably  are  English  derivations. 
Others,  names  including  McCulloch,  McClelland,  McLaughlin, 
McNeil,  McKnight,  McEwen,  and  McKenzie,  likely  are  Scotch. 
Still  others  show  they  may  be  Pennsylvania  Dutch  or  German, 
such  as  Haupt,  Cline,  Berger,  Beringer,  Stroud,  Seitz,  Scherel, 
Braun,  Myars,  Molder. 

In  1800,  according  to  the  descriptions  of  buildings  in  the  land 
valuation  book,  the  landscape  of  Iredell  County  was  dotted  with 
numerous  log  houses  and  with  a  number  of  neatly  built  frame 
houses  on  the  better  farms.  That  the  county  was  not  entirely  re- 
moved from  a  wilderness  is  evidenced  by  a  bill  in  the  Assembly 
providing  for  destruction  of  wolves  and  panthers.  Even  so,  the 
earlier  log  cabins  were  being  replaced  as  sawmills,  joiners,  and 
carpenters  became  available  and  farmers  accumulated  a  little 
above  the  bare  necessities  of  life.  By  1800  farms  had  many  com- 
modious barns  as  well  as  substantially  built  frame  and  hewn-log 
houses.  Many  of  the  larger  barns  had  tight  floors  in  the  center  for 
threshing  and  cleaning  grain.  House  and  barn  frames  were  heavy 
timbers  fastened  together  by  wooden  pegs  and  handmade  nails. 
Dimensions  of  many  early  houses  were  as  large  as  30  x  18  feet — 
often  being  two-story,  or  story-and-a-half ,  with  large  stone  or 
brick  chimneys  at  the  ends  and  fireplaces  in  the  main  rooms. 

The  contents  of  the  land  valuation  book  of  Iredell  for  1800  are 
dwelt  upon,  not  because  they  are  far  different  from  records 
which  could  be  found  for  other  Piedmont  counties,  but  because  of 
the  specific  facts  about  the  land  and  people  of  a  typical  area  for 


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FIGURE  2.     Abstract  of  Deed  and  Plat  for  527  acres  on  Fourth  Creek  conveyed  by 
Earl  of  Granville  to  Michael  Robison,  1758;  and  sold  to  John  McClelland,  1763. 


Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         529 

a  period  in  our  state  history  that  is  now  somewhat  shadowy  in 
our  minds.  These  records  made  150  years  ago,  when  viewed 
against  a  background  of  old  land  deeds,  wills,  accounts,  invento- 
ries, and  letters,  illuminate  little-known  facts  of  early  piedmont 
farms,  and  despite  the  altered  situation  today,  give  a  clearer  un- 
derstanding of  the  agriculture  of  1800. 


Description  of  Land 

Altogether,  1,160  separate  tracts  of  land,  exclusive  of  village 
lots,  were  listed  in  the  Iredell  County  Land  Valuation  Book  of 
1800.  Of  these  tracts,  996  had  buildings  sufficient  to  indicate  that 
they  were  farms.  There  were  164  other  tracts  of  land,  of  which 
36  large  tracts,  containing  about  50,000  acres,  were  described  as 
wild  lands.  In  all,  there  were  977  landowners.  In  addition  to  the 
privately  owned  land  assessed  for  taxation  in  1800,  deeds  record- 
ed and  surveyors'  notes  of  1800  to  1830  show  that  there  were 
many  small  tracts  of  vacant  or  state  land. 

The  total  acreage  assessed  was  341,105  acres.  This  land  with 
buildings  was  given  a  total  value  of  $372,203  by  the  county  asses- 
sors. Twenty-five  per  cent  was  added  by  the  State  Board  of  Com- 
missioners, thus  making  the  total  valuation  $465,254. 

Instructions  to  the  assessors  stated  that  property  should  be 
valued  at  what  it  would  sell  for  in  open  public  sale.  While  the 
meaning  of  open  public  sale  is  not  quite  clear,  it  is  believed  some- 
what comparable  to  the  term  used  today,  free  market  value, 
meaning  not  a  forced  sale,  but  instead  a  sale  with  both  a  willing 
seller  and  a  willing  buyer.6 

In  view  of  the  history  of  assessments  of  property  for  taxation, 
it  is  probable  that  the  valuations  made  in  1800  were  low  even  for 
that  time.  The  assessments,  however,  appear  carefully  made  and 
unusually  complete  in  description  of  classes  and  values  of  land 
and  buildings.  Data  are  presented  on  land  and  buildings  by  the 


6  Frederick  C.  Howe,  Taxation  and  Taxes  in  the  United  States  Under  the  Internal  Revenue 
System,  1791-1895  (New  York,  1898);  Henry  Carter  Adams,  "Taxation  in  the  United  States 
1789-1816,"  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  History  and  Political  Science,  2nd 
ser.,  V-VI  (May  and  June,  1884);  and  a  compilation  of  the  Direct  Tax  Laws  of  the  United 
States  from  August  5,   1861    (Washington,   D.   C,   1874). 


530  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

special  federal  tax  assessment  of  1800  that  are  otherwise  not 
available  for  this  period.7 

The  average  size  of  farm  tracts  in  1800  was  approximately  292 
acres.  Previously  cited  studies,  made  by  Dr.  O.  E.  Baker  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  indicate  that  possibly 
about  one-fifth  of  the  farm  acreage  in  the  North  Carolina 
piedmont  was  cleared  or  improved  crop  and  pasture  land.8  If  this 
estimate  is  correct,  there  was  an  average  of  about  sixty  improved 
or  cleared  acres  per  farm,  with  the  remainder  in  rough  pasture 
and  forest  land. 

Of  the  farm  tracts  in  1800,  402  or  41  per  cent  were  200  to  399 
acres  in  size.  Another  large  group,  281  or  28  per  cent  were  100  to 
199  acres,  with  only  63  or  6  per  cent  less  than  100  acres  in  size. 
There  were  142  farms  of  400  to  599  acres,  or  14  per  cent ;  79  or  8 
per  cent  from  600  to  999  acres ;  and  only  29  or  3  per  cent  of  1,000 
acres  and  over  (table  1). 

In  the  appraisals  for  1800  the  land  was  valued  by  classes  ac- 
cording to  degree  of  improvement  and  value  for  farming.  Units 
of  a  quarter  dollar  were  used  in  differentiating  values.  Wild 
lands  were  uniformly  valued  at  25  cents  per  acre.  Unimproved 
land  was  appraised  at  50  to  75  cents  per  acre.  Large  acreages  of 
medium  grade  farm  land  were  appraised  at  $1  to  $1.75  per  acre. 
Well-improved  farms  were  valued  at  $2  to  $2.50  per  acre. 

Dwellings  were  valued  separately.  The  tax  on  houses  valued  at 
$100  or  above  was  by  classes  of  value.  Dwelling  houses  of  less 
than  $100  in  value  were  included  with  the  value  of  the  land. 
Barns  and  other  buildings  also  were  appraised  with  land. 

The  average  value  per  acre  for  all  land  and  buildings  placed  by 
the  county  assessors  was  $1.10  per  acre.  An  addition  of  25  per 
cent  by  the  State  Board  of  Commissioners  brought  the  average 


7In  order  to  levy  and  collect  the  federal  direct  tax  of  1800,  state-wide  systems  of  assess- 
ment and  collection  were  set  up  under  the  direction  of  the  Internal  Revenue  officials  of  the 
Treasury  Department.  The  necessary  evaluations  were  handled  by  commissioners,  the  states 
being  divided  into  convenient  districts;  and  the  taxes  collected  by  the  existing  collectors  of 
internal  revenue.  Boards  of  assistant  commissioners  as  appraisers  were  designated  in  the 
counties  to  make  the  appraisals  of  houses  and  lands  in  1800.  This  instance  seems  to  have 
been  the  only  time  a  direct  tax  on  property  was  levied  where  valuations  and  collections  were 
made  directly  by  federal  officials.  During  the  emergencies  created  by  the  War  of  1812  and 
again  during  the  Civil  War  resort  was  had  to  direct  taxation  by  the  federal  government,  but 
quotas  were  assigned  the  states  to  be  raised  through  regular  state  and  county  tax  officials. 
Use  of  the  state  and  local  tax  system  was  found  more  workable  and  received  greater  co- 
operation from  the  public  than  the  direct  federal  procedure  followed  in  1800.  Direct  taxation 
of  property  by  the  federal  government  has  been  viewed  mainly  as  an  emergency  tax  to  be 
relied  on  only  in  times  of  great  national  need  when  customs,  excises  and  other  taxes  were 
inadequate. 

8  See   above,    p.    525,    n.    2. 


Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         531 

valuation  per  acre  to  $1.38  for  all  land  assessed  as  compared  to 
the  average  value  for  the  state  of  $1.47,  including  buildings.  The 
average  value  per  improved  farm  in  Iredell  County  was  approx- 
imately $460,  with  an  average  tax  of  about  $2.75. 

Table  1 

Land  in  Farms  by  Size  of  Tracts  or  Ownerships 

Iredell  County,  18009 

Number 

Less  than  50  acres    11 

50  to  99    52 

100  to  149    141 

150  to  199    140 

200  to  299    265 

300  to  399 137 

400  to  599 142 

600  to  699     35 

700  to  799    25 

800  to  999    19 

1,000  to  1,499 17 

1,500  to  1,999    10 

2,000  and  over    2 

996 

In  1815  the  commissioners  to  assess  land  for  the  United  States 
direct  tax  estimated  the  average  value  of  land  per  acre  for  the 
state  at  $2.60.  Land  in  the  north  central  counties  from  Orange 
east  and  west  was  higher  than  in  other  sections.  The  average 
value  of  land  per  acre  in  1815  for  Iredell  County  was  about  $2 
and  in  Rowan  $2.85  without  dwellings.10  The  average  value  of 
dwellings  in  Iredell  County  was  $193  and  for  the  state  $250.  That 
much  of  the  state's  vacant  land  and  other  wild  land  was  being  oc- 
cupied is  indicated  by  the  increase  in  acreage  assessed  from  341,- 
105  acres  in  1800  to  381,547  acres  in  1815 — an  increase  of  over 
40,000  acres. 


9  Tracts  or  ownerships  listed  in  the  Iredell  County  Land  Valuation   Book  for  1800  where 
descriptions  of  land  and  buildings  indicated  farms. 

10  Hoyt,  The  Papers  of  Archibald  J).  Murphey,  II,  164. 


532  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Description  of  Buildings 

At  the  time  of  the  valuation  in  1800  there  were  1,131  buildings 
classified  as  dwellings  with  97  additional  cabins,  or  a  total  of 
1,228  houses.  Dwelling  houses  of  $100  or  more  in  value  along  with 
the  lots  on  which  they  were  situated  were  listed  separately  from 
the  land,  while  those  valued  at  less  than  $100  were  listed  along 
with  the  acreage.  There  were  290  dwellings  valued  at  $100  or 
more,  of  which  82  were  valued  at  $200  or  over,  and  198  at  $100 
to  $199.  Only  13  dwellings  were  valued  at  $500  or  more.  One  brick 
dwelling  was  given  a  value  of  $1800.  Dwellings  of  less  than  $100 
totalled  841.  Cabins  were  appraised  at  $3  to  $10  each. 

Buildings  other  than  dwellings  included  475  barns,  604  stables, 
890  outhouses,  such  as  granaries,  cribs,  smokehouses,  spring- 
houses,  etc.,  and  203  special  buildings  for  industries,  such  as 
mills,  sawmills,  shops,  stills,  etc.  All  the  buildings  and  dwellings, 
including  32  dwellings  in  the  village  of  Statesville,  were  valued 
by  the  county  assessors  at  $85,409.  This  appraisal  was  raised  by 
25  per  cent  by  the  state  commissioners,  making  the  final  total 
building  value,  $106,761  (table  2) . 

The  dimensions  and  descriptions  of  houses  and  barns  indicate 
that  farm  buildings  in  1800  compared  favorably  with  those  of 
today.  Many  of  the  better  type  houses  and  barns  built  around 
1800  were  very  substantial  and  comfortable,  as  evidenced  by 
some  still  standing  and  in  use.  Of  the  385  barns  of  which  dimen- 
sions were  given,  130  were  40  to  60  feet  in  length  with  usual 
widths  of  20  feet  or  more  exclusive  of  sheds. 

The  Village  of  Statesville  in  1800 

Statesville,  the  county  seat  of  Iredell  County,  was  laid  out  in 
1790  near  the  site  of  Fourth  Creek  meeting  house.  A  frame  court- 
house was  built  in  the  square.  The  meeting  house  completed  in 
1757,  was  however,  a  large  log  building.  It  was  a  landmark  in  the 
town  for  nearly  seventy-five  years. 

In  1800  Statesville  is  credited  in  the  land  valuation  book  with 
thirty-two  dwellings;  sixty-six  barns  and  other  outbuildings; 
two  stores ;  one  gristmill ;  one  sawmill ;  one  tub  mill ;  two  stills ; 
and  one  blacksmith  and  wagon  shop.  In  addition  there  were  the 
meetinghouse,  courthouse,  jail,  and  possibly  a  school. 


Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         533 

Table  2 

Number  of  Dwellings  and  Barns  in  Iredell  County 

in  180011 

Number  Value 

Dwellings : 

No.  dwellings  of  a  value  of  $100  and 

above  290  $56,06912 

No.  dwellings  of  a  value  of  less  than 

$100  841  29,34013 

No.  cabins  97 


Total  no.  dwellings  and  cabins  1,228  $85,409.00 

Barns  and  Other  Buildings : 

No.  barns  475 

No.  stables  604 

No.  special  buildings  (for  industries,  etc.)  203 
No.  misc.  other  buildings  890 

Total  no.  barns  and  other  buildings         2,172 
Total  no.  of  buildings  3,400 

Some  of  the  outbuildings  listed  with  the  dwellings  probably 
were  places  of  public  business,  including  lawyers'  and  doctors' 
offices,  and  small  shops,  such  as  shoeshops,  etc.  In  all  63^2  acres 
of  land  are  listed  in  lots  in  Statesville. 

In  addition  to  the  lots  occupied  by  buildings,  there  were  several 
vacant  half-acre  and  one-acre  lots.  A  number  of  these  lots  were 
owned  by  nearby  farmers.  Deeds  and  wills  of  the  period  indicate 
lots  at  times  were  valued  highly.  Several  of  the  Statesville  resi- 
dents owned  and  operated  nearby  farms.  The  population  of 
Statesville  in  1800  probably  was  about  150  to  200  persons  as  com- 
pared to  approximately  17,000  enumerated  in  the  United  States 
census  of  1950. 

Proposals  for  Land  Classification14 

Since  the  land  valuation  of  1800  apparently  followed  a  system 
of  classifying  the  land  into  four  classes,  it  is  of  interest  to  review 
proposals  for  general  classification  of  land  for  assessment  pur- 


11  Specified  items  from  Iredell  County  Land  Valuation  Book,  1800. 

12  The  values  of  farmstead  sites  or  lots  along  with  684  barns  and  other  buildings  are  in- 
cluded in  the  total  value  given  opposite  the  290  dwellings  valued  at  $100  or  above.  The  value 
groups  for  the  290  dwellings  were  as  follows:  $100-$199=198;  $200-$299=48;  300-$399=24; 
$400-$499=7;  and  $500  and  over=13. 

13  The  values  of  2,426  barns  and  other  buildings  are  included  in  the  total  value  given  op- 
posite the  841   dwellings  valued  at  less  than  $100. 

"Hershel  L.  Macon,  "A  Fiscal  History  of  North  Carolina,  1776-1860"  (Ph.  D.  thesis,  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  1932),  111-147. 


534  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

poses  in  North  Carolina  in  this  period.  Proposals  were  offered  in 
the  General  Assembly  in  1784  for  classification  of  land  for  tax- 
ation with  the  highest  rates  on  the  most  valuable  land.  This  bill, 
introduced  in  the  house,  proposed  that  all  land  of  the  state  be 
separated  into  three  classes  according  to  fertility.  Land  of  the 
first  class  was  to  be  assessed  for  taxation  at  $2.50  an  acre,  that 
of  the  second  class  at  $1.25  an  acre,  and  that  of  the  third  class  at 
$0.25  an  acre. 

This  attempt  to  secure  land  classification  was  defeated.  But  in 
1786  a  law,  modified  two  years  later,  was  enacted  providing  that 
land  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Cumberland  Mountains  should 
bear  a  rate  two-thirds  of  the  regular  levy,  while  lands  west  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains  should  be  taxed  at  one-third  of  the  regu- 
lar state  rate.  These  lower  rates  on  mountain  and  western  land 
were  part  of  a  scheme  to  attract  and  hold  settlers  who  might 
otherwise  move  into  the  new  territories  being  opened  farther 
west. 

Various  proposals  were  made  for  land  classification  from  1793 
to  1814  as  a  means  of  equalizing  taxes  on  land.  A  bill  was  intro- 
duced in  1793  stipulating  that  each  tract  of  land  be  valued  for  tax 
purposes  at  the  amount  for  which  "it  would  sell  in  silver  dollars." 
In  1812  a  plan  was  proposed  for  dividing  the  land  into  six  classes, 
each  class  to  pay  in  accordance  with  situation  and  fertility  of  soil. 
Finally  in  1814  a  law  was  adopted  providing  for  taxing  all  land 
uniformly  according  to  value.  Property  assessments  were  made 
annually  until  after  1800.  The  valuation  was  made  by  a  board  or 
committee  of  three  freeholders,  who  were  under  oath  to  report 
the  full  value  of  the  listed  property. 

Agricultural  Industries 

In  1800  grain  mills  were  essential  local  agricultural  industries, 
for  they  were  operated  mainly  by  farmers  and  part-time  farmers 
to  supply  their  own  and  neighbors'  needs  for  flour  and  meal  for 
their  daily  bread.  In  all,  twenty  gristmills  and  fourteen  tub  mills 
were  reported.  The  largest  millhouse  was  48  x  26  feet  in  size. 

Morrison's  Mill  on  Third  Creek  was  one  of  the  early  mills  of 
the  Fourth  Creek  area.  It  was  in  operation  before  the  French  and 
Indian  War.  This  mill  was  spared  by  the  French  and  Indian  in- 


Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         535 

vaders  when  the  people  took  refuge  in  nearby  Fort  Dobbs.  The 
invaders  burned  many  of  the  dwellings  and  barns  of  the  commu- 
nity but  left  the  mill  unharmed,  evidently  thinking  they  might 
use  it  later.15  In  1800  Morrison's  mill  building  was  reported  as 
28  x  26  in  size  and  was  valued  at  $250.  There  also  was  a  sawmill 
at  the  same  site.  A  mill  was  operated  at  this  site  for  over  150 
years. 

All  early  mills  probably  were  run  by  water  power,  as  there  are 
references  to  location  on  streams.  Descriptions  show  that  much 
of  the  machinery  was  made  by  hand.  Large  water  wheels,  shafts, 
and  cogs  frequently  were  made  of  wood.  The  grain  was  ground 
between  heavy,  revolving  millstones.  The  tub  mills  were  smaller 
and  less  expensive  to  build  and  operate  than  the  gristmills.  Tub 
mills  also  required  less  power  and  could  be  operated  from  smaller 
streams. 

Sawmills  also  were  among  the  more  essential  local  industries 
in  1800.  Thirteen  sawmills  were  reported  that  year.  Some  of  these 
sawmills  were  located  at  the  same  sites  as  gristmills,  indicating 
that  they  were  permanent  installations.  In  1800  power-sawed 
lumber  was  replacing  logs  and  hand-hewn  and  hand-sawed  tim- 
ber for  construction  of  dwellings,  especially  for  ceiling,  flooring, 
weatherboarding,  doors,  stairways,  window  frames,  and  shutters. 
Much  sawed  lumber  also  was  being  used  in  furniture.  Many 
houses  built  from  1800  to  1820  had  hand-hewn  framing  and  sills 
with  sawed  lumber  for  the  interior  and  exterior  walls  and  floors. 

Additional  important  woodworking  industries  were  three 
joiners'  shops,  nine  wheelwright  shops,  one  cooper's  shop,  and  a 
wagon  shop.  Only  three  carpenters  were  listed,  but  it  is  likely 
that  more  men  were  skilled  in  carpentry  and  worked  at  this  trade 
at  least  part-time. 

The  necessity  for  reliance  on  home  and  local  skills  is  shown  by 
the  number  of  blacksmith  shops  and  the  frequent  references  to 
blacksmith  and  carpentry  tools  in  old  property  inventories.  There 
were  forty-nine  blacksmith  shops  listed  in  1800.  Many  of  these 
probably  were  merely  farm  shops,  but  some  evidently  were  shops 
open  to  the  public  trade. 


15  S.  W.  Stevenson,   History  of  Concord  Church,   Iredell  County,   N.  C,   1775-19 IS    (States- 
ville,  1913),  6. 


536  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  the  number  of  stillhouses  reported,  fifty-three,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  whiskey  and  brandymaking  was  a  leading  agricul- 
tural industry.  Surplus  grain  and  fruit  above  the  needs  for  the 
farm  and  local  community  could  be  marketed  more  readily  in  this 
condensed  form,  as  distances  to  market  were  great  for  bulky 
loads  of  grain  and  fruit.  The  stillhouses  usually  were  small  one- 
room  farm  buildings  about  15  to  18  feet  square,  but  a  number 
were  larger,  indicating  considerable  commercial  production.  Still- 
houses, like  mills,  were  located  on  streams  because  of  the  need  for 
a  plentiful  water  supply. 

The  importance  of  making  leather  for  shoes,  harness,  saddles, 
and  saddlebags  is  shown  by  the  listing  of  four  tanneries  and  the 
mention  of  bark  houses  on  farms.  Records  show  that  farmers  had 
custom  work  done  by  tanneries  both  by  giving  a  specified  share 
of  hides  in  return  for  leather  made  from  hides  furnished  and  by 
payment  of  a  fee  for  each  hide.  Tanneries  also  bought  hides. 

Among  other  industries  were  a  pottery,  fulling  mill,  three  hat- 
ters' shops,  one  saddler,  one  gunsmith,  and  one  shoe  shop.  Doubt- 
less there  were  other  shops  not  mentioned,  as  only  those  are  listed 
where  separate  buildings  devoted  to  specified  purposes  were  re- 
ported. In  some  cases  a  workman,  such  as  a  shoemaker  or  repair 
man,  worked  in  his  home  and  had  no  special  building.  There  were 
six  stores.  In  all,  twenty-five  crafts  and  professions  were  repre- 
sented as  indicated  by  notations  in  the  Iredell  County  Land  Val- 
uation Book  for  1800.  The  mills,  shops,  and  stores  served  as 
centers  of  community  news  as  well  as  places  for  obtaining  needed 
goods  and  services  (table  3) . 

About  1800,  "before  its  development  was  arrested  by  slavery/' 
the  piedmont  section  of  the  state  promised  according  to  Clark, 
to  become  a  manufacturing  region.19  But  between  1810  and  1830, 
when  textile  manufactures  shifted  largely  from  the  fireside  to 
the  factory,  the  state  lost  in  textile  production.  The  transition 
from  household  manufactures  for  home  use  to  specialized  manu- 
facturing was  delayed  longer  in  North  Carolina  than  in  the  non- 
slaveholding  states. 

Comparison  of  the  number  of  industries  and  persons  employed 
in  manufacturing  in  Iredell  County  as  reported  by  the  census  of 


19  Victor  S.  Clark,  History  of  Manufactures  in  the  United  States  (2  vols.  Washington,  1916), 
T.  404,  529. 


Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         537 

Table  3 

Agricultural  and  Other  Industries  in  Iredell  County 

in  1800 

180016 
(numbers) 

Gristmills   2017 

Tub  mills    14 

Sawmills    13 

Shops    49 

Stills    53 

Wheelwright  shops     9 

Tannery  and  bark  houses    4 

Cooper  shops    1 

Joiners'  shops    3 

Potters'  shops   1 

Saddler  harness  shops    1 

Currying  houses    2 

Shoe  shops    1 

Wagon  shops    1 

Gunsmith  shops    1 

Loom  houses   1 

Carpenters     3 

Hatters'  shops    3 

Stores 6 

Tobacco  houses 1518 

Fulling  mills    1 

1840  indicates  slow  growth  from  1800  to  1840.  According  to  the 
census  of  1840  there  were  still  20  gristmills,  many  of  them  prob- 
ably the  same  as  those  reported  in  1800,  or  at  least  at  the  same 
sites.  Sawmills  had  increased  from  13  to  15 ;  tanneries  from  4  to 
14 ;  and  saddle  and  harness  shops  from  1  to  7.  The  manufacture 
of  wagons  and  carriages  was  comparatively  important  in  1840, 
as  66  men  were  employed.  The  distillers  employed  74  men.  Seven- 
teen stores  were  reported  in  1840  as  compared  to  6  in  1800.  All 
other  employees  in  manufacturing  in  1840  numbered  145.  This 
included  weaving  and  shops  for  making  furniture,  shoes,  and 
other  products. 

Today  in  1950  the  United  States  census  indicates  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  population  of  Iredell  County  depend  upon  manufac- 
turing and  service  occupations  and  only  one-third  on  agriculture 
for  a  livelihood.  In  addition  many  farm  people  have  part-time  em- 

16  Specified  industry  buildings  listed  in  the  Iredell   County  Land   Valuation   Book   for   1800. 

17  The  largest  gristmill  building  was  48  x  20  feet. 

18  Houses  or  barns  for  curing  and  storing  tobacco. 


538  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ployment  off  the  farm.  The  manufacture  of  lumber  and  building 
materials,  furniture,  textiles,  flour,  feed,  farm  and  other  ma- 
chinery, and  clay  products  has  long  been  important. 

Signficant  Features  of  Land  Surveys  and 
Land  Utilization 

A  significant  fact  indicated  by  the  land  valuation  book  of  1800 
for  Iredell  County  and  substantiated  by  entries  in  the  first  deed 
books  is  the  family-sized  type  of  farm  development.  Many  early 
settlers  laid  out  a  tract  of  roughly  a  square  mile  of  land — 500 
to  600  acres — or  half  a  square  mile — 300  to  400  acres.  Archibald 
Henderson  in  his  book,  The  Conquest  of  the  Old  Southwest,20 
speaks  of  640  acres  as  the  unit  of  subdivision  on  the  Earl  of 
Granville  lands.  Later  some  of  these  tracts  were  divided  up 
among  children,  so  that  by  1800  there  were  many  160  to  200- 
acre  farms.  This  somewhat  uniform  division  of  land  had  a 
significant  effect  on  the  pattern  of  settlement.  Despite  the 
changes  many  of  these  early  tracts  of  land  are  bounded  by  the 
lines  that  were  first  established. 

One  major  characteristic  revealed  by  the  Iredell  County  valua- 
tion book  of  1800  and  contemporary  records  is  the  evident 
stability  of  land  ownership.  Most  of  the  land  was  operated  by  full 
owners.  Nearly  all  the  owners  were  living  on  the  farms  they 
operated.  The  land  valuation  book  of  1800  shows  only  ten  occu- 
pants of  farms  other  than  the  owners,  and  in  at  least  two  cases 
the  same  surname  indicates  that  they  were  related  to  the  owner. 
Only  eleven  owners  had  two  farms.  There  were  thirty-nine 
women  farmowners.  Most  of  these  were  widows.  Three  farms 
were  listed  as  estates.  Ten  men  were  assessed  for  land  outside 
the  county.  County  records  and  notes  of  the  county  surveyor 
from  1800  to  1830  show  that  much  of  the  land  was  transferred 
by  will  and  by  gift,  or  by  sale  to  relatives  and  neighbors. 

The  early  farms  in  the  Fourth  Creek  area  usually  had  their  cul- 
tivated land  on  the  level  spots  along  the  streams,  the  stream  ter- 
races, and  on  the  broader  ridge  tops.  Study  of  the  location  of 
early  houses  shows  that  many  of  them  were  near  streams,  usually 
on  the  north  side,  so  as  to  take  advantage  of  the  more  sloping 
land,  generally   on  the  south   slopes  and  the   south  and  east  ex- 


20  Archibald  Henderson,  The  Conquest  of  the  Old  Southwest    (New  York,  1920).  10. 


Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County  in  1800         539 

posure  for  buildings  and  fields.  The  old  term,  "the  land  lies  well," 
probably  was  considered  to  mean  that  it  was  smooth  and  sloped 
to  the  south,  east,  southeast,  or  southwest. 

The  land  use  history  of  many  farms  in  the  county  has  been 
much  influenced  by  the  way  the  farms  were  laid  out  and  the  pat- 
tern of  settlement  described  in  the  preceding  paragraphs.  Nu- 
merous farms  in  the  county  have  by  good  farming  methods  had 
land  continuously  in  cultivation  since  settlement  two  hundred 
years  ago.  Farms  on  Fourth  and  Fifth  creeks,  Bethany  Church, 
and  Fort  Dobbs  and  on  Third  Creek  near  Statesville  are  known 
from  family  records  to  have  been  in  cultivation  since  about  1750 
to  1760.  Most  of  these  farms  have  been  over  long  periods  of  years 
in  the  hands  of  farmers  who  have  followed  fairly  long-time  rota- 
tions with  large  acreages  in  close-growing  crops  (as  small  grains, 
grass,  clover,  and  other  legumes)  and  pastures. 


540  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

PAMELA  SAVAGE  OF  CHAMPLAIN,  HEALTHSEEKER 

IN  OXFORD 

Edited  by  Helen  Harriet  Salls 

In  the  middle  1820's  a  young  woman  of  upper  New  York  State, 
who  had  been  advised  by  her  physicians  to  seek  the  restoration  of 
her  health  by  a  trip  to  the  South,  journeyed  to  the  pleasant  vil- 
lage of  Oxford,  North  Carolina.  This  was  Pamela  Savage  of 
Champlain,  another  pleasant  little  village  on  the  Big  Chazy  River 
in  New  York's  northeastern  corner.  Her  traveling  companions 
were  the  Rev.  Joseph  Labaree  and  his  family.  Labaree,  her 
former  pastor,  was  to  be  the  pastor  of  the  Oxford  Presbyterians 
and  also  the  principal  of  the  Oxford  Female  Academy.1  After  a 
residence  of  one  and  a  half  years  in  Oxford,  during  which  period 
Pamela  assisted  her  pastor  in  the  academy,  the  New  York  girl 
returned  home,  mission  accomplished,  in  excellent  health. 

Pamela's  diary,  September  26,  1825-June  11,  1827,  recording 
her  southern  trip  and  residence  in  Oxford,  came  into  the  posses- 
sion, nearly  a  century  later,  of  another  native  of  Champlain  then 
resident  in  Oxford,  Pamela's  own  grandniece,  the  late  Mrs.  Al- 
fred Salls. 

Pamela  Savage  was  the  sixth  child  of  Deacon  David  and  Adah 
(Blackman)  Savage,  and  she  belonged  to  the  sixth  generation  of 
her  line  in  America.  John  Savage  had  come  over  (presumably 
from  England)  and  settled  in  1652  in  Middletown,  Connecticut,2 
and  Upper  Middletown  (later,  Cromwell)3  was  almost  certainly 
the  birthplace  of  Pamela's  father. 

Religious  activity  belonged  in  the  pattern  of  the  Savage  family. 
John  Savage  had  been  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church  of  Middletown  in  1668,4  and  his  descendants, 


1  Joseph  Labaree,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  was  a  graduate  of  Middlebury  College, 
class  of  1810,  and  had  studied  theology  with  the  Rev.  Thomas  A.  Merrill,  1811-1813.  In  1817 
he  had  married  Huldah  Lyman.  He  had  served  as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
Champlain,  N.  Y.,  from  1819  to  1825;  and  was  to  serve  as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
Oxford,  N.  C,  from  1825  to  1829.  Information  supplied  by  Hugh  McLellan,  Champlain,  N.  Y., 
from  Catalogue  of  the  Officers  and  Students  of  Middlebury  College,  Vermont  (1928),  20. 
Labaree's  studies  in  theology  should  have  been  stimulating;  Pastor  Merrill  of  the  Middlebury 
Congregational  Church  had  been  a  classmate  and  roommate  of  Daniel  Webster  at  Dartmouth 
and  had  out-lioned  Daniel  by  carrying  off  valedictorian  honors.  W.  Storrs  Lee,  Stagecoach 
North:  Being  an  Account  of  the  First  Generation  in  the  State  of  Vermont  (New  York,  1941), 
58. 

-James  Francis  Savage,  Family  of  John  Savage  of  Middletown,  Conn. — 1652  (Boston 
1894),  passim. 

8  The  "Upper  Houses"  (Upper  Middletown)  appear  to  have  been  the  families  of  "Founders, 
Fathers,  Pastors  and  Patriots."  Information  from  Gertrude  A.  Cox,  Connecticut  State 
Library,  Hartford. 

4  Savage,  Family  of  John  Savage,  6. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  541 

William  Savage  and  his  son  David,  were  among  the  founders  of 
the  First  Presbyterian-Congregational  Church  of  Champlain  in 
1802.  The  first  entry  in  the  records  of  this  church  is  an  item 
about  the  baptism,  on  July  11,  1802,  of  six  children,  including 
little  Pliny  Moore  and  the  infant  Pamela  Savage.  Not  only  Pam- 
ela's father,  but  three  of  her  brothers,  served  as  deacons  in  the 
Champlain  church.5 

Young  Pamela  perhaps  knew  nothing  of  the  Savage  coat  of 
arms,  with  its  challenging  motto,  Fortis  atque  Fidelis;  but  she 
doubtless  knew  enough  about  the  piety  of  her  forebears  in  Ameri- 
ca to  be  inspired  to  emulation.  A  letter  written  to  her  mother 
when  Pamela  was  in  school  in  Middlebury,  Vermont,  reveals  her 
not  only  as  an  affectionate  and  considerate  daughter  and  sister, 
but  as  a  fervent  and  humble  Christian ;  also,  as  an  earnest  pupil, 
delighted  to  be  "permitted  to  stay  another  quarter."6  Pamela 
Savage,  then  about  sixteen,  had  the  notable  privilege  of  being  an 
early  pupil  of  Mrs.  Emma  (Hart)  Willard,  pioneer  in  the  educa- 
tion of  girls  for  the  teaching  profession.  Mrs.  Willard,  formerly 
in  charge  of  the  Middlebury  Female  Seminary,  after  her  marriage 
to  Dr.  John  Willard  had  opened  her  own  school  in  the  Willard 
residence,  where  she  received  pupils  not  only  "from  the  first 
families  throughout  Vermont,  but  also  a  number  from  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York."7  Pamela  had  not  "concluded  what  stud- 
ies to  attend  to  yet" ;  but  she  wrote  her  mother  she  was  "practic- 
ing some  in  fine  hand,"  and  her  own  neat  script  suggests  her 
interest  in  "elegant"  penmanship.  In  all  likelihood,  she  decided  to 
"attend  to"  Ancient  Geography,  as  it  was  in  Middlebury  that 
Mrs.  Willard  introduced  her  own  system  of  instruction  in  this 
subject  and  Pamela  liked  things  ancient.  At  least,  she  had  some- 
where a  smattering  of  Greek  architecture,  and  she  appreciated 
beauty  in  buildings  old  or  new.  Nor  were  all  her  Ionic  columns 
mere  book  knowledge.  Witness  the  first  Congregational  Church 
building  in  Middlebury,  completed  in  1809,  "one  of  the  handsom- 
est churches  in  New  England."8  And  there  was  Middlebury  Col- 
lege, incorporated  in  1800,  as  well  as  the  excellent  Addison  Coun- 


5  Records  of  the  First  Presbyterian-Congregational  Church  of  Champlain,  N.  Y.  (courtesy 
Hugh  McLellan,  Champlain). 

a  Pamela  Savage  to  Mrs.  David  Savage,  January  1,  1817,  1818,  or  1819  (original  manuscript 
in  the  possession  of  Helen  H.  Sails,  Oxford,  N.  C). 

7  Quoted  from  Mrs.  Emma  (Hart)  Willard  by  Samuel  Swift,  History  of  the  Town  of 
Middlebury,  in  the  County  of  Addison,   Vermont    (Middlebury,   1859),   394. 

8  Lee,  Stagecoach  North,  91. 


542  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

ty  Grammar  School.  This  town  of  Middlebury,  chartered  in  1761, 
was  a  center  of  religion  and  culture,  and  sensitive  Pamela  Savage 
was  in  the  midst  of  it.  Whether  she  remained  in  Middlebury  two 
quarters  or  two  years,  she  must  have  imbibed  there  influences  of 
lasting  value. 

When  she  accompanied  the  Labarees  to  North  Carolina  in  the 
autumn  of  1825,  Pamela  was  about  twenty-four  years  of  age.9 
Her  diary  does  not  reveal  whether  it  was  before  or  after  her  ar- 
rival in  Oxford  that  she  agreed  to  assist  Mr.  Labaree  in  the 
Female  Academy.  An  unsigned  communication  in  the  Raleigh 
Register  and  North-Carolina  Gazette,  December  16,  1825,  names 
three  of  Labaree's  assistants  in  the  Oxford  Female  Academy  for 
the  coming  season  and  indicates  "three  other  able  and  experi- 
enced teachers/'10  Pamela's  education  and  background  should 
have  made  her  an  able  teacher.  As  a  former  pupil  of  Mrs.  Willard, 
she  was  presumably  prepared  to  conduct  classes  in  "Plain  and 
Ornamental  Penmanship,"  "Geography  with  the  use  of  the 
Globes,"  and  even  a  little  "Natural  Philosophy,"11  as  well  as  read- 
ing, spelling,  and  English  grammar.  As  to  experience,  her  diary 
gives  no  hint  of  any  former  teaching,  but  does  suggest  weariness 
with  boarding  school  life.  On  January  28,  1827,  she  expressed  a 
longing  to  leave  "the  bustle  of  a  boarding-school,"  and  return  to 
her  "quiet  home."  It  is  even  possible  that  her  duties  were  those  of 
"lady  principal"  or  "housemother" — that  she  was  specifically  in 
charge  of  the  manners,  morals,  health,  and  recreational  activities 
of  the  boarding  pupils.  Certainly  she  was  concerned  for  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  the  "precious  immortals"12  entrusted  in  part  to 
her  care. 

The  only  extant  letter  composed  by  Pamela  Savage  during  her 
residence  in  Oxford,  which  wTas  written  to  her  brother  Joel  be- 
tween the  dates  of  April  14  and  24,  1826,  has  a  pleasing  quality 
of  freshness.13  Pamela  enjoyed  a  fine  sermon,  and  she  also  en- 
joyed a  "holy-day,"  with  its  respite  from  routine  and  a  possible 
excursion  into  the  countryside.  On  April  14  she  wrote :  "The  week 
.  . .  was  an  unusually  pleasant  one  with  me,  . .  .  most  of  the  young 


9  Information   supplied   by   Hugh  McLellan,   Champlain,   from   inscription   on  tombstone   in 
Glenwood  Cemetery,  Champlain. 

10  Quoted  by  Charles  L.  Coon.  North  Carolina  Schools  and  Academies,   1790-18U0:  A  Docu- 
mentary History    (Raleigh,  1915),   155. 

11  Quoted   from    Raleigh   Register  and   North-Carolina   Gazette,   March    23,    1827,    by    Coon, 
North  Carolina  Schools  and  Academies,  156. 

v~  Pamela  Savage,  Diary,  December  1,   1826.   See  note  22,  below,  p.   545. 
13  The  original  manuscript  is  in  the  possession  of  the  author. 


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Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  543 

ladies  were  out  and  we  were  quite  alone  which  was  a  great  treat 
to  us  I  can  assure  you ;  on  tuesday  I  went  out  with  a  fishing  par- 
ty to  my  favorite  creek,  and  on  thursday  we  made  a  family  visit 
at  a  Mr.  Hicks'  about  2  miles  from  town,  he  has  a  beautiful  coun- 
try situation.14 1  have  not  enjoyed  myself  so  well  in  a  long  time,  I 
was  really  in  my  element,  ...  it  was  a  delightful  day."  She  added 
these  comments :  "We  have  had  some  severe  frosts  since  the  first 
of  March  the  consequence  is  that  most  of  the  fruit  is  cut  off,  as 
late  as  the  12  of  March  ice  frose  [sic]  to  the  thickness  of  an  inch 
— I  have  been  agreeably  disappointed  in  the  Southern  winter.  I 
expected  to  see  a  great  deal  of  rainy  weather  accompanied  with 
sleet  and  snow  but  it  has  been  quite  the  reverse,  the  roads  very 
dry  and  most  of  the  time  excellent  walking  we  owe  much  of  this 
to  the  sandy  soil  the  water  dries  away  almost  as  soon  as  it  falls — 
The  gravelly  walks  capital  for  wearing  out  shoes  the  leather  boots 
Papa  gave  me  were  just  the  thing  for  me  this  winter." 

A  twitter  of  excitement  may  be  felt  in  her  statement  of  Tues- 
day the  18th :  ".  .  .  it  is  customary  at  all  boarding  schools  in  this 
country  to  give  the  young  ladies  May  day  our  girls  are  preparing 
for  it "15 

It  is  small  wonder  that  Pastor  Labaree,  with  the  Oxford  Fe- 
male Academy  on  his  hands,  had  little  time  and  energy  to  spare 
for  pushing  the  three-year-old  project  of  a  Presbyterian  church 
building  in  Oxford.16  Pamela  wrote  to  Joel  on  April  14th :  "Noth- 
ing has  been  done  about  the  meeting  house  since  we  came  here, 
the  bricks  were  ready  for  burning  when  we  came  and  have  not 
been  touched  yet.  It  would  gratify  me  much  to  have  the  people  in 
Champlain  rouse  up  and  build  one  first." 


14  This  Hicks  place,  in  all  likelihood,  was  the  old  Thomas  Iverson  Hicks  home  on  the  site 
of  the  later  Louis  Delacroix  residence  on  the  old  Clarksville  Road.  Edward  Hubbell  Hicks, 
son  of  T.  I.  Hicks,  was  the  father  of  Thomas  Edward  Hicks,  the  New  Yorker  who  built  on 
a  section  of  the  Hicks  farm  the  elegant  summer  residence  that  now  serves  as  the  Nurses' 
Home  adjacent  to  Granville  Hospital.  Information  from  Francis   B.   Hays,   Oxford,  N.  C. 

15  Among  the  fairly  numerous  contemporary  accounts  of  these  academic  May  Days  may  be 
noted  these  excerpts  from  the  Free  Press  (Tarborough,  N.  C),  May  5,  1827:  "On  Tuesday 
last  the  Female  Students  of  the  Academy  in  this  place,  commemorated  the  Feast  of  Flowers. 
The  spacious  hall  of  the  Academy  was  fancifully  decorated  with  arches  and  wreaths  of 
flowers,  ...  [A  description  of  the  crowning  of  the  Queen  of  Flowers  follows.]  The  cere- 
monies were  interspersed  with  music,  and  a  splendid  entertainment  served  up  .  .  .  the 
festivities  of  the  day  closed  with  a  Ball  in  the  evening."  We  believe  there  was  no  Maytime 
ball  in  the   Oxford  Female   Academy  during  the   Labaree  regime. 

16  "June  18th  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  Court  House  to  consult  on  the  plan  and  size  of 
a  presbyterian  Church  in  this  place,  for  the  building  of  which  subscriptions  have  been  ob- 
tained to  the  amount  of  about  $1000.  Mr.  Thos.  B.  Littlejohn,  S.  K.  Sneed  and  Dr.  [William 
V.]  Taylor  were  appointed  a  committee  to  advertise  the  work  and  attend  to  the  whole 
business."  Oxford  Session  Book,  June  24,  1823  (copy  in  scrapbook  of  Francis  B.  Hays:  "The 
Early  Presbyterian  Churches  of  Granville  County"). 


544  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  letters  from  Middlebury  and  Oxford,  as  well  as  the  diary, 
reveal  Pamela  Savage  as  a  wholesome  young  woman  of  well- 
rounded  personality :  deeply  religious,  keenly  observant,  fond  of 
walking,  riding,  and  fishing,  and  devoted  to  her  home  and  her 
friends.  A  whimsical  humor  may  have  spiced  her  conversation 
with  a  little  archness. 

Little  is  known  of  Pamela's  life  after  her  return  to  Champlain 
in  June,  1827.  On  August  10,  1831,17  she  married  the  Pliny  Moore 
with  whom  she  may  have  exchanged  smiles  at  the  baptismal  font 
twenty-nine  years  before — a  son  of  Judge  Pliny  and  Martha 
Moore  of  Champlain.  No  record  of  a  child  exists  except  of  an 
adopted  daughter,  "Little  Sarah,"  who  died  in  1840  at  the  age  of 
eight. 

As  a  daughter  of  Deacon  David  Savage,  a  daughter-in-law  of 
the  late  Judge  Moore,  and  the  mistress  of  one  of  the  finest  homes 
in  the  community,  Pamela  had  a  station  to  uphold  and  doubtless 
maintained  it  well.  She  evidently  kept  the  health  "restored"  to 
her  by  her  southern  trip  and  residence  in  Oxford;  for  she  out- 
lived all  her  family  except  her  younger  sister,  Adah.  Her  husband 
died  on  March  9,  1872,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  After  a  few 
days'  illness  following  a  stroke,  Pamela  Savage  Moore  died  on 
December  13,  1875,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,18  and  was  buried 
in  beautiful  Glenwood  Cemetery  in  Champlain.  A  grandniece  in 
her  eighties  recalled  "Aunt  Pamela"  as  a  sweet-looking  old  lady, 
loved  by  all  who  knew  her.19 

A  niece  of  Pamela's  bore  her  name,  with  a  difference.  This  was 
Pamelia,  daughter  of  Deacon  Cyrus  Savage  and  his  second  wife, 
Sarah  (Bowron)  Savage.  Pamelia  married  Charles  Egbert  Ever- 
est, a  graduate,  like  Mr.  Labaree,  of  Middlebury  College,  who 
practiced  law  for  many  years  in  Champlain.  Their  oldest  child, 
Nellie  Frances,  born  in  1860,  married  in  1880  Dr.  Alfred  Sails,  a 
native  of  Burke,  New  York,  who  had  come  to  Champlain  to  prac- 
tice medicine.  Dr.  Sails  later  moved  to  New  England,  but  the 
breakdown  of  his  health  in  1908-1909  forced  his  retirement  from 
the  profession  he  loved  and  in  1909  the  Sails  family  moved  from 


17  Date  supplied  by  Hugh  McLellan,   Champlain,   from   the   "Moore  Genealogy." 

18  Information  supplied  chiefly  by  Hugh  McLellan,  Champlain,  from  inscriptions  on  tomb- 
stones. 

19  This  prandniece,  the  late  Mrs.  Charlotte  (Everest)  Shumway,  who  was  born  in  the 
Deacon  David  Savage  house  in  Champlain,  came  to  North  Carolina  in  1945  to  reside  with  her 
nieces,  the  Misses  Sails.  Her  death  occurred  in  Oxford  on  July  31,  1951.  She,  too,  is  buried 
in  Champlain. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseekeu  545 

Auburn,  Maine,  to  Oxford,  North  Carolina,  for  the  sake  of  Dr. 
Salls's  health.20  The  original  attraction  was  an  advertisement  of 
the  Granville  Real  Estate  and  Trust  Company21  in  the  Outlook. 
Mrs.  Sails  was  in  utter  ignorance  of  her  great-aunt  Pamela's 
residence  in  Oxford  for  her  health's  sake  in  the  1820's. 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  1910-1911  that  the  story  of  Pamela 
Savage's  southern  trip  came  surprisingly  to  light.  If  her  niece 
Pamelia  had  heard  reminiscences  of  such  a  journey,  she  had  for- 
gotten the  details.  When  she  came  to  Oxford  to  visit  her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Sails,  she  brought  with  her  an  old  diary  written  by  her 
father's  sister  Pamela.  The  discovery  that  ''Aunt  Pamela"  nearly 
a  century  ago  had  traveled  to  Oxford,  North  Carolina,  and  lived 
there  over  nineteen  months  caused  quite  a  ripple  of  excitement. 
The  manuscript  was  lent  to  a  number  of  local  friends — then  it 
vanished.  No  search,  no  inquiry,  bore  fruit.  This  mysterious  dis- 
appearance was  lamented,  but  years  passed — a  quarter  of  a 
century — and  Pamela's  diary  was  well-nigh  forgotten. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Sails  family  had  moved  back  to  town  from 
a  temporary  country  home  near  Oxford,  to  a  house  on  High 
Street  with  enough  land  to  afford  Dr.  Sails  the  outdoor  life  he 
still  craved.  A  shed  in  the  back  yard  became  the  depository  of  a 
number  of  old  trunks  and  boxes  stuffed  with  magazines,  manu- 
scripts, etc.  One  day  in  the  spring  of  1946,  as  Grace  Jean  Sails 
was  looking  through  some  of  this  "junk,"  Pamela's  diary  slipped 
out  of  a  pile  of  old  issues  of  Harper's  Magazine.  Pamela  Savage 
had  come  back  to  her  own.22 

An  unofficial  historian  of  Granville  County,  Mr.  Francis  B. 
Hays,23  believes  that  Oxford  Female  Academy  was  located  on 
High  Street  and  that  one  or  more  of  the  Oxford  Academy  build- 
ings24 stood  on  the  site  of  the  later  Oxford  College.  Thus  the  home 


20  This  migration,  like  Pamela's,  was  justified.  Dr.  Sails  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-seven. 

21  Now  the  Granville  Insurance  Agency,  Inc. 

23  The  original  manuscript,  in  an  octavo  notebook  of  twenty-three  leaves,  all  entries  in  ink, 
is  still  in  the  possession  of  Grace  Jean  Sails,  Oxford,  N.  C.  A  typed  copy  is  in  the  State 
Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh. 

23  Francis  B.  Hays,  whose  lawyer  father,  John  Willis  Hays,  and  physician  brother,  Dr. 
Benjamin  K.  Hays,  ranked  among  the  most  distinguished  men  of  their  professions  in  North 
Carolina,  has  contributed  a  goodly  share  of  lustre  to  the  family  name.  He  was  formerly 
managing  editor  of  The  Druggists  Circular  (New  York,  established  in  1857),  the  most 
outstanding  pharmaceutical  magazine  of  its  day  in  the  country.  He  has  published  numerous 
articles  about  Granville  County,  including  the  valuable  series,  "Granville's  Distinguished 
Bar,"  Public  Ledger  (Oxford),  September  22,  October  6,  13,  20,  24,  27,  November  10,  21,  1950. 
As  Mr.  Hays  was  living  in  New  York  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Pamela's  diary  in  Oxford, 
he  did  not  see  the  manuscript  until  he  had  returned  to  spend  his  remaining  years  in  his  old 
home  town.  The  writer  acknowledges  with  gratitude  the  generous  assistance  of  Mr.  Hays  in 
the  gathering  of  material  about  early  Granville  County. 

24  The  original  Oxford  Academy  building  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  students  in  the 
winter  of  1814,  and  the  Female  Department  appears  to  have  been  opened  in  the  summer  of 
the  same  year.  Raleigh  Register  and  North-Carolina  Gazette,  December  17,  1813;  June  24, 
1814. 


546  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

site  of  the  Sails  family  on  High  Street  was  probably  one  of  the 
woodsy  places  where  Pamela  delighted  to  ramble  in  her  stout 
leather  boots. 

Champlain  Sept.  26.  1825 

This  day  bid  adieu  to  my  dear  home  and  native  place,1  to  seek 
in  a  more  propitious  clime,  the  restoration  of  my  health ;  I  go  by 
the  advice  of  physicians  and  hope  by  the  blessing  of  God  soon  to 
be  restored  to  health  and  to  the  arms  of  my  friends. 

At  the  wharf  bid  adieu  to  a  dear  circle  of  friends,  some  of 
whom  in  all  probability  I  shall  never  meet  again  this  side  of 
eternity,  steped  on  board  the  Congress2  with  brother  H — 3  who 
accompanies  me  as  far  as  Fort  Ann,4  found  many  acquaintances 
on  board  and  might  have  spent  the  evening  very  pleasantly  could 
I  have  succeeded  in  shaking  off  the  gloom  which  oerspread  my 
mind,  during  my  indisposition  I  had  suffered  much  from  depres- 
sion of  spirits ;  this  on  leaving  my  friends  was  greatly  augmented 

27.  This  morning  our  dear  pastor  Mr.  L.5  under  whose  care  I 
am  to  travel,  came  on  board  from  Burlington  [Vermont]  with 
his  family.  A  very  rainy  day  which  confined  us  to  the  cabin. 
Landed  at  Whitehall6  at  12.  o'clock,  dined  and  went  immediately 
on  board  the  packet  boat  on  the  canal,7  reached  Fort  Ann  about 
the  midle  of  the  afternoon.  Here  all  the  bitterness  of  parting 
was  again  renewed,  in  bidding  my  dear  brother  farewell. 

28.  Arrived  at  Waterford,8  where  we  left  the  canal.  &  took 
the  stage  for  Albany.  Here  we  parted  with  the  last  of  our  Cham- 
plain  friends,  Miss  E.  Moore  &  Miss  Schuyler — arrived  at 
Albany  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

1  The  little  town  of  Champlain,  New  York,  organized  in  1788,  is  situated  on  the  Big 
Chazy  River  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  state.  At  various  times  during  the  War  of  1812, 
both  American  and   British  troops  were  stationed  in  the  village  and   its  environs. 

2  This  vessel,  named  probably  after  the  galley  that  served  as  the  flagship  of  Arnold's 
squadron  at  the  beginning  of  the  action  of  October  11,  1776,  on  Lake  Champlain,  was  almost 
surely  the  Congress  that  was  completed  in  1799,  a  sister-ship  to  the  Constellation,  the  first 
of  the  thirty-six-gun  frigates.  Intended  for  the  East  Indian  station,  it  had  been  dismasted 
soon  after  starting  and  returned  home.  "This  frigate  had  the  most  uneventful  career  of  any 
American  man-of-war  of  her  date  and  after  spending  much  of  her  life  rotting  in  'ordinary' 
she  was  broken  up  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  in  1836."  Howard  I.  Chapelle,  The  History  of 
American  Sailing  Ships   (New  York,   1935),  71-72,  91-92. 

3  Hascall  D.  Savage  was  the  one  of  Pamela's  five  brothers  who  was  very  near  her  own  age. 

4  The  tiny  village  of  Fort  Ann,  on  a  low  divide  between  the  Hudson  River  watershed  and 
Lake  Champlain,  was  the  site  of  a  number  of  Colonial  and   Revolutionary  forts. 

5  The  Rev.  Joseph  Labaree,  a  graduate  of  Middlebury  College  and  a  former  principal  of 
the  Addison  County  Grammar  School  in  Middlebury,  Vermont,  had  been  Pamela's  pastor 
in  Champlain  since  1819.  He  was  now  forty-two  years  old.  Professor  Leonard  W.  Labaree, 
Department  of  History,  Yale  University,  believes  the  Rev.  Joseph  Labaree  to  have  been  the 
first  cousin  of  his  great-grandfather,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Labaree,  who  was  president  of 
Middlebury  College,  1840-1866.  Inclusive  dates  supplied  by  Louise  C.  Robinson,  Middlebury 
College  Library,   from  the  Middlebury  College  General  Catalogue   1800-1900. 

6  Whitehall,  originally  called  Skenesborough,  is  picturesquely  situated  at  the  head  or 
southern  extremity  of  Lake  Champlain.  It  was  an  important  military  depot  in  the  War 
of  1812. 

7  The  Champlain  Canal,  extending  from  Whitehall,  New  York,  on  Lake  Champlain,  to 
West  Troy,  on  the  Hudson,  had  been  opened  in  1822. 

8  Waterford,  once  known  as  Half  Moon  Point,  is  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  about 
ten  miles  north  of  Albany,  at  the  junction  of  the  Erie  and  Champlain  divisions  of  the  New 
York  State  Barge  Canal   (completed  in  1918)   connecting  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Champlain. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  547 

29.  Left  Albany  this  morning  on  board  the  Saratoga9  about  12. 
miles  down  the  river  met  the  richmond10  and  exchanged  boats. 
Here  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  cousin  Hilliburtfrom  Fort 
Ann  though  I  saw  him  but  a  moment  it  was  very  gratifying — 

New  York  Oct.  1.  Arrived  here  in  safety  yesterday  morning  in 
better  health  and  spirits  than  when  I  left  home.  Have  visited  the 
City  Hall,  Academy  of  fine  arts,  and  the  Museum.  The  city  hall  is 
an  elegant  building  in  the  centre  of  the  park  a  handsome  common. 
The  front  and  both  ends  of  white  marble.  Said  to  be  "the  most 
beautiful  edifice  in  the  United  States,  216.  feet  long,  105  wide  and 
65.  high.  The  expense  $500,000.  It  is  occupied  by  the  City  Council 
and  by  the  different  courts  of  law.  Here  were  full  length  paint- 
ings of  all  our  great  Statesmen,  and  of  many  celebrated  foreign- 
ers ;  among  others  La  Fayette  and  Boliver.  The  latter  is  of  small 
stature,  with  piercing  black  eyes  a  countenance  indicating  resolu- 
tion, and  ambition,  rendered  fierce  by  the  manner  he  wears  his 
mustachios.  I  could  spend  several  days  very  pleasantly  here,  but 
I  should  soon  tire  of  a  city  life.  There  was  a  great  fire  last  night, 
two  sides  of  a  block  burned  entirely  down.  Mr  L.  went  to  the 
fire;  said  he  never  witnessed  such  a  scene  of  distress,  whole 
families  turned  out  of  house  and  home,  men  who  had  lost  their 
all,  running  distracted  through  the  crowd. 

2.  Lords  day.  Attended  Dr.  Spring's  church11  in  the  morning. 
In  the  evening  unexpectedly  heard  a  lecture  from  Cousin  Amos 
Savage,12  did  not  know  that  he  was  in  the  City.  How  pleasant  to 
meet  with  an  acquaintance  among  strangers ! 

3.  Walked  to  the  battery  this  morning  with  Mr.  Savage,  found 
it  a  delightful  retreat  from  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  city.  It  is 
a  beautiful  open  place  containing  several  acres,  planted  with  for- 
rest  trees  and  shrubery  about  a  mile  from  the  City  Hall  at  the 
south  west  point  of  the  city. 

Mr.  L.  has  engaged  our  passage  on  board  the  Belvadier,13  Capt. 
Slough,  bound  for  Petersburgh  Virginia  at  $10  a  person.  We  sail 
this  afternoon. 

4.  Got  out  of  Port  yesterday  with  high  wind  looked  forward 
with  fearful  forebodings  of  seasickness.  Find  ourselves  today 

9  This  may  have  been  the  corvette  Saratoga,  a  large  ship-sloop  built  in  1814  at  Vergennes, 
Vermont.  The  packet-sloops  of  the  Hudson  River  in  their  last  years  were  very  large  vessels, 
between  seventy  and  ninety  feet  on  deck.  Chapelle,  The  History  of  American  Sailing  Ships, 
111-112,   299. 

10  This  was  probably  the  steamboat  Richmond,  which  had  been  running  between  Albany 
and  New  York  at  least  as  early  as  the  summer  of  1815.  It  was  a  boat  of  more  than  local 
reputation;  for  a  steam  vessel  "of  the  size  and  constructed  after  the  plan  of  'The  Richmond'  " 
had  been  "designed  to  run  between  Norfolk,  Richmond  and  Petersburg"  and  scheduled  to 
commence  on  that  route  in  October,  1815.  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  July 
7,   1815. 

11  The  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York  had  been  organized  as  an  independent 
church  in  1809,  and  the  following  year  the  Rev.  Gardiner  Spring,  fresh  from  Andover 
Seminary,  had  become  its  first  clergyman.  He  retained  this  charge  for  sixty-three  years. 
Inventory  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  Archives  of  New  York  City,  prepared  by  the  Historical 
Records  Survey  Division  of  Professional  and  Service  Projects,  Work  Projects  Administration 
(New  York,  1940),  42.  Dr.  Spring  was  ever  distinguished  for  "his  pulpit  ability,  prudence, 
diligence  and  piety."  Alfred  Nevin,  ed.,  Encyclopaedia  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America:  Including  the  Northern  and  Southern  Assemblies  (Philadelphia, 
1884),   851. 

12  Probably  Deacon  David  Savage's  first  cousin  Amos,  born  in  1765,  or  a  son  of  that  Amos. 
James  Francis  Savage,  Family  of  John  Savage  of  Middletown,  Conn., — 1652  (Boston,  1894), 
12,  22. 

13  This  was  probably  the  frigate  Belvidera,  noted  in  April,  1813,  as  off  Sandy  Hook.  Star 
(Raleigh),  April  9,  1813. 


548  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

becalmed  and  confined  to  a  close  uncomfortable  cabin  by  rain, 
the  weather  warm  and  sultry,  so  much  for  my  first  day  at  sea. 
However  crowded  together  as  we  are,  we  shall  sooner  get  ac- 
quainted with  our  fellow  passengers.  Among  these  is  a  young  lady 
of  an  interesting  appearance  from  N.  Haven  Ct.  by  the  name  of 
Pinney,  in  her  I  hope  to  find  a  pleasant  companion;  a  Mr.  Wil- 
liams, Merchant  from  Petersburg;  and  two  young  gentlemen 
from  Boston,  Mr.  Holley  &  Hill,  the  former  an  intelligent  young 
man  but  a  kind  of  "Merry  Andrew."  the  latter  of  a  more  serious 
turn  formerly  from  St.  Albans,  in  whom  we  take  some  interest 
from  his  having  known  many  of  our  acquaintances. 

5.  Wafted  on  today  by  a  fine  breeze,  I  enjoy  it  much;  though 
many  of  the  passengers  are  seasick  I  have  as  yet  escaped. — Spend 
most  of  my  time  on  deck,  have  seen  a  great  variety  of  fishes. 
Porpoises  in  large  companies  and  of  a  huge  size  playing  about 
the  vessel. 

6.  Becalmed  today  out  of  sight  of  land,  arose  early  this  morn- 
ing to  see  the  sun  rise  at  sea.  It  was  a  delightful  morning, 
nothing  to  be  seen  but  the  wide  ocean  and  clear  sky.  So  perfectly 
calm  there  was  not  a  ripple  to  to  be  seen — It  was  a  sublime  sight 
to  see  the  sun  in  all  his  magesty  rising  as  it  were  from  the  depth 
of  the  sea — I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  it  made  on  my 
mind — 

Lying  as  we  do  under  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun  without  a 
breeze  we  find  the  heat  very  oppressive,  our  faces  litterally 
burned  to  a  blister. 

Several  birds  from  land  today  so  perfectly  exhausted  that 
when  they  lit  upon  the  vessel,  they  were  caught  with  all  ease. 
The  sailors  croped  the  wings  of  one,  a  pigeon,  it  remained  a  short 
time  on  board,  and  attempted  to  fly  to  sea  again,  but  poor  thing, 
it  flew  a  short  distance,  fluttered,  fell,  and  sank  to  rise  no  more. 

7.  Passed  a  wreck  to  day,  neared  it,  but  did  not  go  to  examine 
it.  The  captain  and  others  saw,  tonight,  what  they  supposed  to 
be  a  human  body  floating  past  the  vessel,  this  is  mere  conjecture, 
but  it  gave  us  very  unpleasant  sensations — 

8.  Have  been  sailing  under  a  fine  breeze  today  12.  miles  an 
hour,  expect  to  enter  the  Chesapeake  tonight  Feel  some  regret 
on  leaving  the  ocean  at  not  having  seen  the  waves  "mountain 
high",  but  the  Capt.  Says  we  need  not  despond.  There  is  this 
moment  every  appearance  of  an  approaching  gale,  and  we  shall 
be  likely  to  have  enough  of  it,  before  morning.  The  crew  are  en- 
gaged in  putting  in  the  dead  lights  securing  baggage  and  making 
every  preparation  for  a  storm,  and  just  now  as  I  see  the  water 
pouring  over  the  f oredeck  I  begin  to  feel  quite  satisfied. 

Sabbath  eve  9.  We  rode  out  the  storm  last  night  and  found 
ourselves  this  morning  moving  slowly  up  James'  river.  Mr. 
Labaree  preached  this  afternoon,  the  crew  attended  and  formed 
with  the  passengers  a  very  respectable  &  attentive  audience.  Mr 
L.  conversed  with  some  of  the  sailors,  one  of  whom  a  wicked, 
hardened  wretch,  who  seemed  neither  to  fear  God  or  regard  man 
said  that  hell  was  made  for  sailors  and  dogs. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  549 

10.  Passed  Jamestown  today  the  spot  where  Capt.  Smith  first 
setled  his  colony.  The  ruins  of  the  church  is  yet  to  be  seen,14  a 
desolate  looking  place  not  inhabited. 

Petersburg  Virginia  Oct.  11.  Landed  at  City  Point  yesterday 
12  o'clock,  took  the  stage  for  this  place  12  miles  ride,  the  country 
through  which  we  passed  delightful.  It  was  just  after  a  shower 
and  every  thing  appeared  so  green  and  fragrant,  probably  the 
more  grateful  from  one  having  been  so  long  confined  to  an  old 
filthy  vessel. 

Petersburg  is  a  flourishing  place  on  the  Appmattox  12  miles 
from  its  mouth.  It  carries  on  a  large  commerce,  and  is  the  em- 
porium of  trade  for  a  considerable  part  of  N.  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia. It  is  built  mostly  of  brick  a  pretty  place  but  rendered 
desolate  by  frequent  fires;  the  supposed  work  of  incendiaries,15 
leaving  whole  streets  with  nothing  but  naked  stacks  of  chimneys, 
standing  as  monuments  of  the  cupidity  of  man. 

Here  we  find  ourselves  for  the  first  time  surrounded  by  that 
curse  of  the  Southern  States ;  the  African  Slave  And  I  must  ac- 
knowledge that  as  far  as  my  observation  extends  I  do  not  find 
them  in  that  state  of  wretchedness  which  I  had  anticipated:  I 
speak  only  of  house  servants  for  I  have  no  opportunity  of  judg- 
ing of  others.  They  are  well  fed  and  decently  clothed  and  appear 
happy  and  contented,  of  the  two  I  think  those  who  have  the  care 
of  them  are  the  greater  slaves.16 

12.  We  find  the  heat  very  oppressive,  a  thunder  storm  last 
night.  Thermometer  at  84.  We  leave  Petersburg  this  afternoon 
in  a  chartered  coach  for  Oxford  N.  Carolina  100  miles  distant, 
bad  roads,  we  anticipate  an  unpleasant  time  of  it. 

14.  We  are  jogging  on  at  a  slow  rate,  hope  to  reach  Oxford  to 
night.  We  find  variety  on  every  hand,  here  a  field  of  negroes  with 
their  overseer  pulling  corn  or  digging  sweet  potatoes  in  files. 
There  a  cotton  field  all  in  blossom  some  of  red  and  some  of  white, 
resembling  a  blossom  of  the  holly  hawk,  in  form  and  size.  Then 
we  pass  a  pine  plain  and  while  our  cumberous  coach  is  dragging 
its  heavy  wheels  through  the  sand,  we  find  amusement  in  running 
on  foot,  picking  the  nut,  and  culling  the  wild  fruit.  We  find  a 
variety  of  grapes  near  the  streams  of  a  large  size  and  pleasant 
flavor,  some  of  which  are  the  fox,  and  muskodine.  The  crab 
apple,  the  paupa  and  percimmon  are  among  the  wild  fruits. 

14  This  old  Jamestown  Church,  built  about  1647,  was  in  1907  restored  by  the  Colonial 
Dames  of  America  and  presented  to  the  Association  for  the  Preservation  of  Virginia 
Antiquities. 

15  The  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  May  20,  1825,  had  carried  a  news 
dispatch  with  date  line,  "Petersburg,  May  17,"  beginning:  "On  Thursday  night  last,  a  few 
minutes  past  twelve  o'clock,  the  cry  of  fire  was  sounded  in  our  streets,  .  .  ."  In  consequence  of 
the  "scarcity  of  water,"  several  buildings  had  been  consumed  besides  the  house  where  the  fire 
started,  which  was  used  by  Mr.  Thomas  Moss  "as  a  place  for  curing  meat,"  and  contained 
about  1,000  hogs.  Nothing  had  been  insured;  the  total  loss  was  about  $10,000  or  more.  The 
conflagration  was   believed   the   work   of  an   incendiary. 

16  Pamela  might  have  seen  a  few  slaves  in  her  native  village.  In  the  early  nineteenth 
century  the  laws  of  New  York  State  permitted  the  holding  of  slaves,  not  more  than  three  to 
one  owner,  and  Judge  Pliny  Moore  (whose  son  Pamela  was  to  marry  in  1831)  had  owned 
at  least  two  Negroes,  whom  he  had  freed  before  his  death  in  1822.  "An  Address  of  Charles 
Freeman  Nye  July  14,  1902  At  the  Centenary  Exercises  of  the  First  Presbyterian-Congrega- 
tional Church  and  Society  of  Champlain,  New- York"  (Champlain,  1928),  17-18  (courtesy  Hugh 
McLellan,  Champlain).  What  she  did  not  know  was  that  the  majority  of  North  Carolinians 
never  had  owned  slaves  and  that  even  the  majority  of  plantations  in  the  state  used  fewer 
than  ten  slaves. 


550  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

15.  Arrived  at  Oxford  found  it  a  very  pretty  town  or  rather 
what  would  be  called  a  village  in  the  Northern  States  ;17  pleas- 
antly situated  containing  two  Academies,18  a  courthouse19  and 
jail.  We  find  the  people  very  agreeable  and  hospitable.  The 
ladies  particularly,  they  had  made  great  arrangements  for  the 
reception  of  their  future  pastor.  A  house  had  been  prepared 
ready  furnished  and  provisioned  for  our  use.  On  the  18,  we  took 
possession  of  our  house  and  commenced  keeping  house,  with  one 
servant  a  free  black  woman.20 

20.  Am  agreeably  disappointed  in  the  southern  character,  ex- 
pected to  find  the  people  haughty,  reserved,  arrogant  and  self 
willed,  but  they  are  quite  the  reverse.  The  cold  formal  reserve  of 
the  English  is  much  more  characteristic  of  the  northern  people 
than  the  southern.  They  have  something  of  the  urbanity  of  the 
French,21  are  distinguished  for  their  familiarity,  vivacity  and 
ardent  attachment  They  differ  materially  in  dialect  and  pro- 
vincialisms from  northern  people. 

27.  We  have  for  the  most  part  since  we  came  here  had  delight- 
ful weather,  but  have  lately  experienced  some  sudden  changes,  on 
the  25.  the  thermometer  was  at  70.  in  the  open  air  before  sunrise 
this  morning  it  was  at  34. 
Nov.  18.  Ice  this  morning  !/3  of  an  inch  thick. 

19.  Ice  %  of  an  inch  thick. 

17  The  seat  of  justice  for  Granville  County  had  been  established  in  its  present  location  in 
1764,  when  the  influential  Samuel  Benton  managed  to  get  the  county  seat  transferred  to  his 
plantation  called  "Oxford."  Later  known  as  Harrisburg  and  then  as  Merrittsville,  the  tiny 
post-village  had  been  laid  off  as  "a  town  by  the  name  of  Oxford"  in  1812,  when  Thomas 
Blount  Littlejohn  for  $2,636  sold  for  this  purpose  fifty  acres,  "being  a  part  of  the  tract  of 
Land  called  the  Court  House  or  Oxford  tract  of  Land,  .  .  ."  Granville  County  Records, 
Deed  Book  W,  No.  23,  1.  No  corporate  government  was  formed,  however,  until  1816,  when 
the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  passed  an  act  to  incorporate  the  town  of  Oxford 
in  Granville  County. 

w  Presbyterians  and  other  dissenters  had  given  "noticeable  impetus  to  the  academy  move- 
ment after  the  Revolution,  and  by  1800  numerous  academies  could  be  found  in  all  the 
Southern  States."  These  institutions  were  "usually  privately  controlled  and  managed  by  an 
incorporated  board  of  trustees."  Edgar  W.  Knight,  The  Academy  Movement  in  the  South, 
reprinted  from  The  High  School  Journal,  II  (November-December,  1919);  III,  (January, 
1920),  5,  23.  An  indication  of  the  number  and  nature  of  academies  in  North  Carolina  a  few 
years  before  Pamela's  arrival  in  Oxford  appeared  in  the  North  American  Review,  January, 
1821:  "The  number  at  present  is  nearly  fifty,  and  is  rapidly  increasing.  Great  pains  are 
taken  to  procure  the  best  instructors  from  different  parts  of  the  country,  .  .  .  The  schools 
for  females  are  particularly  celebrated,  and  are  much  resorted  to  from  Georgia,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Virginia.  .  .  .  All  the  useful  and  ornamental  branches  of  knowledge  are  taught  at 
most  of  these  institutions."  Quoted  by  Charles  Lee  Smith,  The  History  of  Education  in 
North  Carolina  (Washington,  D.  C,  1888),  70.  The  Oxford  Academy  had  opened  its  doors 
in  January,  1814,  and  in  the  summer  of  the  same  year  the  Female  Department  appears  to 
have  been  organized.  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  December  17,  1813;  June 
24,  1814.  The  original  Academy  building  had  been  burned  in  the  summer  of  1816,  and 
separate  buildings,  "large  and  commodious,"  for  the  Male  and  Female  Departments  had 
been  erected  and  occupied  in  the  latter  part  of  the  following  year.  Raleigh  Register  and 
North  Carolina  Gazette,  May  23,  1817;  June  26,  1817;  December  19,  1817.  The  neighboring 
towns  of  Williamsborough,  Warrenton,  and  Louisburg  had  all  boasted  "schools  for  females" 
as  well  as  males  even  before  1803. 

19  It  is  believed  that  the  first  courthouse  in  Oxford  was  erected  around  1764  or  1765. 
Probably  Pamela  would  hear  old  residents  state  with  pride  that  Granville  County  had  been 
formed  as  far  back  as  1746  from  the  western  part  of  Edgecombe  County.  The  present 
courthouse    (front  portion)    was  not  to  be  built  until  1838. 

20  For  a  southern  state,  North  Carolina  had  a  large  number  of  free  Negroes.  Between 
1790  and  1860  these  increased  from  4,975  to  30,463.  Between  1816  and  1830,  North  Carolina 
had  a  livelier  emancipation  movement  than  any  other  southern  state.  The  Underground 
Railroad  had  started  functioning  in  1819,  and  in  1826  the  abolition  societies  in  the  state 
numbered  forty.  North  Carolina:  A  Guide  to  the  Old  North  State  (Chapel  Hill,  N.  C, 
1939),  44. 

21  Pamela  knew  something  of  the  French  temperament  at  first  hand;  for  a  little  stream 
of  French  families  from  Canada  had  started  trickling  into  her  home  country  even  before 
the  organization  of  "Champlain  Town."  Today  a  large  part  of  Champlain's  population  is  of 
French   descent. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  £51 

28.  Attended  the  examination  of  the  female  Academy,  to  be 
continued  three  days.22 

Dec.  1.  Dr.  Jones'23  examination  ended  yesterday  with  much 
eclat,  the  pupils  were  examined  in  Geography,  Grammar  Arith- 
metick  Rhetorick  History  Astronomy  Mythology  &c  &c  The  last 
afternoon  and  evening  appropriated  to  musick.  Several  of  the 
young  ladies  graduated  and  were  presented  (with  much  cere- 
mony) with  a  gold  medal.24 

12  Ice  remained  through  the  day  yesterday  for  the  first  time. 
Today  a  fine  snow  from  two  to  three  inches  deep. 

14.  Moved  yesterday  to  the  Academy25  expect  to  open  the  school 
on  the  10.  of  January.  The  snow  which  fell  on  the  12.  lying  on 
the  ground  yet.  Thermometer  at  9.  deg.  below  zero 

Dec.  20.  The  past  week  cold  and  unpleasant,  delightful  weather 
today.  Had  a  fine  ramble  in  the  woods. 

21,  22.  beautiful  weather  23.  Rather  cold  but  notwithstand- 
ing walked  about  2  miles. 

25.  Mr.  &  Mrs.  L.  have  gone  to  Grassy  Creek  to  spend  Christ- 
mas. The  weather  is  very  pleasant,  people  are  getting  out  ice  for 
ice  houses ;  ice  about  four  inches  thick. 

26,  27,  &  28.  Clear  cold  weather.  Have  caught  a  severe  cold, 
am  something  hoarse  &  have  sore  throat 

31.  Warm  and  pleasant  weather  corresponding  with  pleasant 
weather  in  Oct.  at  the  North.  Am  so  much  indisposed  today  as  to 
keep  my  bed.  Was  taken  with  sickness  at  the  stomach  vomiting 
&c  probably  the  effects  of  a  cold 


Jan.  1.  1826.  Sabbath.  Mr.  L.  so  much  indisposed  from  cold 
and  hoarseness  as  to  be  unable  to  preach,  a  physician  has  been 
called,26  he  was  bled  and  took  a  portion  of  calomel,  and  we  hope 
will  soon  be  better. 


22  It  was  customary  for  an  academy  to  stage  a  series  of  oral  examinations  before  the 
elite  of  the  town  at  the  end  of  each  five-months  session  (November  and  June).  These 
examinations,  often  lasting  for  three  days  and  attended  by  brilliant  assemblages,  might  be 
conducted  not  only  by  the  teachers,  but  by  the  trustees,  by  ministers,  lawyers,  etc.  "There 
were  orations;  the  presentation  of  gold  medals;  the  exhibition  of  booklets,  copy-book 
writing;  and  fine  needlework;  'the  execution'  of  pleasing  numbers  'upon  the  Piano  Forte.'  " 
The  village  academy,  with  its  various  public  programs  culminating  in  the  formal  com- 
mencement exercises,  played  an  important  part  in  early  nineteenth-century  town  life  in  North 
Carolina.  Guion  Griffis  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina:  A  Social  History  (Chapel 
Hill,  1937),  155,  325-326. 

23  Dr.  Thomas  P.  Jones  and  Joseph  Andrews  had  come  from  Philadelphia  to  North  Caro- 
lina prior  to  1820,  had  presided  over  female  academies  in  Warrenton  and  Williamsborough, 
and  a  few  years  before  had  moved  their  "North-Carolina  Female  Academy"  to  Oxford, 
"with  a  view  to  a  permanent  establishment  where  the  premises"  would  "comfortably 
accommodate  their  pupils."  They  were  now  planning  to  return  to  Philadelphia.  The 
Labaree  regime  restored  to  the  school  its  original  name.  Charles  L.  Coon,  North  Carolina 
Schools  and  Academies,   1790-18.^0:  A  Documentary  History    (Raleigh,   1915),   passim. 

24  A  gold  medal  awarded  to  Miss  Matilda  B.  Duty  of  the  Oxford  Female  Academy  in  Oc- 
tober, 1829,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  her  nephew,  Mr.  Francis  B.  Hays  of  Oxford.  The 
name  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Labaree  is  inscribed  on  one  side,  together  with  his  pupil's,  and  on 
the  reverse  side  are  listed  the  seven  subjects  Matilda  had  supposedly  completed :  Music, 
Grammar,  Geography,  History,  Natural  Philosophy,  Belles  Lettres,  Astronomy  (courtesy 
Francis  B.  Hays), 

25  In  1834  there  was  certainly  a  boardinghouse  adjacent  to  the  Female  Academy.  Raleigh 
Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  October  7,  1834.  As  out-of-town  pupils  seem  generally 
to  have  boarded  with  the  principal's  family,  at  least  in  the  early  years,  it  was  evidently  to 
a  residence  that  would  be  used  jointly  by  the  Labarees  and  the  boarding  students  that 
Pamela  moved  in  mid-December,  1825,  after  the  premises  had  been  vacated  by  the  Messrs. 
Andrews  and  Jones. 

26  Probably  Dr.  William  V.  Taylor,  a  leading  member  of  Mr.  Labaree's  congregation. 
Oxford  Session  Book,  June  24,  1823  (copy  in  scrapbook  of  Francis  B.  Hays:  "The  Early 
Presbyterian  Churches  of  Granville  County");  Granville  County  Records,  Deed  Book  No.  12, 
391-392. 


<    (    >     I   I 


552  TpE  Nojrth  Carolina  Historical  Review 

2.  &  3.  cold  weather  yet. 

6.  &  7.  Weather  moderated     8.  Warm  rains 

10.  So  warm  and  pleasant  that  I  found  a  summer  dress  suf- 
ficient in  riding  on  horseback,  commenced  school  today  with 
some  5.  or  six  boarders  and  8.  or  10  day  scholars.  Miss  Slater  who 
assists  in  the  academy  arrived  on  Saturday,  appears  to  be  a  very 
good  young  lady,  is  a  member  of  the  babtist  church  and  I  hope 
to  find  in  her  an  agreeable  companion ;  she  is  to  be  my  roommate ; 
she  has  had  much  experience  in  teaching  and  we  think  will  be  a 
valuable  acquisition  to  our  establishment.27  Mr.  L.  has  engaged 
a  musick  teacher,  a  teacher  in  Drawing  &  painting,  and  a  gentle- 
man from  the  North  to  superintend ;  (the  Rev.  Mr.  Skelton  who 
is  every  day  expected;28)  in  the  meantime  Mr.  L.  superintends 
the  school  himself.29 

15.  Sudden  change.  This  is  the  coldest  day  we  have  had  this 
winter. 

Feb.  15.  For  a  month  past  the  weather  has  been  very  changeable, 
some  beatifully  pleasant  &  some  very  cold. 

28.  A  severe  thunderstorm  today,  most  vivid  lightning 

March  1.  Thermometer  at  84.  degrees.  Spring  has  opened  in  all 
its  bloom.  Peach  and  various  fruit  trees  in  blossom 

12.  A  severe  frost  last  night,  fruit  much  injured  if  not  entirely 
cut  off.  Ice  %  of  an  inch  thick. 

April  1.  Tulips,  Hyacinth,  Narcissus,  Snowdrop,  Crocus,  lilack, 
snowball  &c.  &c.  in  bloom. 

8.  Cinnamon  rose,  honeysuckle  woodbine  &c.  Visited  Mr.  Little- 
johns'30  garden,  the  most  elegant  I  ever  saw;  besides  many  rare 

27  Probably  one  of  the  Slater  sisters  (Eliza  and  Mary  Ann)  from  New  York  City  who  for 
several  years  had  taught  the  literary  branches  in  Salisbury  Female  Academy  in  Rowan 
County.   Coon,   North   Carolina  Schools  and  Academies,   passim. 

28  The  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  December  16,  1825,  carried  an  an- 
nouncement that  the  "North  Carolina  Female  Academy"  would  "in  future  be  superintended 
by  Revd.  Joseph  Labaree,  assisted  by  Revd.  Thomas  Skelton  and  wife,  from  Massachusetts, 
Miss  Hannah  Kennedy,  who  for  several  years  past  has  taught  Painting  and  Drawing,  in  the 
school  of  Messrs.  Andrews  and  Jones,  and  three  other  able  and  experienced  teachers."  The 
boarding  pupils  would  take  their  meals  at  the  same  table  with  the  family  of  the  principal 
and  "in  all  respects  be  treated  as  his  own  children."  The  government  of  the  school  would  be 
"strictly  parental — the  government  of  kindness  and  of  reason." 

29  In  ante-bellum  North  Carolina,  as  well  as  in  earlier  days,  clergymen  generally  had  to 
supplement  their  salaries  by  educational  or  other  work.  A  minister  receiving  $500  a  year 
was  considered  fortunate.  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,  437.  It  appears  that  the 
Oxford  Presbyterians  were  an  unusually  generous  group.  A  year  or  two  before  Mr.  Labaree's 
incumbency,  the  congregation  of  twenty-two  members  had  contributed,  in  addition  to  their 
pastor's  support  and  $1,000  for  the  building  of  a  church,  $50  for  a  tract  depository  in  Oxford; 
$20  for  the  aid  of  the  Jews;  $15  for  missions  and  education;  and  $13  for  the  endowment  of 
a  Princeton  professorship.  Public  Ledger  (Oxford),  June  24,  1897  (courtesy  Francis  B. 
Hays,  Oxford).  Mr.  Labaree's  initial  salary  in  the  Champlain  church  had  been  $600.  Records 
of  the  First  Presbyterian-Congregational  Church  of  Champlain,  N.  Y.  (courtesy  Hugh 
McLellan,   Champlain). 

30  Thomas  Blount  Littlejohn,  the  oldest  son  of  William  Littlejohn,  a  prosperous  shipping 
merchant  of  Edenton,  and  Sarah  (Blount)  Littlejohn,  had  come  as  a  young  man  to  Granville 
County,  where  he  was  now  a  large  landholder  and  a  leading  citizen.  He  was  a  Presbyterian 
church  elder,  a  town  commissioner,  an  academy  trustee,  and  in  his  later  years  the  clerk 
and  master  of  the  Court  of  Equity  for  Granville  County.  In  1798  he  had  married  Elizabeth 
Mutter,  daughter  of  the  wealthy  Scotchman,  Thomas  Mutter,  one  of  Granville's  "first" 
gentlemen.  The  home  of  the  Little  Johns  became  much  later  the  residence  of  the  Richard  P. 
Taylors  on  Williamsboro  Street.  Among  the  numerous  descendants  of  Thomas  Blount  and 
Elizabeth  (Mutter)  Littlejohn  was  their  granddaughter,  Sarah  Jane  Kollock,  one  of  the 
principals  for  many  years  of  the  Misses  Nash  and  Kollock's  School  for  Young  Ladies  in 
Hillsboro.  The  list  of  great-grandchildren  includes  Mrs.  Augustus  S.  Hall  of  Oxford  and  the 
Misses  Sophia  and  Isabel  Donaldson  Busbee  of  Raleigh.  Information  from  Mrs.  Augustus  S. 
Hall  and  Francis  B.  Hays,  Oxford;  J.  R.  B.  Hathaway,  ed.,  The  North  Carolina  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Register  (Edenton,  N.  C),  I  (April,  1900),  271,  276;  Worth  S.  Ray, 
Colonial  Granville  County  and  Its  People  (n.p.,  1945),  300;  James  E.  Bagwell,  "Williamsboro's 
Past  Recalls  Important  Events  and  Famous  Leaders,"  Durham  Morning  Herald,  October 
16,   1949. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  553 

flowers  &  plants,  he  has  the  Pomegranate,  fig,  Almond  and  filbert 
trees  richly  laden  with  fruit.81 

17.  We  begin  to  have  ripe  strawberries 

29.  Mrs.  L  purchased  5  or  6  quarts  of  the  largest  and  finest 
looking  strawberries  I  ever  saw  however  I  think  them  inferior 
in  flavor  to  the  Northern  strawberry.  We  have  also  green  peas. 

On  the  8.  of  this  month  we  attended  a  presbytery  at  Grassy 
Creek  ten  miles  from  this  place.  We  found  a  convenient  meeting 
house  pleasantly  situated,  as  most  of  the  country  meeting  houses 
are  in  this  country,  in  the  midst  of  a  grove  quite  alone.32  There 
was  a  very  large  collection  of  people,  whole  families  came; 
brought  their  servants  and  dined  in  the  grove.  Heard  two  ser- 
mons one  by  the  Rev.  Doct.  Rice,  President  of  Hamden  Sidney 
College.33  It  was  an  excellent  sermon  and  produced  great  effect. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Mr.  Labaree  was  installed 
over  this  church  &  people,34  he  is  to  preach  here  half  the  time,  the 

31  Mr.  Thomas  B.  Littlejohn's  "commodious"  house  was  "situated  in  a  most  beautiful 
grove  of  Oaks  attached  to  it  is  a  large  Falling  Garden  furnished  with  fruits  selected  from 
the  North  an  Ice-House  constructed  of  rock — a  stone  Spring-House  a  Well  of  excellent 
water  in  the  yard —  .   .   ."   Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,   February   3,   1831. 

32  The  Grassy  Creek  Presbyterian  Congregation  had  been  organized,  probably  in  1753,  by 
the  Rev.  William  Tennent.  Date  supplied  by  the  late  W.  Critchon  Daniel,  Stovall,  N.  C.  ;  and 
John  Bullock  Watkins,  Jr.,  Historic  Vance  County  (Henderson,  N.  C,  1941),  39.  This 
meeting,  held  at  the  home  of  Howell  Lewis,  "is  supposed  to  be  the  first  time  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  in  Granville  County."  In  1761,  "the  congregation  wor- 
shiped in  a  new  Meeting  House  .  .  .  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  built  by  Howell  Lewis 
and  James  Downey."  In  1889,  the  little  white  frame  church  building  was  moved  from  its 
location  on  the  old  Clarksville  Road  near  Gela  to  its  present  site  in  the  town  of  Stovall. 
Records  of  the  Grassy  Creek  Presbyterian  Church  (courtesy  Mrs.  W.  R.  Daniel,  Stovall,  and 
Miss  Alice  Daniel,  Oxford).  Another  old  house  of  interest  in  the  Stovall  community  is  the 
residence  once  occupied  by  the  distinguished  preacher  and  teacher,  the  Rev.  Henry  Pattillo, 
who  was  pastor  of  the  Grassy  Creek  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  late  eighteenth  century.  When 
Pamela  visited  Grassy  Creek,  the  pastor  was  a  young  man  from  Virginia  who  would  later 
attain  distinction  as  a  professor  in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Lyle 
Graham,  formerly  a  pastor  of  the  Oxford  Presbyterians.  Records  of  the  Grassy  Creek  Pres- 
byterian Church;  Encyclopaedia  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
273. 

33  Almost  certainly  this  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Rice.  He  was  never  president  of 
Hampden-Sydney  College,  but  on  January  1,  1824,  had  "made  his  inaugural  discourse"  at 
the  formal  opening  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary.  The  Seminary  was  founded  on 
ground  adjoining  the  college  to  the  south.  Bulletin  of  Hampden-Sydney  College,  Feb.,  1950. 
Dr.  Rice's  younger  brother,  Benjamin  Holt  Rice,  D.D.,  was  also  a  distinguished  preacher. 
Encyclopaedia  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  759,  958.  The 
latter  was  a  great-grandfather  of  today's  president  of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Richmond, 
Dr.  Benjamin  Rice  Lacy.   Information   from  Mrs.   Benjamin   Rice   Lacy,   Sr.,   Raleigh. 

34  The  Oxford  Presbyterian  Church  is  a  child  of  the  Grassy  Creek  Church.  In  1817,  Thomas 
Blount  Littlejohn  and  several  other  members  of  the  Grassy  Creek  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  was  ten  miles  from  their  homes,  decided  to  organize  a  church  in  Oxford,  a  decision 
put  into  effect  the  following  year,  apparently  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Shepard  K. 
Kollock,  first  pastor  of  the  Oxford  church.  Public  Ledger  (Oxford),  June  24,  1897  (courtesy 
Francis  B.  Hays,  Oxford).  According  to  Mr.  Hays,  the  Oxford  congregation  in  its  early 
years  conducted  its  services  in  the  Oxford  Academy.  It  had  no  church  building  of  its  own 
until  shortly  after  the  termination  of  Mr.  Labaree's  pastorate.  "In  1830  the  first  Presby- 
terian church  building  was  erected  in  Oxford."  Notes  of  Bell  Cooper,  historian  (1938-1939), 
Woman's  Auxiliary,  Oxford  Presbyterian  Church.  This  was  located  on  the  site  of  the  present 
church,  on  Harrisburg  (now  Gilliam)  Street,  the  lot  having  been  presented  to  the  trustees 
of  the  congregation  by  Thomas  Blount  Littlejohn.  for  the  "sum  of  Ten  Shillings  to  him  in 
hand  paid."  Granville  County  Records,  Deed  Book  No.  12,  391.  A  water-color  sketch  of  the 
old  rectangular  red  brick  church,  which  was  torn  down  to  be  replaced  by  the  present 
structure  (front  section)  in  1892,  is  in  the  possession  of  Miss  Daisy  Holeman  of  Oxford; 
this  quaint  picture  was  done  by  Miss  Holeman's  grandmother,  Mrs.  James  Davis  (formerly 
Mary  Anderson  Duty),  sometime  prior  to  her  marriage  in  1847.  Information  from  Miss 
Holeman.  The  Oxford  Presbyterians  must  have  been  an  unusually  opulent  congregation, 
having  already  contributed  $1,000  for  their  projected  church  home;  for,  out  of  thirty-four 
Presbyterian  church  buildings  in  the  old  Orange  Presbytery  in  1829,  thirty  cost  an  average 
of  little  above  $63.   Johnson,   Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,   436. 


554  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

other  half  at  Providence  7  miles  from  here.35 

Heard  today  by  the  way  of  home  from  our  dear  brother  who 
has  in  consequence  of  bad  health  long  been  a  wanderer  from  his 
home  and  friends. 

He  long  seemed  a  favored  child  of  fortune,  but  God  has  seen 
fit  to  afflict  him.  Oh!  that  his  afflictions  might  be  sanctified  to 
him,  and  that  he  might  find  in  Jesus  "that  friend  which  sticketh 
closer  than  a  brother." 

He  once  professed  to  to  love  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  may  not  his 
afflictions  have  been  sent  upon  him  in  consequence  of  his  not 
having  come  out,  and  united  himself  with  Gods'  people?  0  that 
he  might  be  preserved  from  the  temptations  with  which  he  is 
surrounded.36 

This  is  a  beautiful  month  I  am  delighted  with  the  Spring,  and 
I  have  been  agreeably  disappointed  in  the  southern  winter.  I 
expected  to  see  much  rainy  wet  weather,  but  on  the  contrary  it 
has  been  very  dry,37  most  of  the  time  excellent  walking.  We  owe 
much  of  this  to  the  sandy  soil  the  water  runs  away  as  soon  as  it 
falls. 

June  11.  Our  examination  took  place  on  the  7,  8,  &  9.  There 
was  a  large  concourse  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  We 
had  a  specimen  of  the  disipation  of  the  people.  During  the  ex- 
amination there  were  two  balls38  and  several  parties  given,  the 

35  About  1793,  a  church  was  built  on  the  south  bank  of  Tar  River,  a  few  hundred  yards  up 
the  river  from  the  later  Southern  Railway  bridge,  and  named  Providence.  The  land  was 
given  by  Joseph  Gooch,  and  the  meetinghouse  was  erected  by  the  community  for  any  and 
all  denominations.  On  October  31,  1823,  at  a  camp  meeting  held  at  this  liberal  house  of 
assembly,  the  Rev.  Samuel  L.  Graham  organized  a  Presbyterian  society  called  the  Providence 
Congregation.  The  present  Presbyterian  Church  at  Geneva  stemmed  from  this  congregation. 
Scrapbook  of  Francis  B.  Hays:  "The  Early  Presbyterian  Churches  of  Granville  County," 
passim.  Early  Providence  probably  enjoyed  few  regular  preaching  services  after  the  de- 
parture of  its  "first  regular  Presbyterian  preacher,"  the  Rev.  John  Matthews,  in  1824.  In  that 
year  the  Rev.  John  Chavis,  "a  colored  but  educated  Presbyterian  preacher,  then  living 
about  twenty  miles'  distant,  proposed  to  supply  for  a  year,  but  after  coming  a  few  Sundays 
and  not  receiving  such  familiar  and  hospitable  entertainment  as  was  desired  and  necessary, 
he  discontinued  his  visits."  Quoted  from  the  Sessional  Records  of  the  Old  Providence  Church 
by  George  C.  Shaw,  John  Chavis  1763-1838:  A  Remarkable  Negro  .  .  .  (Binghamton,  N.  Y., 
c.  1931),  21-22. 

38  Andrew  B.  Savage  was  about  five  years  older  than  Pamela.  A  sufferer  from  asthma,  he 
had  left  Champlain  about  eleven  years  before  and  gone  probably  first  to  New  Orleans  and 
certainly  later  to  the  West  Indies.  His  family  had  grieved  over  his  exposure  to  temptations 
in  his  travels,  and  also  over  his  supposed  death.  He  was  to  rejoice  his  home  by  a  visit  in 
the  summer  of  1826.  Pamela's  longing  for  Andrew  to  unite  with  the  church,  however,  would 
not  be  satisfied  until  1838,  the  year  before  his  death.  Records  of  the  First  Presbyterian- 
Congregational  Church  of  Champlain,  N.  Y.  (courtesy  Hugh  McLellan,  Champlain);  Pamela 
Savage  to  Joel  Savage,  April  14-24,  1826  (original  manuscript  in  the  possession  of  the 
editor) . 

37  Granville  was  one  of  eight  North  Carolina  counties  that  suffered  from  a  drought  in  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1826.  As  a  result,  the  winter  of  1827  found  many  of  the  poorer  class 
in  a  state  of  destitution.   Johnson,   Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,   697-698. 

38  David  Mitchell  of  Oxford,  in  the  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  No- 
vember 8,  1825,  had  thanked  his  friends  and  the  public  for  the  "very  liberal  patronage 
heretofore  extended  to  his  house  of  Public  Entertainment"  and  informed  them  that  on  the 
29th  [the  second  day  of  the  examination  period  in  the  Oxford  Female  Academy]  he  would 
"furnish  a  Ball  to  the  Visitors"  and  expect  a  "numerous  and  fashionable"  company.  Coon, 
North  Carolina  Schools  and  Academies,  154.  Presumably  the  same  David  Mitchell  furnished 
one  of  these  June  balls  as  well.  Presumably,  too,  a  number  of  "modern"  dances  figured 
colorfully  on  these  occasions,  as  the  cotillion,  etc.,  had  certainly  reached  Raleigh  and  several 
other  North  Carolina  towns  earlier  in  the  century.  As  late  as  1822,  however,  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  Elizabeth  City  had  been  dancing  only  the  rural  dances  or  "Scampers,"  the 
favorites  in  North  Carolina  around  1800.  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,  159. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  555 

girls  went  through  with  the  examination  tolerably  well39  con- 
sidering that  they  were  taken  to  some  place  of  amusement  every 
night  by  their  friends. 

This  month  is  excessively  warm  but  as  yet  it  is  very  healthy. 
We  have  had  no  sickness  in  our  large  family  excepting  in  the 
Spring  a  few  cases  of  the  inf uensa. 

I  went  last  sab'th  with  Mr.  Labaree  to  Williamsborough40 
12  miles  north  of  here  to  a  two  day's  meeting.  The  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  supper  was  administered  We  had  a  solemn  time. 

Williamsborough  is  a  neat  little  village  has  a  church41  and  two 
academies,42  We  passed  through  a  delightful  country  saw  several 
large,  well  cultivated  plantations. 

July  16.  Miss  Slater  was  taken  violently  ill  yesterday  and  is 
today  scarcely  able  to  raise  her  hand  to  her  head,  she  will  proba- 
bly have  a  course  of  fever. 

20.  How  ought  my  heart  to  be  filled  with  gratitude  to  God 
that  my  unprofitable  life  is  spared  while  many  of  my  fellow 
mortals  are  lying  on  beds  of  sickness  and  languishing  and  others 
have  been  called  to  their  long  home.  Miss  S.  still  continues  very 
ill,  several  of  the  young  ladies  sick.  Mrs.  L.  last  week  presented 
her  husband  with  a  little  Carolinian,  a  fine  son.43 


39  "A  Spectator"  publicized  in  the  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  June  16, 
1826,  his  approval  of  this  exhibition:  "Very  little  attention  appeared  to  have  been  devoted 
to  that  kind  of  preparation  for  examination  which  is  designed  merely  for  display  to  captivate 
the  multitude.  The  young  ladies  generally,  evinced,  that  their  own  exertions  had  been  dili- 
gently and  judiciously  directed  by  able  teachers  to  the  several  branches  of  useful  learning 
suitable  to  their  respective  ages  and  capacities.  ...  It  is  believed  that  Parents  may  entrust 
their  children  to  the  care  of  the  present  instructors  with  a  confidence  that  their  minds, 
morals,  and  manners,  will  receive  due  attention."  Coon,  North  Carolina  Schools  and 
Academies,  144-145. 

40  This  community  in  old  Granville  (now  in  Vance)  County,  which  had  been  chartered  as 
a  town  in  January,  1787,  was  laid  out  on  a  tract  of  land  presented  by  Col.  Robert  Burton, 
on  the  site  of  an  early  settlement  known  as  Nutbush.  Col.  Burton  honored  his  father-in-law, 
Judge  John  Williams,  by  giving  his  name  to  the  new  town.  The  famous  Henderson  family 
and  a  number  of  other  men  distinguished  in  the  history  of  the  state  lived  in  and  around 
Williamsborough.  Located  on  the  main  stage  and  wagon  lines  of  the  section,  the  village 
prospered  until  spurned  by  the  railroad.  It  is  now  a  tiny  "ghost  town,"  a  true  "antique" 
among  North  Carolina  villages.  James  E.  Bagwell,  "Williamsboro's  Past  Recalls  Important 
Events  and  Famous  Leaders,"  Durham  Morning  Herald,  October  16,  1949. 

41  This  must  have  been  St.  John's  Church,  built  in  1757  and  commonly  called  the  Nutbush 
Church  throughout  the  Colonial  Period,  thoroughly  repaired  between  1819  and  1823,  and 
reconsecrated  by  the  first  bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  North  Carolina,  the  Rev.  John 
Starke  Ravenscroft,  on  October  16,  1825,  when  it  was  officially  given  its  present  name.  Ac- 
cording to  Thomas  T.  Waterman,  this  little  frame  structure  "constitutes  the  best  exemplar 
of  colonial  church  woodwork  in  North  Carolina."  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,  424; 
Elizabeth  Cox,  "Group  Plans  to  Restore  Old  Tar  Heel  Church,"  News  and  Observer  (Raleigh), 
September  24,  1950. 

42  The  little  community  had  provided  itself  with  an  academy  probably  about  the  time  of  its 
organization  as  a  town  in  1787;  for  on  October  21,  1788,  John  Williams  had  paid  twenty 
pounds  as  part  of  his  "Subscription  towards  the  academy,"  and  on  November  3  had  paid 
Hodre  &  Co.  ten  shillings  "for  advertising  the  Academv  at  Williamsborough."  Ex- 
tracts from  Memorandum  Book  of  John  Williams  in  His  Handwriting  (typescript),  E. 
Vernon  Howell  Papers,  Southern  Historical  Collection,  University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel 
Hill.  In  1826,  the  Williamsborough  Male  Academy  was  under  the  direction  of  the  scholarly 
Irishman,  Alexander  Wilson,  and  the  Female  Academy  was  operating  in  June  under  Mrs. 
Anne  O'Brien,  who  was  to  become  music  instructor  in  the  Oxford  Female  Academy  in  the 
1830's.  Coon,  North  Carolina  Schools  and  Academies,  passim. 

43  Joseph  Labaree  had  married  Huldah  Lyman  on  February  17,  1817.  They  had  thirteen 
children.  Information  supplied  by  Professor  Leonard  W.  Labaree,  Department  of  History, 
Yale  University,  from  Jane  Labaree,  History  of  the  Descendants  of  Peter  Labaree,  Charlestown, 
New  Hampshire  .  .  .  (Keene,  N.  H.,  1912),  34.  Pamela  does  not  indicate  how  many  children 
had  already  been   "presented." 


556  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

23  Mr.  L's  pulpit  was  filled  today  by  a  colored  man,44  Mr. 
Erskine  from  Tennessee,  He  has  spent  37  years  in  slavery,  was 
redeemed  and  educated  by  a  presbyterian  minister.  Part  of  his 
family  are  still  in  bondage,  he  is  soliciting  aid  for  the  purpose  of 
emancipating  them,  after  which  it  is  his  intention  to  go  to  our 
colony  at  Liberia.*45  A  collection  of  40  dollars  was  taken  up  for 
him  in  this  place.  So  much  for  a  Slaveholding  people. 

*He  has  since  gone  out  to  Liberia  with  his  family 

August  9.  Have  just  received  a  letter  from  home  containing 
the  distressing  intelligence  of  the  death  of  brother  Cyrus'  little 
son,  and  of  the  alarming  illness  of  its  mother,46  it  is  feared  that 
she  is  in  a  decline  Dear  Louisa!  must  I  be  deprived  of  the 
privilege  of  contributing  to  her  comfort  while  on  a  bed  of  sick- 
ness? perhaps  I  may  never  see  her  again  in  this  world,  and  must 
it  be  so,  is  she  so  soon  to  be  torn  from  the  bosom  of  her  fond 
companion?  Oh  God  avert  thy  judgements;  spare  her  to  us  a 
little  longer ;  if  consistant  to  thy  will  restore  her  to  health.  But 
if  thou  hast  otherwise  determined,  prepare  us  to  say  "thy  will 
be  done." 

In  the  midst  of  judgements  God  has  also  remembered  mercy 
and  returned  our  dear  brother  [Andrew]  after  an  absence  of 
eleven  years.  It  is  a  severe  trial  to  me  that  I  am  not  permited 
to  share  in  the  general  joy.  But  it  is  all  right.  I  have  the  prospect 
of  soon  seeing  him  in  N.  Carolina,  his  health  is  feeble  and  he 
finds  himself  unable  to  endure  a  northern  climate  consequently 
he  will  soon  return  to  the  South. 

Sept.  7.  Had  a  pleasant  trip  12  miles  into  the  country  last 
week.  We  found  as  fine  apples  as  we  ever  saw  at  home  though 
they  were  very  scarce,  most  of  the  southern  fruit  was  cut  of  by 
the  frost.  This  is  generally  a  great  peach  country  but  I  have  not 
seen  one  this  year.  Grapes  grow  in  abundance  spontaneously  of 
a  superior  kind.  We  have  also  fine  watermellons.  Some  few 
Pomegranates,  figs  and  almonds  grow  in  the  gardens  here.  The 
sweet  potatoe  is  not  among  the  least  of  our  luxuries,  I  am  ex- 
travagantly fond  of  them. 

44  Many  churches  in  the  ante-bellum  days  had  galleries  for  the  Negroes,  who  were  accepted 
into  membership  with  their  masters.  During  the  earlier  part  of  the  period  a  free  Negro 
might  be  licensed  to  preach.  Methodism  was  introduced  into  Fayetteville  by  a  free  Negro 
shoemaker  and  preacher,  Henry  Evans,  whose  congregation  for  a  time  included  white  mem- 
bers. The  first  Negro  Presbyterian  minister  (at  least  of  any  note)  in  North  Carolina,  the 
highly  educated  John  Chavis,  born  free  about  1763  (it  is  believed  in  Granville  County),  not 
only  preached  often  before  white  congregations,  but  also  taught  white  boys  in  his  "classical 
schools"  in  Granville,  Wake,  Chatham,  [and  Orange]  counties.  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North 
Carolina,  passim.  "His  pupils  came  from  the  best  homes  in  North  Carolina,  and,  in  the  next 
generation,  became  distinguished."   Shaw,  John  Chavis  1763-1838,  28-29. 

45  The  American  Colonization  Society,  organized  in  1816,  had  purchased  land  on  the  West 
African  coast  in  1821  and  there  settled  a  number  of  freed  Negroes.  The  first  agent  and  mis- 
sionary of  the  Colonization  Society  in  the  Colony  of  Liberia  was  a  native  of  Pamela's  home 
village  of  Champlain,  New  York,  the  brave  and  devoted  Jehudi  Ashmun.  He  was  in  Liberia 
from  1822  until  1828,  in  which  year  the  colony  comprised  1,200  freemen.  "An  Address  of 
Charles  Freeman  Nye,  July  14,  1902,"  10-11  (courtesy  Hugh  McLellan,  Champlain).  As  early 
as  1819,  there  had  been  a  group  known  as  the  Raleigh  Auxiliary  Colonization  Society;  it  is 
on  record  that  Joseph  Gales  was  secretary  of  the  board  of  this  organization.  Raleigh  Register 
and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  October  20,  1819.  "As  early  as  1821  the  North  Carolina  Synod 
reported  that  three  or  four  congregations  had  organized  societies  auxiliary  to  the  American 
Colonization  Society."  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,  462.  By  1829,  there  would  be  in 
North  Carolina  nine  auxiliary  colonization  groups.  North  Carolina:  A  Guide  to  the  Old  North 
State,  236. 

to  Cyrus  Savage,  about  three  years  older  than  Pamela,  had  married  Louisa  Rogers.  The 
"little  son"  was  Horace,  aged  two  months,  who  had  died  on  July  22.  Another  infant  son, 
Andrew,  had  died  the  preceding  summer. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  557 

16  There  are  many  cases  of  sickness  in  town  it  will  probably 
continue  till  frost.  This  is  considered  a  healthy  part  of  the  country 
and  in  comparison  with  other  parts  it  is  so,  the  sickness  this 
season  is  unusual,  I  see  no  difference  in  a  northern  and  southern 
summer  except  in  the  length,  have  sun  equally  as  warm  if  not 
warmer  weather  at  home. 

17.  Received  the  distressing  inteligence  of  the  death  of  dear 
Sister  Louisa.  How  difficult  to  become  reconciled  to  the  loss  of 
friends,  particularly  if  taken  away  in  our  absence,  to  be  denied 
the  melancholly  pleasure  of  contributing  to  their  comfort  while 
on  a  bed  of  sickness ;  of  performing  for  them  the  last  sad  offices, 
and  paying  the  last  tribute  of  respect :  But  it  is  all  right  however 
difficult  it  may  be  to  say  "thy  will  be  done".  We  should  remember 
that  all  events  are  ordered  by  a  power  that  we  cannot  control,  and 
in  whose  dispensations  it  is  ever  our  duty  to  acquiesce,  may  this 
affliction  be  sanctified  to  us  all,  may  we  remember  that  we  too 
must  soon  become  inhabitants  of  the  world  of  spirits. 

Oct.  8.  The  sick  in  town  are  recovering.  We  have  cool  mornings 
and  evenings,  our  family  quite  well,  should  favorable  weather 
continue  we  hope  the  town  would  soon  be  free  from  sickness. 

21.  Received  a  letter  from  brother  Andrew  dated  Fredericks- 
burg Va.  stating  that  he  would  be  with  me  in  a  few  days, — In 
a  few  days!  is  it  possible?  am  I  so  soon  to  meet  this  long  lost 
brother  whom  I  have  not  seen  for  eleven  long  years,  he  whom  we 
once  buried,  and  for  whom  we  wore  mourning  six  months  sup- 
posing that  he  had  died  in  the  West  Indies?  God  has  been  better 
than  our  fears,  it  was  He  who  preserved  him  through  every 
danger,  and  has  again  restored  him  to  the  arms  of  his  friends 
and  to  him  be  thanks. 

28.  The  stage  came  in  this  morning  without  bringing  brother 
A.  I  feel  much  disappointed  and  know  not  how  to  account  for 
his  not  coming  I  fear  he  is  detained  by  sickness.  I  now  know 
what  were  the  feelings  of  the  family  when  they  every  moment 
expected  him,  and  I  can  imagine  what  were  their  feelings  when 
he  took  his  leave.  I  too  may  have  to  take  the  parting  hand,  but 
I  will  not  dwell  on  the  subject.  I  have  yet  to  meet  him  and  will 
endeavor  to  do  so  with  calmness.  Will  he  know  me,  and  shall  I 
know  him  ? 

Nov.  5.  Much  to  my  joy  and  satisfaction  brother  A.  arrived 
yesterday,  he  had  been  detained  a  week  in  Fredericksburgh  by 
sickness. 

Dec.  1.  Another  examination  is  past,  two  months'  vacation  to 
succeed  it.  shall  now  have  a  little  time  for  reflection,  and  first  I 
would  remember  the  goodness  of  God,  in  restoring  to  me  a 
measure  of  health  far  beyond  my  expectations.  I  have  been  en- 
abled to  perform  my  round  of  duties  in  the  school,47  have  not 

*7  The  nature  of  Pamela's  "round  of  duties"  is  not  known.  The  daily  schedules  of  recita- 
tions and  study  periods  were  probably  about  the  same  in  the  various  academies  of  the  period. 
In  Newbern  Academy  in  1823,  for  instance,  the  students  were  apparently  in  the  classroom 
from  eight  o'clock  until  twelve,  and  from  two  until  five  in  the  afternoon.  Johnson,  Ante- 
Bellum  North  Carolina,  329.  Doubtless  Pamela's  schedule  was  lengthy  enough  and  she  was 
rarely  off  duty  while  under  the  same  roof  with  the  sprightly  boarding  pupils  of  the  Oxford 
Female  Academy. 


558  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

lost  an  hour  from  sickness,  and  What  have  I  rendered  unto  the 
Lord  for  all  his  goodness  ?  What  have  I  done  for  the  salvation  of 
dying  souls  around  me?  Have  had  some  interesting  seasons  with 
the  sisters  of  the  family  in  supplicating  the  throne  of  grace  in 
behalf  of  the  precious  immortals  under  our  charge,  but  when  have 
I  faithfully  warned  them?  Where  are  the  fruits  of  our  labors? 
Oh!  that  God  would  make  us  to  feel  our  responsibility,  that  we 
may  in  future  be  more  faithful  in  exhorting  those  around  us  to 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come. 

Dec.  15  Have  just  returned  from  a  trip  with  brother  A  to  the 
capital  of  the  State.48  Raleigh  is  a  very  pretty  place  about  45. 
miles  south  of  this  in  Wake  Co.49  contains  a  statehouse,50  court- 
house,51 theater,52  2  banks,53  2  Acdemies54  &c.55 

In  the  centre  of  the  town  is  Union  Square  containing  10  acres, 
in  the  midle  of  which  stands  the  state-house  in  a  delightful  grove 
of  oaks.  It  is  a  beautiful  building  of  brick  102  feet  long  56  broad 
and  43  high.  It  contains  a  superb  statue  of  Washington  executed 
by  the  celebrated  Canova  in  Rome  1815,  cost  15.000  dollars  de- 
frayed by  the  state.  It  is  of  white  marble,  stands  or  rather  sits 
on  a  square  pedestal  also  of  white  marble  som  six  or  eight  feet 
high  in  roman  costume.56  The  house  is  elegantly  furnished,  the 
Senate  room  particularly,  the  desks  are  covered  with  broadcloth 
the  seats  with  marine,  and  the  window  curtains  of  crimson 

48  The  capital  of  North  Carolina  was  not  the  first  community  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
present  state  to  be  named  for  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  It  is  sometimes  forgotten  that  the  tiny 
settlement  of  the  "Lost  Colony"  of  1587  was  named  "the  Citie  of  Raleigh  in  Virginia."  The 
capital,  laid  out  by  William  Christmas  in  April,  1792,  was  planned  for  beauty  as  well  as 
convenience,  four  squares  being  set  aside  for  parks  besides  Union  (now  Capitol)  Square  in 
the  center.  A  British  visitor  in  Raleigh  in  1820  had  commented  on  the  wide  streets, 
"  'which  all  terminate  in  the  surrounding  forest.'  "  Yet  not  until  1830  would  Fayetteville 
Street  have  lamps.  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,  121,   129. 

49  Wake  County,  North  Carolina,  formed  in  1770-1771  from  Johnston,  Cumberland,  and 
Orange  counties,  was  named  in  honor  of  Margaret   (Wake)    Tryon,  wife  of  Governor  Tryon. 

50  It  was,  of  course,  the  original  State  House,  built  between  1792  and  1796,  that  Pamela 
and  Andrew  visited — a  smaller  structure  than  the  present  one,  built  of  brick  made  at  the 
old  state  brick-yards.  The  renovations  completed  in  1822  had  made  of  an  evidently  un- 
pretentious building  a  state  house  much  admired  by  visitors  to  the  capital  city.  Destined  to 
be  destroyed  by  fire  on  June  21,  1831,  it  was  to  be  replaced  by  the  present  beautiful  structure 
completed  in  1840. 

51  A  log  courthouse  and  jail  had  been  erected  on  the  hillside  in  front  of  Joel  Lane's 
residence  soon  after  the  formation  of  Wake  County,  but  the  Savages  saw  the  building 
erected  in  or  around  1800  on  the  site  of  the  present  courthouse  on  Fayetteville  Street.  This 
was  a  wooden  rectangular  structure  similar  in  shape  to  the  old-style  rural  meetinghouse.  In 
1835   it  was  replaced  by  a  building  of   brick.   The  present  courthouse   was  erected   1913-1915. 

52  The  lower  floor  of  a  wooden  building  erected  in  1814  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Morgan 
and  Dawson  streets  served  as  the  first  theater  in  Raleigh.  Donald  J.  Rulfs.  "The  Ante- 
Bellum  Professional  Theater  in  Raleigh,"  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review,  XXIX 
(July,   1952),   344. 

53  The  Bank  of  Cape  Fear  had  opened  a  branch  in  Raleigh  in  1807,  with  William  Henry 
Haywood  as  agent.  The  State  Bank  of  North  Carolina  (first  president,  William  Polk)  had 
been  incorporated  in  1810,  with  headquarters  in  Raleigh  and  branches  in  New  Bern,  Edenton, 
and  Wilmington.  In  1818,  the  State  Bank  Building,  the  third  structure  of  brick  in  Raleigh, 
had  been  erected;  it  is  now  the  Rectory  of  Christ  Church.  Pamela  would  have  been  pleased 
later  to  know  that  in  1828,  when  this  bank  was  suffering  reverses,  it  turned  for  help  to  a 
native  of  Oxford,  Charles  Dewey,  who  was  brought  from  Fayetteville  to  act  as  its  cashier. 

54  Presumably  the  Raleigh  Academy  (chartered  in  1802),  which  had  opened  on  Burke  Square 
(the  site  of  the  Governor's  Mansion)  on  July  2,  1804;  and  the  Episcopal  Classical  School, 
which  had  been  started  in  1823  by  the  Rev.  George  W.  Freeman. 

55  Other  places  of  interest  admired  on  this  visit  might  well  have  included  the  old  John 
Haywood  house  on  New  Bern  Avenue,  built  about  1794;  and  the  Mordecai  house,  both  of 
Classical   Revival   design   and   both   visited   by   Lafayette  the   year   before. 

68  The  Raleiqh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  January  3,  1817,  carried  the  following 
item:  ".  .  .  To  perpetuate  the  memory  of  .  .  .  [Washington],  they  have  ordered  a  superb 
MARBLE  STATUE,  to  be  executed  by  the  first  Artist  in  the  World,  the  celebrated  Canova 
of  Rome,  to  be  placed  in  our  State-House,  which  is  to  cost  $10,000,  and  which  will  no  doubt 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker 


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560  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

damask  silk  which  cost  lOO.dollars  a  piece,  over  each  window  is 
a  large  gilt  eagle  holding  the  looped  curtain  in  his  beak. 

29.  Spent  Christmas  with  the  Miss  Littlejohns57  at  their  grand- 
mother's58 15  miles  in  the  country,  a  very  rich  old  lady  living  on  a 
large  plantation  in  an  old-fashioned  mansion  house  furnished 
in  the  same  manner  that  it  was  60  years  ago.59  The  cumbrous 
mahogany  chairs,  the  old  fashioned  furniture  gave  the  place  a 
very  ancient  appearance. 

31.  The  weather  severely  cold,  on  Christmas  day  flowers  were 
in  bloom;  today  it  seems  as  if  we  had  changed  climates  with 
Greenland.  The  Roanoke  is  said  to  be  frozen  hard  enough  for 
the  stage  to  cross,  such  an  instance  is  said  by  the  oldest  people 
never  to  have  taken  place  since  their  recollection.60 
1827.  Jan  19.  The  weather  still  continues  cold.  I  think  I  never 
suffered  so  much  with  the  cold,  not  that  the  weather  is  so  much 
colder  than  I  have  ever  experienced  but  we  are  so  ill  prepared 

be  the  finest  piece  of  sculpture  in  the  U.  States."  The  Roman  costume  was  suggested  by 
Thomas  Jefferson.  The  statue,  shipped  from  Italy  to  Boston  and  thence  by  water  to 
Fayetteville,  had  been  hauled  from  Fayetteville  by  teams  of  oxen  and  set  up  directly  under 
the  apex  of  the  dome  of  the  State  House  in  1821.  General  Lafayette,  during  his  two  days' 
visit  in  Raleigh  in  March,  1825,  had  been  escorted  in  state  to  see  this  noble  figure  of  Carrara 
marble.  It  was  destroyed  when  the  old  State  House  was  burned,  June  21,  1831.  A  plaster 
cast  of  it,  which  was  presented  to  North  Carolina  in  1910  by  the  Italian  government,  now 
stands  in  the  Hall  of  History  in  Raleigh. 

57  These  "Miss  Littlejohns"  were  without  doubt  daughters  of  the  Thomas  Blount  Little- 
johns: probably  Elizabeth,  aged  about  twenty-one  (later  Mrs.  Isaac  N.  Jones),  and  Lucinda 
Jane,  aged  about  seven  (later  Mrs.  Alexander  S.  Jones,  the  maternal  grandmother  of  Mrs. 
Augustus  S.  Hall  of  Oxford).  If  little  Frances  Blount,  not  yet  five,  was  also  of  the  party, 
Pamela's  Christmas  on  a  Granville  County  plantation  should  have  been  a  lively  holiday. 
The  North  Carolina  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  I,  271,  272,  276,  277.  The  Littlejohn 
girls  had  lost  their  mother  in  February,  1822.  Information  from  Mrs.  Augustus  S.  Hall, 
Oxford. 

58  The  paternal  grandparents  of  the  Littlejohn  girls,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Littlejohn  of 
Edenton,  had  died  years  before.  The  North  Carolina  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  I, 
268.  The  Misses  Littlejohn  must  have  taken  Pamela  with  them  to  visit  their  maternal 
grandmother,  the  former  Mrs.  Thomas  Mutter  (nee  Elizabeth  Moore),  who  in  1799  had  been 
widowed  and  in  1806  had  married  George  Alston.  Granville  County  Records,  Will  Book  No. 
4,  353;  Marriage  Records.  This  lady,  known  among  her  descendants  as  "Grandma  Alston," 
died  at  an  advanced  age,  about  1840,  at  her  home  in  Granville  County.  The  North  Carolina 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  I,   269. 

59  Since  Granville  County  relinquished  some  of  its  territory  in  1881  to  the  making  of 
Vance,  it  is  difficult  to  prove  that  this  "large  plantation"  was  entirely  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  Granville  of  today.  Thomas  Mutter  of  the  Abraham  Plains  District  in  northern 
Granville  was  in  1788  one  of  the  largest  landowners  of  Granville  County.  Worth  S.  Ray, 
Colonial  Granville  and  Its  People  (1945),  300.  It  is  probable  that  his  home  was  still  in  the 
Abraham  Plains  District  at  the  time  of  his  death  eleven  years  later.  Furthermore,  certain 
Granville  County  documents  (Thomas  Mutter's  will  and  various  deeds)  point  to  the  con- 
clusion that  this  gentleman's  last  earthly  home  was  in  the  general  area  watered  by  Grassy 
and  Spewmarrow  creeks  in  northern  Granville.  In  his  will,  probated  in  August,  1799,  Thomas 
lent  to  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Mutter,  "during  her  natural  life,"  the  "Lands  and  Tenements 
whereon"  he  then  lived  and  all  of  his  "household  furniture."  Granville  County  Records, 
Will  Book  No.  4,  354,  357.  The  residence  of  "Grandma  Alston,"  in  all  likelihood,  therefore, 
was  the  home  she  had  shared  with  her  first  husband,  approximately  fifteen  miles  from 
Oxford.  The  precise  site  of  the  old  "mansion  house"  will  probably  never  be  determined.  It  is 
interesting  to  conjecture  that  this  same  "large  plantation"  passed,  at  the  old  lady's  death, 
to  a  cousin  of  the  Littlejohn  girls,  none  other  than  Dr.  Thomas  Dent  Mutter  (son  of  John 
Mutter,  d.  1819),  who  in  1841  was  just  commencing  his  distinguished  career  as  professor 
of  surgery  in  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  and  who  was  to  become  the 
founder  of  the  Mutter  Museum  in  that  city,  a  "remarkable  collection  of  anatomical  and 
pathological  specimens."  John  H.  Gibbon,  "Thomas  Dent  Mutter  .  .  ."  [Reprint],  Annals  of 
Medical  History,  VII,  237,  241  (courtesy  Robert  T.  Lentz,  Librarian,  Jefferson  Medical 
College).  The  elder  Thomas  Mutter  of  Granville  County  might  well  be  due  posthumous 
thanks  for  a  pecuniary  share  in  the  assembling  of  these  valuable  specimens;  for  his  will 
provided  that  on  the  death  of  his  wife  the  extensive  home  place  should  go  to  his  son  John  and 
his   heirs.   Granville   County   Records,   Will   Book   No.   4,   354-355. 

60  A  letter  from  Halifax,  dated  January  29,  to  the  editor  of  the  Free  Press  (Tarborough, 
N.  C),  carried  in  the  issue  of  February  3,  1827,  mentions  that  young  gentlemen  were 
skating  on  the  Roanoke  at  Halifax  in  January,  and  adds:  "Foot  passengers  crossed  the 
river  for  one  or  two  days  upon  the  ice — a  circumstance  that  has  not  occurred  before,  within 
the  recollection  of  any  inhabitant  of  this  town." 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  561 

for  it,  the  houses  are  open  the  Southerners  never  shut  their  doors 
summer  or  winter,  and  we  cannot  teach  our  servants  to  do  it, 
they  pile  on  the  wood,  heap  up  the  fire,  and  leave  doors  and 
windows  wide  open:  strange  economy!61 

But  all  our  cold  weather  brings  no  snow,  we  have  not  had  suf- 
ficient to  cover  the  ground  this  winter,  last  year  this  time  the 
snow  was  nearly  a  foot  deep  we  had  one  sleigh  ride,  that  is  if  we 
may  call  a  rough  sled  of  plank  runners  with  a  waggon  box  upon 
it  a  sleigh,  in  such  machines  the  Southerners  were  driving  around 
the  "Old-fields"  to  avoid  the  gravely  walks,  and  amusing  them- 
selves with  what  they  called  excellent  sleighing,  but  in  fact  no 
more  like  it  than  riding  on  a  wheelbarrow  is  like  riding  in  a 
coach.62 

28  The  scene  is  nowT  changed,  we  have  beautiful  Spring 
weather  can  again  take  our  delightful  rambles  in  the  woods. 

On  the  17.  of  this  month  Miss  M.  A.  Gilliam  an  orphan  girl  of 
fortune,  who  had  been  placed  under  Mr.  L-'s  care  by  her  guardian 
and  who  had  resided  with  us  a  year,  was  married.63  The  ceremony 
took  place  at  a  private  boarding  house  she  married  a  gentleman 
of  fortune  consequently  a  considerable  parade  was  made;  at 
early  candlelight  the  house  was  filled  with  guests  anxiously 
waiting  the  appearance  of  the  bride  and  groom ;  they  soon  made 
their  appearance  with  some  considerable  ceremony,  six  bride's 
maids  &  groom's  men  entered  the  room,  in  procession,  preceded 
by  two  young  girls  holding  each  two  wax  tapers  beautifully 
ornamented  with  paper  philigree,  the  procession  opened  to  right 
and  left,  the  groom  &  bride  took  their  station  in  the  midle  of 
the  procession,  Mr.  L.  who  officiated  advanced  from  the  oposite 
end  of  the  procession,  the  little  misses  with  their  candles  standing 
to  right  and  left  of  him,  the  service  over  the  bride  &  groom  were 
seated  and  received  the  congratulations  of  the  guests,64  after 
which  a  splendid  supper  was  served  up  with  the  accompaniments 
of  whips,  jellies,  wines,  ice  creams  &c.  after  the  repast  the  more 

61  This  practice  of  "ample  ventilation"  had  considerably  impressed  an  earlier  traveler  to 
the  South.  "Here  I  observed  what  I  so  frequently  saw  in  the  upper  country  of  the  Carolinas, 
among  even  the  affluent  planters— the  windows  without  sashes  or  glass.  In  the  coldest 
weather  these  and  the  doors  are  left  wide  open,  the  former  being  closed  at  night  by  tight 
shutters.  .  .  .  This  ample  ventilation  in  cold  weather  is  universally  practiced  at  the  South. 
At  Hillsborough  and  Charlotte,  I  observed  the  boarders  at  the  hotels  sitting  with  cloaks 
and  shawls  on  at  table,  while  the  doors  stood  wide  open."  Benson  J.  Lossing,  The  Pictorial 
Field-Book  of  the  Revolution    (New  York,   1859),   II,  429-430. 

62  Pamela  would  have  been  astonished  to  read  the  following  account  of  a  sleigh  ride  in 
North  Carolina  thirteen  years  later:  "A  gentleman  in  this  City,  in  attendance  on  the  Supreme 
Court,  came  the  whole  distance  from  Surry  County,  130  miles,  in  a  Sleigh.  He  took  the 
precaution  to  bring  his  saddle  with  him,  or  he  would  have  been  puzzled  to  have  got  back." 
Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  January  10,   1840. 

63  Mary  A.  Gilliam  married  Isaac  Baker.  The  date  of  the  marriage  bond  was  January  27, 
1827.  Granville  County  Marriage  Bond.  Gilliam  was  one  of  the  best-known  names  of  that 
day  in  Granville  County.  One  or  more  Gilliams  had  come  from  Lunenburg  County,  Virginia, 
to  Granville  County  soon  after  the  latter  was  formed  in  1746.  The  most  distinguished  member 
of  this  family  was  Robert  Ballard  Gilliam  (1805-1870),  speaker  of  the  North  Carolina 
House  of  Commons  in  1848  and  later  a  Superior  Court  judge.  He  was  a  son  of  Col.  Leslie 
Gilliam,  once  sheriff  of  Granville  County,  and  Elizabeth  (Ballard)  Gilliam.  "In  his  later 
years  he  was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Granville  bar,  and  the  younger  lawyers  revered 
him  as  the  Nestor  of  the  local  profession  and  loved  him  as  a  father  for  his  uniform  kind- 
ness and  affection  toward  them."  Judge  Gilliam  married  his  ward,  Melissa  Kittrell,  who  was 
a  great-aunt  of  Robert  Gilliam  Lassiter  and  Judge  Benjamin  Kittrell  Lassiter  of  Oxford. 
Francis  B.  Hays,  "Granville's  Distinguished  Bar,"  Public  Ledger  (Oxford),  September  22,  1950. 
The  relationship  of  Mary  A.  Gilliam  to  Judge  Robert  B.  Gilliam  has  not  been  ascertained. 

64  For  most  ante-bellum  North  Carolinians,  "the  wedding  ceremony  was  simple  and  soon 
over.  The  festivities  and  frolicking  which  so  often  accompanied  it  were  more  impressive  than 
the  ceremony  itself.  The  duration  and  extravagance  of  the  festivities  depended,  of  course, 
upon  the  economic  status  of  the  bride's  family."  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,  206. 


562  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

sober  part  of  the  guests  retired  and  dancing  commenced,  which 
continued  till  midnight,  The  next  day  the  groom  gave  a  dinner 
and  at  night  the  guests  gave  a  ball65  at  a  publick  house.  So  much 
for  southern  disipation,  but  this  was  considered  moderate, 

Our  family  is  daily  increasing,66  have  become  almost  weary  of 
the  bustle  of  a  boarding-school,  look  forward  with  fond  anticipa- 
tion to  the  time  when  I  shall  return  to  my  quiet  home,  some  ad- 
ditions have  been  made  to  the  teachers  this  year,  Mr.  &  Mrs. 
Hollister  from  Fayetteville  formerly  of  Danville  Vt.67  &  Miss 
Lewis  music  teacher.  Mr  S  [kelton]  and  Miss  K-  [ennedy]  having 
left.  Mr.  H.  is  a  minister,  Mrs.  H.  a  superior  woman  noted  for 
piety,  Miss  L.  tho'  rather  volatile  makes  a  very  pleasant  agree- 
able companion  for  whom  I  already  feel  a  strong  attachment,  I 
feel  that  it  will  be  hard  to  part  from  these  dear  friends. 

Have  of  late  felt  much  solicitude  about  brother  A.  who  left 
here  in  Dec.  for  Willmington,68  he  wrote  me  from  Fayetteville69 
since  which  I  have  heard  nothing  from  him.  At  parting  with  him 
I  felt  all  the  bitterness  of  a  long  farewell,  though  I  could  not,  and 
did  not  think  it  a  last  adieu  He  assured  me  that  he  would  remain 
in  this  region  till  I  returned  home,  still  he  is  such  a  wandering 
plannet  I  should  not  be  surprised  should  we  next  hear  that  he 
was  in  the  West  Indies  or  even  in  Africa. 

Feb.  23.  So  warm  as  to  find  a  parasol  necessary. 
28  Peach  and  other  fruit  trees  in  blossom. 

March  8  Received  inteligence  from  home  that  brother  J.70 
anticipates  coming  to  accompany  me  home  in  two  months,  and 
shall  I  so  soon  be  permited  to  see  my  dear  friends  ?  happy  thought 
But  while  I  fondly  cherish  this  hope  the  idea  of  parting  from  my 
dear  Oxford  friends  produces  many  unpleasant  sensations. 

19.  Saw  a  gentleman  yesterday  from  Fayetteville  to  whom 
brother  A.  carried  letters  from  this  place.  He  states  that  brother 

65  A  typical  supper  served  at  a  large  ball  in  Warrenton,  North  Carolina,  sometime  between 
1800  and  1820,  is  described  in  Ellen  Mordecai's  manuscript  History  of  Hastings  [Warrenton]. 
The  menu  included:  "  'a  large  dish  of  bacon  and  greens,  .  .  .  and  plenty  of  hot  corn  bread, 
.  .  .  turkies  and  geese,  ducks  and  fowls.  .  .  .  two  or  three  roasted  pigs,  with  an  apple  in 
the  mouth,  to  make  it  look  natural,  .  .  .  biscuits  and  johnny  cakes.  ...  all  sorts  and  sizes 
of  cakes,  .  .  .  pies  and  puffs  and  tarts  .  .  .'  " — "About  twenty-five  years  before  the  Civil 
War,  the  arrangement  for  the  supper  at  large  balls  was  about  as  this,  a  long  table  was  well 
supplied  with  several  kinds  of  meats,  fowls,  and  oysters,  if  in  season,  breads,  rolls,  biscuit, 
pickles,  hot  coffee  and  tea;  except  chicken  salad,  no  salads  were  known  of  or  used.  Some- 
times this  meat  supper  was  served  in  a  separate  room  from  the  sweet  supper."  Lizzie 
Wilson  Montgomery,  Sketches  of  Old  Warrenton    (Raleigh,   1924),   47,  53. 

66  The  Oxford  Female  Academy  was  evidently  holding  its  own  with  the  older  Female 
Academy  in  nearby  Williamsborough.  By  the  fall  of  1829  the  number  of  pupils  would  be 
between  forty  and  fifty.  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette,  October  7,   1834. 

67  Undoubtedly  the  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  H.  Hollister,  who  were  to  become  the 
principals  of  the  Oxford  Female  Academy  after  the  end  of  Mr.  Labaree's  Oxford  pastorate 
in  November,  1829,  and  would  change  the  name  of  the  school  temporarily  to  the  "Southern 
Female  Classical  Seminary,"  with  the  announcement  of  the  removal  of  their  school  of 
that  name  "from  Mecklenburg,  Va.,"  to  Oxford.  Raleigh  Register  and  North  Carolina  Gazette, 
January  14,   1830;  March  19,   1830. 

68  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  founded  in  1730  as  New  Liverpool,  thirty  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  early  became  the  colony's  chief  port.  It  was  given  its 
present  name  in  1734,   in  honor  of  Spencer  Compton,  the   Earl  of  Wilmington. 

69  Located  115  miles  above  Wilmington  on  the  Cape  Fear  and  dating  from  a  Scottish 
settlement  of  1739,  Fayetteville  had  served  as  the  capital  of  North  Carolina  from  1789  to 
1793,  and  by  1823  had  become  second  only  to  Wilmington  in  size.  Named  after  the  Revolu- 
tion for  General  Lafayette,  it  was  visited  by  the  General  in  March,  1825.  A  British  visitor 
in  1828  described  Fayetteville  as  a  "  'very  pretty  and  nourishing  town'  "  with  "excellent 
tavern   accommodations."   Johnson,   Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,   121. 

70  Joel,  the  oldest  of  Deacon  David  Savage's  children,  who  was  named  for  David's  older 
brother  who  had  fought  in  the  Revolution,  was  about  eight  years  older  than  Pamela. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  563 

A  remained  in  F.  three  days  when  he  left  for  Willmington71  that 
it  was  his  impression  that  he  intended  going  farther  South  and 
that  I  need  not  be  surprised  should  I  next  hear  that  he  had  gone 
to  the  W.  Indies.  This  however  I  hoped  would  not  be  the  case  I 
flattered  myself  that  he  would  remain  in  this  country  till  brother 
came.  But  these  fond  anticipations  have  been  all  blasted  today  by 
the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  him  dated  Matanzas  Feb.  18,  1827.  He 
sailed  from  Willmington  on  the  12  Jan.  1827.  He  apologises  for 
having  as  he  says  run  away  from  me,  pleads  as  an  excuse  the 
precarious  state  of  his  health,  his  complaint  the  asthma  having 
followed  him  from  the  time  of  his  first  landing  in  the  States  at 
Boston,  while  at  home  he  had  so  severe  an  attack  of  it  as  to 
despair  of  life.  That  during  four  years  residence  in  the  W.  Indies 
he  was  not  afflicted  by  it  in  the  least.  It  appeared  to  him  as  if 
Providence  had  marked  out  his  path  and  he  was  willing  to  avail 
himself  of  the  first  opportunity  of  returning  there,  he  landed  at 
Matzs.  [Matanzas,  Cuba]  the  2.  Feb.  since  which  he  had  been 
entirely  free  from  his  old  complaint. 

May  22.  Much  to  my  joy  brother  Joel  arrived  this  morning, 
in  a  few  days  I  shall  start  for  home  and  hope  soon  to  be  with  my 
f  [r]iends  from  whom  I  have  been  absent  20.  months,  should  we 
return  by  water  9  days  would  carry  us  home,  but  we  anticipate 
going  by  land  that  we  may  see  more  of  the  country. 

25.  Bid  adieu  to  the  dear  family  with  whom  I  had  resided  so 
long  and  parted  with  a  circle  of  Southern  friends  to  whom  I  had 
become  much  attached  and  whom  I  shall  probably  never  meet 
again  until  we  meet  at  the  bar  of  God,  oh,  that  I  might  have  a 
deeper  sense  of  my  responsibility 

Left  Oxford  8  o'clock  friday  morning  May  25,  1827,72  in  the 
stage  for  Warrenton,73  at  Williamsborough  parted  with  a  few 
dear  friends  among  others  my  dear  Miss  B-d  of  Ox — d  shall  never 
forget  her  kindness  to  me  while  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land  may 
God  reward  her  for  all  her  labors  of  love.  Arrived  at  Warrenton 
at  half  past  3  P.  M. 

The  next  morning  unexpectedly  met  with  an  Ox — d  acquaint- 
ance Mr.  Hubbell74  he  had  been  intimate  in  Mr.  L-s  family  it  is  pe- 
culiarly gratifying  after  having  taken  leave  of  a  circle  of  friends 

71  It  may  well  have  been  the  Cotton  Plant  on  which  Andrew  made  the  trip  from  Fayette- 
ville  to  Wilmington.  Less  than  nine  months  earlier  (on  April  12,  1826),  this  "'new  and 
elegant  Steam  Boat'  "  had  created  a  sensation  along  the  Cape  Fear  on  its  maiden  voyage 
between  those  towns.  Johnson,  Ante-Bellum  North  Carolina,  151.  This  was  nearly  nineteen 
years  later  than  the  launching  of  the  Clermont,  the  first  steamboat  in  America,  upon  the 
Hudson. 

72  This  was  the  day  after  the  closing  of  the  Female  Academy's  spring  term.  An  announce- 
ment in  the  Free  Press  (Tarborough) ,  Saturday,  May  19,  1827,  had  informed  the  public 
that  the  examination  of  the  Oxford  Female  Academy  would  "commence  and  close  with  a 
Musical  Exhibition,  &c.  on  Thursday  evening,"  and  that  the  Summer  Session  would  open 
the  following  Monday.  It  is  not  clear  why  the  Male  Academy,  with  examinations  announced 
for  June  4,  was  not  to  start  its  summer  session  until  June  25. 

73  Warren  County  and  the  town  of  Warrenton,  North  Carolina,  founded  in  1779,  had  be- 
come early  a  center  of  culture  and  of  gayety,  ranging  from  elaborate  dinners  and  balls  to 
races  and  "cocking  mains."  Dignified  by  the  name  of  General  Joseph  Warren  of  Bunker 
Hill  lustre,  the  little  town  would  later  brag  about  its  own  generals,  the  Bragg  brothers, 
Thomas  and  Braxton.  Montgomery,   Sketches  of  Old  Warrenton,  passim. 

74  With  a  Mr.  Bugbee,  Ransom  Hubbell  [a  graduate  of  Union  College,  New  York]  had  been 
in  charge  of  the  Oxford  Male  Academy  from  around  1819  to  1821.  Coon,  North  Carolina 
Schools  and  Academies,  134.  Although  there  were  Hubbells  in  Champlain,  Ransom  does  not 
appear  to  have  lived  there. 


564  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

to  meet  with  one  of  them  unexpectedly  an  have  another  oppor- 
tunity of  talking  over  past  scenes. 

Left  Warrenton  12.  o'clock  stoped  to  dine  at  candlelight  found 
that  we  had  got  to  ride  all  night  in  Egyptian  darkness  and  bad 
roads,  though  we  were  told  that  the  first  part  of  our  rout  we 
should  find  as  good  roads  as  we  ever  saw,  on  our  replying  that  we 
would  not  ask  for  better  we  were  answered  "oh  as  to  your 
northern  turnpikes  we  cant  say  about  that  but  you  will  find  one 
of  the  best  of  natural  roads" 

Petersburgh  27,  sabbath  eve — ng  arrived  here  in  safety  half 
past  11  this  morning  expected  to  have  taken  the  steam  boat  for 
Washington  but  arrived  to  late,  consequently  we  must  remain 
here  til  the  midle  of  the  week  or  go  on  by  land.  Thus  when  we 
thought  traveling  on  the  sabbath  unavoidable  the  Lord  hedged 
up  our  way. 

28.  Concluded  to  take  the  stage  for  Richmond  rode  through 
a  delightful  country.  .  saw  several  beautiful  fields  of  wheat  to 
which  my  eyes  have  been  a  stranger  since  residing  at  the  south. 
The  soil  about  Oxford  was  very  barren,  a  dry  sandy  soil,  favor- 
able to  the  growing  of  sweet  potatoes,  cotton,  corn  and  tobacco 
but  produced  no  green  fields  to  delight  the  eye. 

Arrived  at  Richmond  at  11.  o'clock,  stage  does  not  proceed  till 
tomorrow  morning  consequently  we  must  spend  the  day  here. 
Richmond  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  north  side  of  James' 
river  and  overlooking  the  town  of  Manchester  on  the  oposite 
bank  to  which  it  is  connected  by  two  bridges 

The  capitol  is  built  on  shockoe  hill.  It  is  of  singular  design 
taken  from  La  maison  Quaree  at  Nimes  France75  In  the  center  of 
the  building  is  a  spacious  hall  in  the  midle  of  which  is  an 
equestrian  marble  statue  of  Washington  executed  at  Paris  much 
inferior  in  workmanship  to  the  one  in  Raleigh  'tho  a  more  natural 
representation  being  in  American  costume.76 

29.  Left  R.  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  a  crowded  stage  among 
others  a  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Gorgas  and  daughter  of  Philadelphia  on 
their  return  from  a  tour  to  the  South  a  pleasant  acquisition  to 
our  company. 

Arrived  at  Fredericksburgh  on  the  Rappahannock  a  flourishing 
town,  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  rode  8  miles  to  Potomack  creek 
went  on  board  the  boat  Potomack77  took  a  birth  and  slept  well 
till  morning  when  we  found  ourselves  at  Washington  City  the 
seat  of  general  government  As  we  had  but  a  short  time  to  remain 
in  W.  we  endeavored  to  make  good  improvement  of  the  time  while 
we  did  stay. 

75  The  central  section  of  the  Capitol  in  Richmond,  modeled  after  the  exquisite  Maison 
Carree,  reflects  Thomas  Jefferson's  love  of  classic  forms.  He  designed  this  building  in  1785, 
having  examined  Roman  remains  in   France. 

76  This  equestrian  statue  by  Jean  Antoine  Houdon  is  the  only  statue  of  Washington  in 
existence  posed  from  life.  It  was  modeled  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1785. 

77  A  revenue  cutter,  Potomack,  had  been  built  in  1809,  and  a  "double-banked"  frigate, 
Potomac,  was  one  of  nine  laid  down  between  1819  and  1826.  Chapelle,  The  History  of 
American  Sailing  SJdps,  114,  184. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  565 

30.  We  walked  to  the  President's  house78  before  breakfast 
situated  about  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  the  capitol  having  a 
commanding  view  of  it  a  broad  avenue  runing  from  one  to  the 
other  directly  straight,  this  avenue  is  planted  with  3  rows  of 
poplars  dividing  it  into  two  high  ways  and  two  broad  side  walks. 
The  style  of  the  architecture  of  the  President's  house  is  Ionic 
very  plain  and  neat  constructed  of  freestone  perfectly  white.  The 
grounds  about  it  were  unfinished  improvements  were  going  on 
rapidly79  It  is  170  feet  by  85.  two  stories  high.  In  the  vicinity  of 
the  President's  house  are  four  brick  buildings  for  the  accomoda- 
tion of  the  heads  of  the  departments  of  government.80 

At  the  breakfast  table  met  with  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Mc  Cray  of  Fay- 
ettesville  N.  C.81  who  were  going  with  their  son  to  West  Point 
found  that  they  were  acquainted  with  many  of  my  Southern 
friends,  with  our  company  thus  enlarged  we  went  after  breakfast 
to  visit  the  Capitol  It  is  finely  situated  on  an  eminence  command- 
ing a  view  of  the  city  and  adjacent  country.  It  is  composed  of  a 
central  edifice  and  two  wings  the  whole  building  presenting  a 
front  of  362  feet,  each  wing  100  feet  square.  The  style  Corinthian 
also  of  freestone.  The  Capitol  Square  is  enclosed  by  an  iron  rail- 
ing handsomely  ornamented  with  trees  and  shrubery.  The  base- 
ment story  was  filled  with  large  pillars  which  supported  the 
edifice,  and  occupied  by  market  women  with  their  fruits  and 
refreshments  spread  upon  tables.  In  the  next  story  in  the  centre 
building  is  the  rotunda  a  spacious  room  lighted  by  a  sky  light, 
and  principally  ocupied  by  the  elegant  paintings  belonging  to 
the  capitol,  viz.  Washington's  resignation,  Capture  of  Burgoyne, 
Capture  of  cornwallis  and  the  declaration  of  independance,  be- 
tween these  in  niches  in  the  wall  were  figures  in  stone  represent- 
ing Pocahontas  preserving  the  life  of  Capt.  Smith  by  throwing 
herself  between  him  and  the  uplifted  club,  William  Penn  making 
treaties  with  the  Indians,  and  several  others. 

The  Senate  chamber  was  undergoing  repairs.  The  representa- 
tive hall  was  furnished  as  usual.  Over  the  speaker's  chair  stood 
the  genius  of  America.  On  one  side  of  the  room  hung  a  full  length 
portrait  of  La  Fayette.  The  gallery  was  supported  by  22  marble 
pillars  beautifully  variegated  standing  in  a  simicircular  form. 
The  library  which  is  very  extensive  is  in  the  front  of  the  building. 
We  ascended  to  the  top  of  the  midle  dome  from  whence  we  had  an 

78  Although  popularly  called  "The  White  House"  after  the  mansion  (burned  by  the 
British  in  1814)  was  rebuilt  and  painted  white,  this  did  not  become  its  official  name  until 
Theodore  Roosevelt's  administration.  In  formal  usage,  it  was  first  "The  President's  House" 
and  later  "The  Executive  Mansion." 

79  Construction  work  on  the  new  "President's  House"  had  been  going  on  since  1818.  The 
grounds   had   been   graded   in    1825.   The   north   portico   was    not   to   be   completed   until    1829. 

80  The  Departments  of  State,  Treasury,  War,  and  Navy.  Each  of  the  four  buildings  was 
two  stories  high,  160  feet  long,  and  55  feet  wide.  The  present  Treasury  Department  Building 
is  on  the  site  of  the  old  State  Department  Building. 

81  In  1818  one  John  "M'Rae"  had  been  appointed  post  master  at  Fayetteville;  and  in  1826 
one  John  "MacRae"  of  Fayetteville  appears  to  have  been  the  publisher  of  the  New  Map  of 
North-Carolina.    Raleigh    Register   and    North    Carolina    Gazette,    May    1,    1818;    Free    Press, 

(Tarborough),  January  2,  1827. 


566  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country.82  After  dinner  we 
visited  the  patent  office.83 

31.  Left  Washington  8  o'clock  in  the  stage  arrived  at  Baltimore 
3  o'clock,  after  riding  through  a  barren  region.  Baltimore  is  a 
beautiful  place  buildings  mostly  of  brick  and  many  of  them  splen- 
did. In  an  elevated  part  of  the  town  is  a  splendid  monument 
built  of  marble  erected  to  the  memory  of  Washington.  The  base 
is  50  feet  square  and  23  ft  high  on  which  is  another  square  of 
half  the  size  from  this  rises  a  column  20  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
base  and  14  at  the  top.  We  ascended  this  by  a  winding  stair-case 
on  the  inside  of  229  steps,  From  the  summit  163  feet  from  the 
ground  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  town. 

The  Battle  monument  is  also  a  handsome  structure  of  white 
stone,  erected  to  the  memory  of  those  who  fell  in  defending  their 
city  from  the  attack  of  the  Brittish  Sept  1814. 

June  1.  Left  Baltimore  parted  from  our  friends  Mr.  &  Mrs. 
G.  [orgas]  &  Miss  L.  [ewis?]  went  on  board  the  steamboat  for 
Frenchtown  here  we  again  fell  in  company  with  our  fellow 
travellers  from  Fayetteville  N.  C.  took  the  stage  at  Frenchtown 
on  the  Elk  for  Newcastle  on  the  Delaware,  where  we  again  em- 
barked for  Philadelphia,84  arrived  at  evening,  took  lodgings  at 
the  city  hotel. 

2  Am  much  pleased  with  the  plainness  and  neatness  of  this 
city.  There  are  some  splendid  buildings,  The  banking  house  built 
on  the  plan  of  the  pantheon  [Parthenon]  at  Athens  is  an  elegant 
building.  The  new  bank  is  a  large  and  superb  edifice  of  marble, 
built  in  the  Ionic  order  after  the  model  of  the  ancient  temple  of 
the  muses,  on  the  Illyssus  [Ilissus]  .85 
We  visited  the  old  statehouse  where  congress  first  set,86  the  upper 

82  The  eastern  portico  of  the  Capitol  had  been  completed  in  1825.  The  main  building,  with 
its  low  dome  of  wood  covered  with  copper,  was  finished  in  the  year  of  Pamela's  visit.  The 
present  imposing  dome  was  not  to  be  completed  until  1865.  Had  Pamela  seen  this  and  the 
magnificent  Library  of  Congress  building  opened  in  1897  and,  above  all,  the  Washington 
Monument,  her  enthusiasm  would  have  known  no  bounds.  Even  in  1824,  however,  General 
Lafayette,  looking  across  the  Potomac  from  the  Lee  Mansion  House,  had  declared  "that 
never  before  had  his  eyes  beheld  a  rarer  view."  William  Howard  Taft,  "Washington:  Its 
Beginning1,  Its  Growth,  and  Its  Future,"  The  National  Geographic  Magazine,  XXVII,  (March, 
1915),  247. 

83  This  was  the  original  Patent  Office,  a  three-story  building  120  feet  long  and  60  feet  wide, 
ornamented  with  a  pediment  and  six  Ionic  pilasters.  Built  to  serve  as  a  public  hotel,  it  was 
purchased  by  the  government  in   1810.   It  had  been  mercifully  spared  by  the  British  in   1814. 

84  Almost  the  converse  of  this  itinerary  had  been  taken  in  December,  1819,  by  Professor 
Elisha  Mitchell  and  his  bride  on  their  way  to  Chapel  Hill.  Having  started  from  New  York  the 
Monday  before  Christmas  and  traveled  by  boat  to  Elizabethtown,  they  went  "thence  by 
stage  to  Trenton;  thence  by  stage  to  Philadelphia,  stopping  a  day  to  visit  Peale's  Museum, 
.  .  .  Thence  they  took  boat  down  the  Delaware  to  New  Castle;  thence  traveled  by  stage 
to  Frenchtown,  where  they  again  took  a  steamer,  and  after  a  moonlight  trip  reached 
Baltimore  by  sunrise  on  Thursday."  Kemp  Plummer  Battle,  History  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  from  Its  Beginning  to  the  Death  of  President  Swain    (Raleigh,  1907),  I,  251. 

83  Pamela  appears  to  have  confused  the  banks  she  visited.  The  banking  house  built  on  the 
plan  of  the  Parthenon,  designed  by  William  Strickland,  had  been  completed  in  1824.  Erected 
for  the  Second  Bank  of  the  United  States,  it  was  later  reorganized  as  a  state  bank  under 
the  same  name,  and  in  1845  was  to  be  converted  into  a  customhouse.  Her  description  of  the 
"new  bank"  seems  to  apply  rather  to  an  earlier  structure,  also  of  marble,  the  Bank  of 
Pennsylvania,  chartered  in  1793  and  built  between  1799  and  1801.  This  building  had  Ionic 
columns  and  was  "designed  from  the  Temple  of  the  Muses,  near  Athens."  The  Stranger's 
Guide  in  Philadelphia  (Philadelphia,  1864),  61.  Near  the  Ilissus,  which  flows  to  the  south 
and  east  of  Athens,  was  an  altar  to  the  "Muses  of  Ilissus";  but  the  allusion  should  probably  be 
to  the  small  Ionic  temple  on  the  Ilissus  (perhaps  the  Temple  of  Eukleia)  which  had  been 
measured  and  delineated  by  the  British  architect  James  Stuart  before  its  destruction  by  the 
Turks.  See  The  Antiquities  of  Athens  measured  and  delineated  by  James  Stuart,  .  .  .  and 
Nicholas  Revett,   I    (1762). 

80  The  first  Congress  met,  on  September  5,  1774,  in  Carpenters'  Hall.  It  was  the  second 
Continental  Congress  that  met  in  the  State  House  (Independence  Hall),  holding  its  opening 
session  in  May,  1775. 


Pamela  Savage,  Healthseeker  567 

rooms  are  occupied  by  Peal's  museum  containing  the  largest  col- 
lection of  natural  curiosities  in  the  United  States.87  We  wished 
much  to  visit  the  waterworks  at  fair  mount  but  had  not  time, 
from  whence  water  is  conducted  through  the  Cit.  by  means  of 
pipes.88  The  expense  of  these  waterworks  was  432,512  dollars. 
We  left  Philidelphia  2  oclock  P.  M.  on  board  the  steamboat  for 
Trenton  N.  Jersey,  landed  8  miles  below  Trenton  on  Pennsylvania 
side  rode  through  a  beautiful  country  crossed  the  river  just  below 
Trenton  Falls  by  an  elegant  covered  bridge  1,100  feet  long.89 
Passed  through  Princeton  it  is  a  pretty  place  the  college  and 
Theological  Seminary  peasantly  situated  in  separate  buildings, 
16  miles  from  Princeton  stoped  at  [New]  Brunswick  on  the 
Rariton  [Raritan]  over  night,  left  the  next  morning  for  N.  York 
arrived  at  11  o'clock. 

4.  Spent  the  day  in  visiting  different  parts  of  the  city,  was 
delighted  with  the  arcade  just  finished,90  it  is  beautifully  con- 
structed has  the  appearance  of  an  arched  street  lighted  by  sky- 
lights by  day  and  furnished  with  elegant  lamps  at  night,  occupied 
entirely  by  shops,  miliners,  hairdressers  &c.  &c. 

5  Took  passage  on  board  the  New  Philadelphia91  for  Albany 
came  through  by  day  light,  had  a  fine  view  of  the  highlands, 
arrived  at  Albany  6  in  the  evening. 

6.  Took  the  stage  for  Troy  reached  at  10.  left  at  11.  arrived  at 
Fort  Edward92  after  a  very  uncomfortable  ride  through  dust  and 
heat,  put  up  for  the  night. 

7  came  on  to  Fort  Ann  to  breakfast,  found  brother  H — sick 
with  the  fever  and  ague,  he  did  not  at  first  know  me  after  my  long 
absence.  We  expected  to  have  taken  him  home  with  us  but  in  his 

87  Peale's  Museum  was  opened  in  Independence  Hall  in  1802  by  the  artist  and  collector, 
Charles  Willson  Peale.  The  admirable  collection  in  the  Zoological  Garden  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  Fairmount  Park  is  an  outgrowth  of  this  museum.  Peale  had  died  in  Philadelphia  only 
a  few  months  before  Pamela's  visit  to  the  museum. 

88  "Fairmount  Park  grew  out  of  purchases  for  the  enlargement  of  the  water  works  which 
were  suggested  ...  in  1810.  .  .  .  Tn  1812  Councils  passed  an  ordinance  selecting  Morris  Hill 
for  the  new  reservoir  and  water  works.  .  .  .  William  Rush,  the  sculptor,  contributed  figures 
to  beautify  the  Fairmount  Gardens,  which  were  opened  in  1825  and  became  the  show  place 
of  the  city.  All  strangers  were  taken  to  Fairmount  Water  Works,  which  were  then  only 
five  acres  in  extent  but  which  presented  much  the  same  appearance  as  they  do  today.  .  .  . 
The  great  Centennial  Exhibition  of  1876  was  held  in  Fairmount  Park  and  did  much  to  en- 
courage good  taste  in  this  country."  Horace  Mather  Lippincott,  Early  Philadelphia:  Its 
People,   Life  and  Progress    (Philadelphia   and   London,    1917),    111-112. 

89  "A  covered  bridge  1,100  ft.  long  was  built  across  Delaware  River  in  1806  described  by 
the  historians  Barber  and  Howe,  as  'one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  bridge  architecture  of 
wood,  in  the  world.'  Perpendicular  iron  rods,  hung  from  arches,  provided  such  sturdy  support 
for  the  floor  that  the  structure  was  used  later  by  railroad  trains."  New  Jersey:  A  Guide 
to  Its  Present  and  Past  (compiled  and  written  by  the  Federal  Writers'  Project  of  the  Works 
Progress  Administration  for  the  State  of  New  Jersey.   .   .  .),    (New  York,   1939),  402. 

90  Probably  the  Arcade  in  Maiden  Lane,  one  of  a  number  of  impressive  structures  erected 
in  New  York  City  around  1825-1827.  Moreover,  in  May,  1825,  the  New  York  Gas  Light 
Company  (incorporated  in  March,  1823)  had  begun  laying  gaspipes  in  Broadway  from 
Canal  Street  to  the  Battery.  "From  these,  they  were  gradually  extended  over  the  southern 
part  of  the  island,  .  .  ."  Mary  L.  Booth,  History  of  the  City  of  New  York,  from  Its  Earliest 
Settlement  to  the  Present  Time  (New  York,  1860),  723-724,  729.  As  the  opening  of  the 
Erie  Canal  had  given  a  great  impetus  to  the  growth  of  New  York  City,  Pamela  could  hardly 
have  chosen  a  better  period  for  this  visit. 

91  During  the  War  of  1812,  a  frigate  Philadelphia  had  been  one  of  several  ships  ordered 
rebuilt  for  the  Navy.  Star  (Raleigh),  December  3,  1813.  Two  other  vessels  by  this  name 
were  a  gondola  in  Arnold's  squadron  on  Lake  Champlain  in  the  action  of  October  11,  1776, 
and  a  packet  built  by  Christian  Bergh  in  New  York  sometime  after  the  War  of  1812. 
"By  1825  a  new  class  of  packet  had  been  evolved,  an  improved  and  sharper  East  Indiaman 
on  the  frigate  model."  Chapelle,  The  History  of  American  Sailing  Ships,  72,  277,  280.  It  is 
most  likely  that  Bergh's  packet  was  the  boat  running  between  New  York  and  Albany  in  1827. 

92  Fort  Edward,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson,  is  thirty-eight  miles  north  of  Troy. 
The  site  of  this  little  town  was  fortified  throughout  the  French  and  Indian  and  the  Revolu- 
tionary  wars. 


568  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

present  state  of  health  it  was  impossible.  We  spent  two  days  with 
him  and  left  for  Whitehall 

9  Left  Whitehall  on  board  the  Phenix93  1  o'clock. 
10.  Sabbath  eve — ng  I  expected  to  have  spent  this  day  in  the  midst 
of  my  friends,  but  instead  of  the  welcome  salutation  of  friends, 
my  ears  were  accosted  by  the  frantick  screams  of  the  pasengers, 
the  dash  of  waves  and  crash  of  furniture.  The  wind  had  been  high 
through  the  night  and  in  attempting  to  cross  from  Burlington  to 
Port  Kent94  the  boat  rolled  in  the  trough  of  the  sea  and  became 
perfectly  unmanagable  tossing  about  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves, 
while  expecting  every  moment  to  go  to  the  bottom  we  were  saved 
from  our  perilous  situation  by  the  intripidity  of  one  of  the  pas- 
sengers who  contrived  to  make  a  sail  of  the  awning  of  the  boat 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  bring  her  about.  We  were  soon  safely 
moored  under  the  shore,  here  we  were  obliged  to  lie  24  hours 
making  repairs,  the  rudder  had  become  unshiped,  and  the  small 
boat  lost,  but  this  was  afterwards  recovered.  This  adventure  has 
taught  me  a  lesson  which  I  hope  I  may  never  forget,  and  may  God 
help  me  to  keep  the  resolution  which  I  now  make  never  again 
to  travel  on  the  Sabbath  unless  it  be  absolutely  necessary. 

June  11  Landed  at  Rouse's  Point95  reached  home  12  o'clock 
rather  unexpectedly  to  my  friends.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe 
my  feelings  on  meeting  my  friends  after  20  months  absence  from 
them. 

There's  a  tear,  that  brightens  the  eye, 

Of  the  friend,  when  absence  is  o'er ; 

There's  a  tear  that  flows  not  from  sorrow,  but  joy, 

When  we  meet  to  be  parted  no  more — Oh,  never ! 


Then  all  that  in  absence  we  dread, 

Is  past  and  forgotten  our  pain ; 

For  sweet  is  the  tear  we  at  such  moments  shed, 

When  we  hold  the  loved  objects  again — forever ! 


Champlain  June  11.  1827 


93  The  first  steamboat  to  make  a  trip  to  sea  was  the  Phoenix,  in  1808.  The  Standard  Dic- 
tionary of  Facts  (Buffalo,  1917),  668.  The  "first  vessel  depending  entirely  upon  steam  pro- 
pulsion to  cross  the  Atlantic"  was  the  Phoenix.  Edgar  Mayhew  Bacon,  The  Hudson  River 
(New  York,  1903),  74.  Steamship  travel  in  the  early  nineteenth  century  made  good  news; 
for  example,  "  'Mr.  Allen  left  Burlington  [Vt.]  in  the  steamboat  Phoenix  for  Washington.'  " 
W.  Storrs  Lee,  Stagecoach  North:  Being  an  Account  of  the  First  Generation  in  the  State  of 
Vermont  (New  York,  1941),  196.  Pamela's  Phoenix  was  probably  the  same  ship,  rendered 
less  seaworthy  by  nearly  a  score  of  years. 

94  Port  Kent  is  about  fifteen  miles  from  Plattsburg,   N.  Y. 

95  Rouse's  Point  is  a  little  town  at  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Champlain,  four  miles  from 
the  town  of  Champlain.  It  was  named  for  Jacques  Rouse,  a  Canadian  who  settled  on  this 
point  in   1783. 


LETTERS  FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO 
ANDREW  JOHNSON 

Edited  by  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson 

[Concluded} 

From  Leonidas  Brown 

Salisbury. 

Rowan  County, 

North  Carolina. 

January  15th  1868. 
His  Excellency. 
Andrew  Johnson. 
President  U.  S.  A.  Washington.  D.  C. : 

Desirous  of  establishing  a  Daily  Paper  at  this  place,  to  advocate 
the  cause  and  plead  for  the  interests  of  the  'National  Union 
Democratic  Party'  I  would  most  respectfully  enquire  whether, 
or  not,  the  leaders  of  the  great  party  would  unite  in  permanently 
building  up  an  organ  at  this  point.  The  sum  of  Five  Thousand 
Dollars  ($5000).  would  place  the  enterprise  upon  a  sure  founda- 
tion ;  buying  new  Press,  new  Type,  new  Paper,  and  paying  rent 
of  Building,  and  all  necessary  operatives.  There  is  now,  only  one 
paper  published  in  this  place — a  "Tri-Weekly  Old  North  State" 
with  a  consolidated  "Weekly  Old  North  State  &  Watchman."  The 
Subscription  &  Job  Work  would  I  am  assured  within  Six  Months, 
begin  to  yield  a  handsome  dividend.  I  would  be  willing  to  give 
a  lien  upon  "Press  and  Fixtures,"  and  run  the  machine  on  my 
own  account,  and  in  my  own  name. 

The  Daily,  should  be  styled  "The  Salisbury  Sun,"  and  although 
aware  that  newspaper  Enterprises,  are  above  all  others — the  most 
critical,  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  attempting  this  one.  It  would  pay 
— as  a  pecuniary  investment — and  perhaps,  render  invaluable  and 
incalculable  aid  in  more  ways  than  one.  Would  refer  to  Jas.  E. 
Kerr,  Esq.  &  Hon.  Lewis  Hanes,  both  of  this  place,  and  both 
members  of  the  Conservative  State  Executive  Committee.  Would 
also  personally  refer  to  Seaton  Gales,  Esq,  of  "The  Raleigh 
Sentinel,"  and  John  I.  Shaver,  Esq,  present  Mayor  of  this  town. 
The  opposition  are  well  organized  in  this  State,  and  whatever  is 
to  be  done,  should  be  done — quickly.  With  sincere  esteem  &  re- 
gard I  am — 

Very  Truly  &c 


[  569  1 


570  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  William  A.  Graham 

Hillsboro'  N.  C. 

Jan*.  30th  1868 
To, 

Andrew  Johnson  President  of  U.  S. 
Mr  President 

I  transmit  herewith  the  copy  of  the  act  of  Assembly  of  North 
Carolina  designed  to  secure  freedom  in  elections  in  the  state,  by 
prohibiting  any  master  of  Militia,  or  the  presence  of  armed  men 
on  the  day,  and  at  the  place,  of  any  election :  and  have  the  honor 
to  renew  the  request,  I  submitted  when  in  Washington,  that  prior 
to  the  election  on  the  Constitution  prepared  by  the  reconstruction 
Convention,  a  Proclamation  or  General  Order  should  be  issued, 
inhibiting  the  presence  of  any  armed  men,  or  military  force,  and 
assuring  the  voters  of  immunity  and  protection  in  the  exercise  of 
the  elective  franchise.  Prefixed  to  it  are  two  extracts  from  the 
Bill  of  rights  drafted  in  1776,  and  which  has  never  undergone  any 
change — 125 

With  high  respect 

Your  obedt.  servt. 

From   J.   W.   Duncan 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  March  l,st  /68. 
Col.  Robt  Johnson, 
Dear  Sir ; 

For  the  first  time,  I  believe,  since  the  commencement  of  the 
late  war,  I  trouble  you  with  a  letter.  I  have  often  wanted  to  write 
you  during  the  last  several  years,  but  have  still  declin'd  it  under 
the  impression  that  such  things  from  all  your  friends  would  be 
so  voluminous  as  to  annoy  &  bore  you.  Now,  hovever,  I  am  so 
rejoiced  at  the  course  of  your  Father  in  support  of  our  Constitu- 
tional liberty  &  free  institutions,  that  I  cannot  longer  restrain 
myself,  This  is  the  feeling  now  all  over  the  South,  except  among 
negroes  &  imported  yankees.  I  say  to  your  Father  to  stand  firm 
&  the  people,  who  are  sovereigns  of  the  nation,  will  sustain  him 
triumphantly.  If  the  impeachers  should  ever  try  him  &  convict 
him  of  "high  crimes  &  misdomeanors",  &  then  attempt  to  depose 
him,  let  him  appeal  to  the  people,  or  even  to  the  army,  &  hold 
fast  to  his  office  like  "grim  death,"  &  he  will  ride  over  all  opposi- 
tion like  the  sun  in  his  grandest  splendor.  When  he  succumbs, 
down  goes  the  republic.  Every  body  says  he  has  outwitted  the 

125  Declaration  of  rights  prefixed  to  the  Constitution  of  North  Carolina. 

Sec.  6.  That  elections  of  members  to  serve  as  representatives  in  General  Assembly  ought  to 
be   free. 

Sec.  17.  That  the  people  have  a  right  to  bear  arms  for  the  defence  of  the  State;  and  as 
standing  armies  in  the  time  of  peace  are  dangerous  to  liberty,  they  ought  not  be 
kept  up;  and  that  the  military  should  be  held  in  strict  subordination  to  and 
governed  by  the  civil  power — 

Act  of  the  General  Assembly  passed  in  1795.  reenacted  in  Revised  Statutes  1836  and  in 
Revised  Code  1854,  and  now  in  full  force — see  Revised  Code,  p.  308. 

Sec.  21.  It  shall  not  be  lawful  to  call  or  direct  any  regimental  battalion  or  company  muster, 
on  election  days,  or  to  assemble  around  men  on  the  day  of  election,  at  any  place 
appointed  by  law  to  hold  elections  for  electors,  Governor,  members  of  Congress,  or 
members  of  the  General  Assembly,  under  the  penalty  of  one  thousand  dollars,  to  be 
received  of  any  person  who  shall  call  such  muster  or  assemble  such  around  men  and 
applied  one  half  to  the  use  of  the  informer,  and  the  other  half  to  the  use  of  the 
state.  .  .  . 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  571 

cabal  so  far,  &  the  opinion  now  prevails,  very  generally,  that  he 
is  a  whole  &  a  true  type  of  Andrew  Jackson.  Vance  &  Holden 
are  the  nominees,  as  you  will  see,  of  the  two  parties  in  this  State 
for  Governor.  The  "rads"  here  are  scared  about  their  situation, 
&  are  backing  down  awfully.  They  are  demoralized  &  I  think  they 
will  be  beaten  in  North  Carolina.  I  wrote  your  Father  when  he 
was  at  Raleigh,  but  I  have  rec'd  nothing  from  him  or  any  of  you ; 
indeed,  so  great  must  be  his  correspondence,  that  all  letters  can- 
not be  answered.  As  we  used  to  be  great  political  &  personal 
friends,  &  old  neighbors,  it  would  do  me  so  much  good  to  get  a 
letter  from  you.  It  is  true  that  we  differred  in  the  late  rebellion, 
but  Senator  Patterson  knows  how  kind  I  was  to  Union  men  & 
their  families  during  the  war,  so  much  so,  he  knows,  that  many 
of  them  voted  for  me  for  a  seat  in  the  Legislature,  &  southern 
men  even  beat  me,  because  I  would  not  abuse  union  men  as  Mr. 
Headrick,  my  opponent,  did.  My  wife  sends  her  love  to  your 
Mother  &  Sisters,  &  asks  to  be  kindly  remembered  by  them.  We 
are  here  among  strangers  '&  a  kind  word  from  any  of  you  would 
do  us  so  much  good  personally,  to  say  nothing  of  the  material 
aid  we  would  derive  from  it,  by  placing  us  properly  before  those 
who  know  nothing  of  our  antecedents. 

Present  me  &  my  wife  most  kindly  to  your  Father  &  all  the 
family,  accepting  for  yourself  our  highest  regards.  Please  write. 

Very  Kindly  &  Respectfully, 
Your  friend, 


From  Patrick  H.  Winston126 
Windsor  N.  C. 
11  June  1868  . 
President  Johnson. 

I  have  the  honor  to  represent  the  1st  District  of  N.  C.  in  the 
approaching  N.  Y.  Democratic  Convention 

If  the  presence  there  of  a  united  South  in  your  favor  would  be 
of  any  service  in  securing  your  nomination  I  will  go  and  endeavor 
also  to  carry  a  full  delegation  from  this  state. 

Public  affairs  now  are  at  such  a  pass  that  it  may  possibly  be 
an  unfortunate  friendship  which  the  South  has  for  you. 

I  have  discretion  to  use  your  reply  to  this  letter  properly. 

Drop  me  a  line  and  respond  to  the  import  of  this  letter.  You 
may  perhaps  remember  that  I  had  the  honor  of  meeting  yourself 
and  your  party  on  the  cars  last  summer. 

^Patrick  Henry  Winston  (May  9,  1820-June  14,  1886)  was  the  son  of  George  and  Anne 
Fuller  Winston;  was  educated  at  Wake  Forest  College,  Columbia  University,  and  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina;  married  Martha  Elizabeth  Boyd,  January  1,  1846;  practiced  law 
in  Windsor,  North  Carolina;  served  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons;  was  appointed 
in  1861  as  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  claims;  served  as  a  member  of  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1865;  was  president  of  the  state  council  during  Governor  Worth's  administra- 
tions; and  held  other  positions  of  trust.  Ashe,  Biographical  History  of  North  Carolina,  II, 
441-449. 


572  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  South  is  a  unit  for  you  if  the  choice  of  the  South  could 
be  heard.  We  are  for  you  because  we  think  that  you  have  the 
manliness  and  firmness  to  act  like  a  President. 

Yours  respectfully 

I  do  not  care  to  spend  money  time  or  attention  in  the  N.  Y.  con- 
vention unless  to  secure  your  nomination. 

From  Fred  G.  Roberts 

Edenton  N.  C. 
12th  June  1868 
His  Excellency 
Andrew  Johnson 
President  of  the 
United  States  N.  A. 
Honble,  &  Dear  Sir : 

Permit  me  a  North  Carolinian  to  the  manor  born,  to  congratu- 
late you  &  the  whole  Country  upon  your  triumph  over  the  im- 
peaching Committee  in  particular  &  the  Republican  party  in 
general. 

The  character  of  your  family  must  be  beyond  reproach  or  the 
Keen  Scented  Butler  with  his  unscrupulous  followers,  would  not 
have  hesitated  to  bring  the  most  trivial  offence  to  light,  that  you 
might  become  the  but  &  ridicule  of  the  Country — 

The  friends  of  Constitutional  liberty  throughout  the  world 
must  congratulate  you  on  your  great  triumph  over  the  enemies 
of  right  &  justice. 

I  feel  proud  that  you  was  born  in  the  old  North  State — that 
you  are  not  ashamed  of  it,  that  you  do  not  shrink  from  proclaim- 
ing to  the  world  you  are  a  working  man — 

I  again  congratulate  you  on  your  signal  victory  over  your 
enemies — God  bless  you  &  family. 

Truly  &  Sincerely  your  obt,  Servt, 

From  Neal  Brown 

Raleigh  June  20th  1868 
President  Johnson 

When  you  was  at  our  town  last  Summer  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
Shaking  hands  with  you  for  the  first  time  in  40  od[d]  years  I 
thought  it  was  one  of  the  happyest  days  of  my  life  to  se[e]  you 
in  the  place  that  gave  you  birth  it  Reminded  me  of  our  youthful 
days  when  we  used  to  play  at  and  resort  out  to  Hunters  mill  pond 
where  we  used  to  swim  and  wash  and  enjoy  our  selves  those  days 
are  past  and  Gone  for  Ever  and  I  hope  I  have  been  fortunate 
Enough  to  choose  the  Good  part  like  Mary  of  old  that  will  not 
be  taken  away  from  me  and  I  pray  that  when  you  shall  have  lived 
out  the  measure  of  your  days  that  you  may  be  counted  worthy 
of  taking  a  seat  in  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  son  my  lot  for 
the  last  7  years  has  been  a  hard  lot  I  have  been  a  strict  union 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  573 

man  all  of  my  life  there  is  no  such  thing  as  Secession  I  am  no 
Radical  I  do  not  Believe  that  this  Government  was  Ever  intended 
for  the  Niger  to  Rule  none  but  the  white  man  to  rule  my  father 
fought  for  it  and  the  Whites  Gained  it  and  they  should  rule  it.  in 
1865  the  army  marched  into  Raleigh  an[d]  country  I  was  then 
living  2  miles  from  Raleigh  I  was  doing  a  small  business  at  the 
hating  trade  Enough  to  make  my  living  But  in  2  hours  of  time 
they  Rob  me  of  Every  thing  I  Poss'ed  they  left  me  without  shift- 
ing clothes  they  carried  of  all  my  Provisions  kil  [1]  ed  up  my  stock 
carried  of  my  Hats  and  Distroy[e]d  all  of  my  furs  and  Burnt  up 
my  Rails  cut  down  timbers  and  Distroy[e]d  the  under  Groth  I 
onely  owned  30  acres  of  land  I  am  now  a  man  diseas  [e]  d  and  cant 
do  hard  labour  I  am  with  out  means  to  help  my  self  I  thought  I 
would  write  you  a  few  lines  to  let  you  know  my  Troubles  and 
Losses  if  the  Government  will  pay  me  anything  in  my  Distress 
Excuse  my  imperfect  Spelling  &  writing  and  should  the  day 
come  whitch  [sic]  I  hope  will  when  I  can  Deposit  my  Ballot  for 
A.  J — for  President  of  the  U.  S. — I  shall  of  all  men  Be  the  Hapyst 
I  hope  to  hear  from  you  when  convieant  \_sic\ 
Raleigh  NC 

From  William  T.  Dortch127 

Goldsboro,  N.  C.  Aug  3rd.  68 
His  Excellency, 

Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  U.  States : 

At  the  request  of  the  white  people  of  this  section  of  the  State. 
I  write  to  ask  you  to  have  the  40th  Reg.  colored  troops,  removed 
from  this  place,  &  that  they  may  be  replaced  by  white  troops,  if 
deemed  necessary.128 

The  colored  voters  are  disposed  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket, 
but  are  overawed  by  the  troops,  who  are  exercising  bad  influences 
over  them. 

We  really  see  no  necessity  for  soldiers  at  this  point,  but  have 
not  the  slightest  objection  to  white  ones.  If  difficulties  shall  arise, 
in  consequence  of  Gov.  Holden's  movements,  colored  troops  & 
their  officers  are  not  the  parties  to  aid  in  suppression.  We  really 
fear  their  presence  in  case  of  difficulties. 

Very  respectfully 

127  William  Theophilus  Dortch  (Aug.  3,  1824-Nov.  21,  1889),  son  of  William  and  Drucilla 
Dortch,  was  born  in  Nash  County;  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  Bingham  School,  and 
under  the  tutelage  of  Bartholomew  F.  Moore,  under  whom  he  studied  law;  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1845;  moved  to  Goldsboro  in  1848  where  he  remained  until  his  death;  served  as  a 
member  of  the  house  of  commons  in  1852,  1854,  1858,  and  1860;  was  chosen  as  a  senator  to 
the  Confederate  state  senate  in  1861;  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  in  1878,  1881,  and  1883, 
being  chosen  as  president  of  the  senate  in  the  1879  session;  served  as  a  member  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad,  and  held  other  offices.  His  first  wife 
was  Elizabeth  Pittman  of  Edgecombe  County,  and  his  second  wife  was  Hattie  Williams  of 
Berryville,  Virginia.  R.  D.  W.  Connor  and  others,  History  of  North  Carolina,  V  (1919), 
343-345. 

128  With  the  inauguration  of  William  W.  Holden  as  governor  of  North  Carolina  on  July 
1,  1868,  a  reign  of  terror  ensued.  After  taking  care  of  pressing  matters,  Holden  began  the 
organization  of  the  militia  which  at  his  suggestion  had  been  authorized  by  the  legislature. 
In  the  fall  of  1868  the  militia  was  used  in  various  counties  in  the  state,  but  it  was  a  worthless 
project  to  protect  the  radicals.  Meanwhile  ten  companies  of  Negro  troops  were  stationed 
around  Goldsboro,  committing  various  depredations,  and  it  was  unsafe  for  women  to  leave  their 
homes.  The  presence  of  Negro  regiments  set  a  bad  example  for  the  lawless  militia.  Sentinel 
(Raleigh),  August  29,   1868;   Hamilton,   Reconstruction,   343-347. 


574  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  Andrew  Miller 

Raleigh  [N.  C]  Jany  27/69 

Hon.  A.  W.  Randall 
Post  Master  General 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Dear  Sir 

Dropping  with  your  leave  for  the  purpose  of  this  letter  merely, 
the  official  tone  of  previous  communications — I  desire  to  solicit 
your  attention  for  a  few  moments  to  a  private  matter  of  interest 
to  myself  personally — 

Great  efforts  are  being  made  here,  and  will  at  the  proper  time 
be  transferred  to  Washington,  to  have  me  removed  from  this  Post 
office  on  account  of  having  cast  my  vote  for  Seymour  &  Blair — a 
vote  which  every  days  experience  since  the  election,  goes  in  my 
view,  rather  to  justify  than  to  condemn — for  already  one  of 
the  grounds  upon  which  I  acted  is  one  upon  which  Gen.  Grant 
himself  insists  that  Congress  are  in  error  &  demands  their  reverse 
action.  The  tenure  of  office  Law — and  indications  begin  to  be  ap- 
parent, I  think,  that  other  grounds  upon  which  conservatives 
stood  &  acted  in  that  election  are  about  to  be  occupied  by  Gen. 
Grant 

My  vote  was  also  of  course  against  Mr.  Deweese  M.  C.129  for 
this  district — at  which  and  at  my  rebuke  of  his  outrageous  abuse 
of  the  Franking  privilege,  he  has  taken  great  offence  &  avows 
that  I  shall  be  ejected  as  P.  M.  and  in  consequence  some  half  a 
dozen  petitions  are  being  circulated  here  for  as  many  different 
candidates  for  the  appointment 

I  desire  to  fulfill  the  term  of  my  commission  which  runs  to  July 
26/70  and  it  is  the  desire  of  a  very  large  majority  of  the  citizens 
of  Raleigh  (as  I  shall  be  able  to  show)  that  I  should  be  permitted 
to  do  so 

Such  aid  therefore  as  you  may  consistently  and  without  dero- 
gating in  the  least  degree  from  the  dignity  &  propriety  of  your 
position  &  character  be  able  to  render  me  in  retaining  the  office 
will  lay  me  under  obligations  additional  to  those  which  my  uni- 
form expression  of  your  kindness  &  polite  attention  have  hereto- 
fore imposed — And  perhaps  the  most  valuable  aid  in  that  respect 
ought  to  be,  and  if  Gen1  Grant  &  his  appointees  be  men  of  the 
right  stamp,  will  be,  your  approbation  of  the  hitherto  correct, 

129  Among  the  carpetbaggers  who  came  to  North  Carolina  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War 
was  John  T.  Deweese,  who  was  appointed  by  Salmon  P.  Chase  as  Register  of  Bankruptcy.  On 
October  30,  1867,  Deweese  wrote  to  Elihu  B.  Washburne  about  this  appointment  and  stated 
''to  use  one  of  our  Western  Phrases  am  making  it  pay."  Deweese  was  one  of  the  ringleaders 
in  the  railroad  legislation  frauds  perpetrated  in  North  Carolina.  George  W.  Swepson,  pay- 
master of  the  lobby  ring  that  used  fraud  in  buying  the  legislature  of  July,  1868,  paid  to 
members  of  the  legislature  and  other  persons  in  public  position  the  sum  of  $133,746.29. 
Of  this  sum  Deweese  received  $16,000.  In  Congress  Deweese  resigned  while  under  investiga- 
tion. Letter  from  John  T.  Deweese  to  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  October  30,  1867.  Papers  of 
Elihu  B.  Washburne,  Library  of  Congress;  Hamilton,  Reconstruction,  427-443,  451;  Bio- 
graphical Directory  of  the  Amercan  Congress,   177U-19U9,   1079-1080. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  575 

careful  and  honest  administration  of  the  duties  of  the  office 
here — 

Very  respectfully  &  truly 
Yr  friend  &  humble  servt 
P.M. 
P.  S.  I  will  feel  much  obliged  by  the  submission  of  this  to  the 
perusal  of  Mr.  Van  Burhick  with  my  compliments  to  him 

as  above  A.  Miller 

From  W.  J.  McKay  and  others 

Davidson  College  N°.  Ca. 
Feb'y  8th  1869. 
To  The  President : 
Honored  Sir. 

The  undersigned  beg  leave  to  inform  you,  that  you  have  been 
elected  by  the  Philanthropic  Society  to  deliver  the  annual  address 
before  the  literary  societies  of  Davidson  College  at  the  next 
regular  commencement,  which  will  be  on  the  last  Thursday  of 
June. 

Since  the  decline  of  the  State  University,  Davidson  is  by  far 
the  most  flourishing  institution  in  North  Carolina.  Our  Chapel 
is  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  South,  and  should  you  be  pleased  to 
honor  us  with  your  presence,  we  assure  you  that  you  will  have  as 
an  audience,  this  chapel  filled  with  the  best  and  most  intelligent 
of  North  Carolina's  citizens. 

Permit  us  to  add  our  own  earnest  solicitations  to  those  of  our 
society,  that  you  will  make  it  convenient  to  accept  this  invitation, 
which  is  only  a  slight  token  of  the  high  regard  in  which  you  are 
held  by  the  people  of  your  native  state. 

His  Excellency  Most  Respectfuly 

Andrew  Johnson.  Your  Ob't.  SVts. 

Presd't  U.  S.  A.  w  j  McK 

Washmgton,  D.  C.  P   H   Pitts 

M.  F.  Bernhardt. 


Committee 


From  Zebulon  B.  Vance 

Charlotte  N.  C. 
12  Feb  1869. 
To  the  President 
Sir, 

I  beg  to  assure  you  that  your  acceptance  of  the  enclosed  invita- 
tion would  be  a  means  of  gratification  to  this  entire  County.  A 
grateful  and  admiring  people  would  make  you  a  welcome  heart- 
felt &  sincere. 

Very  truly  & 
respectfully  yours 


576  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  F.  S.  De  Wolfe 

Charlotte,  N.  C.  Jany  27  1875 
Hon  Andrew  Johnson, 
Nashville  Tenn, 
Dear  Sir 

The  Telegraph  has  just  announced  your  Election,  Congratulate 
you  heartily  in  your  triumph,  few  men  "Solitary  &  alone"  have 
triumphed  over  so  compact  and  unscrupulous  a  body  of  poli- 
ticians. 

The  first  vote  I  ever  gave  was  for  you,  when  I  attained  to  man- 
hood in  Hawkins  County,  and  from  you  I  recived  my  Earliest 
political  impressions  which  developed  with  my  youth  into  a 
Democrat  that  has  known  no  change,  Subequently,  with  the  aid 
and  friendship  of  your  son  Robert,  I  was  made  clerk  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  We  were  afterwoards  room  mates  &  friends, 
and  although  our  ways  divided  at  the  breaking  out  of  war  I  never 
ceased  to  Esteem  him  a  true  man  and  a  tried  friend, 

With  joy  at  your  success,  I  am  respectfully  and 
sincerely  yr  obt  sevt. 

From  James  R.  Love 

SENATE  CHAMBER 
Raleigh,  N.  C.  Jan'y  27th  1875. 
Hon.  Andrew  Johnson 
Ex.  Pres.  United  States 
Nashville,  Tenn. 
Dear  Sir : 

Your  many  friends  here  and  especially  members  of  this  Gen- 
eral [Assembly]  are  much  rejoiced  at  your  election  and  return 
again  to  the  U.  S.  Senate. 

Permit  me  also  to  add  my  congratulations  upon  your  success, 

We  hope  the  day  will  soon  be  here  when  the  military  in  a  time 
of  profound  peace  will  be  subordinated  to  the  civil  powers, 

Again  congratulating  you  &  with  kind  assurances  for  your 
health  and  happiness,  I  am,  very  truly, 

Senator  42nd  Dist.  N.  C. 


From  William  H.  Oliver 

Newbern  N.  C. 

Jany  28/75 
Hon  A  Johnson 
Dr  Sir 

It  will  certainly  be  some  gratification  to  you  to  know  how  the 
people  of  your  old  native  state  received  the  news  of  your  election 
to  the  United  States  Senate.  I  can  with  candour  say  I  never  saw 
more  heartfelt  pleasure  than  was  manifested  by  every  Democrat 
in  this  section  at  the  result. 


Letters  to  Andrew  Johnson  577 

Although  I  am  a  perfect  stranger  to  you  it  affords  me  great 
pleasure  to  send  the  above  tidings  to  you  and  to  join  in  the  uni- 
versal wish  in  hoping  you  a  long  a  prosperous  life. — Very  Re- 
spectfully 


Your  Ob  S 


From  Patrick  H.  Winston,  Jr. 


SENATE  CHAMBER, 
Raleigh,  N.  C.  Feb.  1st  1875 

Hon  Andrew  Johnson 
Dear  Sir 

Please  accept  my  warmest  congratulations  upon  your  great 
triumph  in  Tennessee.  Our  people  regard  it  as  a  Victory  for  Civil 
liberty  and  the  rights  of  the  people. 

Very  truly 


From  Henry  H.  Depo 

Fayetteville  [N.  C]  May  4th  1875. 

Hon.  Andrew  Johnson 
Dear  Sir 

Having  learned  that  you  were  desirous  of  knowing  something 
of  your  relatives  who  formerly  live  in  Raleigh  I  hope  you  will  ex- 
cuse the  liberty  I  take  in  introducing  myself  to  you ;  I  am  the  son 
of  Rev.  John  Depo,  who  married  Miss  Gilly  Johnson,  of  Raleigh, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Mr  John  Johnson,  brother  of  your 
honored  father,  Mr.  Jacob  Johnson — my  father  and  mother  to- 
gether with  nearly  all  near  relatives  have  passed  into  the  spirit 
world,  and  I  am  left  the  last  leaf  upon  the  tree,  with  my  small 
family — my  wife — an  only  son,  and  only  daughter — my  father  re- 
moved to  Fayetteville  when  I  was  quite  young — and  here  I  have 
resided  ever  since  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  spent  in  Bla- 
den after  the  vicissitudes  of  the  late  war,  which  deprived  many 
of  us  of  our  once  prosperous  and  pleasant  homes.  My  son,  Henry 
Milton  is  now  residing  at  Elizabeth,  Bladen  County,  and  though 
young  only  twenty  two,  is  the  stay  and  comfort  of  my  declining 
days;  he  is  a  noble  handsome  boy — the  pride  of  his  father  and 
mother — whom  he  delights  to  honor — he  is  engaged  in  merchan- 
dise and  though  scarcely  established,  most  generally  contributes 
to  the  comfort  of  his  parents  and  an  only  and  idolized  sister.  And 
now  dear  Sir,  I  have  given  you  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of 
your  relatives  residing  at  Fayetteville  which  I  hope  may  not  be 
uninteresting  to  you ;  and  which  may  lead  to  some  farther  com- 
munication between  us:  It  would  afford  me  much  gratification 
should  you  be  pleased  to  favor  us  with  a  reply. 

Most  respectfully, 


578  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

From  John  C.  Winder 

N.  C.  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 

Col.  Thos.  M.  Holt  President130 
J.  C.  Winder,  Sec'y  &  Sup't 

Raleigh  June  10  1875. 
Hon :  Andrew  Johnson 
Greenville  Tenn 
Dear  Sir, 

The  Pres*  of  the  N.  C.  State  Agricultural  Society  Col.  T.  M. 
Holt,  has  written  you  two  letters  inviting  you  to  deliver  the 
address  at  our  next  Fair  on  the  14h  of  October,  but  as  yet  has  had 
no  reply.  We  are  particularly  anxious  to  have  a  favorable  reply, 
as  there  is  probably  no  man  in  Union  who  would  draw  together 
as  many  of  the  Citizens  of  N.  C.  as  yourself — I  have  the  honor  to 
request  that  you  will  let  us  hear  from  you  at  your  earliest  con- 
venience— 

Respectfully  your  obt  servt 

130  Thomas  Michael  Holt  (July  15,  1831-Apr.  11,  1896)  was  the  forty-sixth  governor  of 
North  Carolina.  His  father  established  the  first  cotton  mill  in  the  piedmont  section  of  the 
state,  and  in  1852  he  was  joined  by  his  son  as  manager  of  the  Alamance  Cotton  Mills.  The 
same  year  he  became  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  this  was  the  beginning  also  of  his  political  ca- 
reer. In  1877  he  was  a  member  of  the  state  senate  and  he  was  elected  to  the  house  in  1882,  1884, 
and  1886.  He  served  as  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Agricultural  Society  for  twelve  years. 
Through  his  efforts  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  was  established  in  Raleigh  and 
two  schools  in  Greensboro.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  a  promoter  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad,  serving  on  the  board  of  directors 
and  as  president,  and  he  labored  in  the  interest  of  his  employees  and  the  community  at 
Haw  River.  National  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Biography,  II,  430;  Ashe,  Biographical 
History  of  North  Carolina,   VI,  190-195. 


BOOK  REVIEWS 

History  of  Rutherford  County,  1937-1951.  By  Clarence  W.  Griffin.   (Ashe- 
ville,  N.  C:  The  Inland  Press.  1952.  Pp.  xv,  136.) 

This  is  a  supplementary  volume  to  the  author's  History  of  Old 
Try  on  and  Rutherford  Counties,  1750-1936,  published  in  1937. 
The  first  chapter,  on  the  prewar  years  1938-1941,  records  the 
material,  cultural,  and  political  changes  in  a  county  whose  econo- 
my is  based  on  agriculture  and  textile  manufacturing.  The  theme 
of  the  remainder  of  the  book  is  the  impact  of  World  War  II  and 
postwar  events  on  the  history  of  Rutherford  County.  The  author 
successfully  follows  his  earlier  practice  of  tying  local  history  into 
its  state,  national,  and  international  setting.  One  chapter  lists  the 
5,000  men  and  women  from  Rutherford  County  who  served  in 
World  War  II.  The  chapter  on  the  home  front  records  in  detail 
the  contributions  of  industry,  agriculture,  and  the  many  indivi- 
duals who  served  on  the  multitudinous  local  boards  established  to 
support  the  war.  This  section  presents  a  picture  of  civilian  activi- 
ty which,  with  minor  variations,  was  characteristic  of  thousands 
of  communities  throughout  the  United  States.  The  last  chapter 
traces  national,  international,  state,  and  local  events  in  the  post- 
war years  1946-1951,  but  fails  to  record  local  history  as  fully  as 
in  the  years  1938-1941. 

This  book,  based  on  the  files  of  the  Forest  City  Courier,  of 
which  the  author  is  editor,  is  a  welcome  addition  to  the  growing 
list  of  county  histories  and  will  be  a  useful  reference  volume.  Its 
chief  weaknesses  are  a  lack  of  organization,  a  tendency  toward 
repetition,  and  occasional  lapses  into  newspaper  writing  tech- 
niques inappropriate  in  book  form. 

Percival  Perry. 

Wake  Forest  College, 

Wake  Forest. 


The  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Asheville,  N.  C,  1794-1951.  By  George  W. 
McCoy.    (Asheville:   The  First  Presbyterian  Church.  1951.  Pp.  viii,  67.) 

As  befits  the  subject,  this  volume  is  beautifully  printed  on  good 
paper  and  neatly  and  substantially  bound.  Its  sixty-seven  printed 
pages  are  supplemented  with  eight  page-size  plates  illustrated 
with  pictures  of  buildings  and  ministers  of  the  church,  which  con- 
tribute much  to  our  understanding  of  the  text.  The  style  is  excel- 

[579] 


580  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

lent,  with  correctness  of  language,  simplicity  of  expression  and 
good  paragraphing. 

It  is  evident  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  author  to  tell  the 
story  of  this  one  church  and  to  tell  that  with  some  completeness, 
to  give  an  account  of  the  work  the  church  has  done  in  its  hundred 
years,  and  to  give  due  recognition  and  credit  to  everyone  who  has 
had  any  part  in  it  or  contributed  in  any  way  to  the  church's  wel- 
fare and  progress.  On  almost  every  page  some  of  their  names  ap- 
pear, sometimes  thirty  or  more  to  a  page.  Well  done,  says  the 
reviewer ;  it  is  precisely  the  activities  of  those  named  which  are 
the  proper  subject  of  the  history  of  their  church.  The  author  has 
observed  due  proportion,  giving  honor  as  honor  is  due. 

The  story  is  told  in  eleven  short  chapters.  The  first  is  intro- 
ductory, chiefly  concerned  with  the  Scotch-Irish  and  their  virtues, 
with  presbyteries  and  synods.  There  is  much  of  introductory 
nature  in  chapters  two  and  three  also,  but  in  these  chapters  the 
author  becomes  truly  historical ;  he  gives  an  account  of  the  com- 
ing of  the  Rev.  George  Newton  to  Asheville  in  1797  and  of  his 
great  pioneer  work  there  as  teacher  and  preacher,  which  con- 
tinued until  he  left  for  Tennessee  in  1814.  They  provide  a  wel- 
come addition  to  our  knowledge  of  this  famed  educator  and  the 
great  school  he  kept,  Union  Hill  Academy,  "the  first  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  in  the  present  limits  of  North  Carolina." 

After  the  departure  of  Newton  in  1814,  for  more  than  a  score 
of  years  there  seems  to  have  been  very  little  activity  in  the  church 
life  of  the  Presbyterians  of  Asheville,  and  the  historian  used  only 
the  three  pages  of  his  fourth  chapter  to  tell  of  it.  But  he  needed 
all  the  forty-seven  pages  of  his  last  seven  chapters  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  history,  which  is  of  much  interest.  It  includes 
biographical  sketches  of  the  ministers,  nearly  all  men  of  much 
ability  and  influence,  and  of  the  work  as  it  developed  under  their 
leadership.  In  the  sixth  chapter  is  an  account  of  the  controversy 
which  "resulted  in  a  division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  into 
two  parties — the  Old  School  and  the  New  School,"  and  first  and 
last  has  brought  the  Asheville  church  into  membership  in  four 
different  bodies  of  Presbyterians.  Of  much  interest  also  is  the 
account  of  the  several  churches  built  on  Church  Street.  The  first, 
started  in  1837,  was  completed  in  1841.  It  cost  $4,000.  The  last, 
of  which  the  remodeled  sanctuary,  "the  first  part  of  its  new 


Book  Reviews  581 

building  work,"  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  August,  1951, 
cost  a  half -million  dollars.  In  many  respects  it  is  different  from 
the  log  schoolhouse  in  which  the  church  members  worshipped  in 
the  early  years,  but  seemingly  to  show  that  in  the  most  impor- 
tant respect  it  is  the  same,  the  historian  quotes  from  the  dedica- 
tory sermon  of  Dr.  Davis,  the  able  and  faithful  young  pastor, 
these  words:  "All  this  architectural  beauty  is  in  vain  if  from 
this  pulpit  the  word  of  God  be  not  preached  and  the  gospel  of 
Christ  be  not  proclaimed." 

George  W.  Paschal. 

Wake  Forest. 


The  Papers  and  Addresses  of  William  Preston  Few:  Late  President  of  Duke 
University.  Edited  with  a  Biographical  Appreciation  by  Robert  H.  Woody. 
(Durham:  Duke  University  Press.  1951.  Pp.  xi,  369.  $5.00.) 

This  readable  volume  might  well  have  been  entitled  "The  Life, 
Papers  and  Addresses  of  William  Preston  Few."  The  author, 
Professor  Robert  H.  Woody  of  the  Department  of  History  of 
Duke  University,  is  far  too  modest  concerning  his  contributions 
as  biographer  and  editor. 

The  Biographical  Appreciation  of  141  pages  may  be  "tenta- 
tive" and  the  time  may  be  too  near  for  "a  definitive  biography" 
of  the  distinguished  southern  educator,  but  it  is  an  excellent  ap- 
praisal based  on  reliable  sources.  It  traces  the  career  of  Few  from 
Sandy  Flat,  South  Carolina,  through  Wofford  College  and  the 
graduate  school  of  Harvard  University.  Chief  emphasis  is  given, 
however,  to  Few's  long  and  highly  successful  service  at  Trinity 
College,  which  under  his  leadership  became  Duke  University. 

The  papers  and  addresses  of  President  Few,  to  quote  the 
author,  "represent  the  best  thought  and  the  calm  and  reasoned 
opinion  of  a  wise  man  who  devoted  forty-four  years  of  concen- 
trated effort  toward  the  building  of  an  educational  institution 
and  the  improvement  of  society  by  the  process  of  teaching  and 
learning."  The  papers  are  arranged  chronologically  and  consist 
in  the  main  of  articles  from  The  South  Atlantic  Quarterly.  They 
contain  little  that  is  new  or  sensational  but  are  remarkable  for 
their  clarity  of  expression  and  practical  idealism. 

President  Few  was  in  the  vanguard  of  those  in  the  South  who 
were  emphasizing  highest  academic  standards.  His  essay  on  "The 


582  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Excessive  Devotion  to  Athletics,"  published  in  1906,  is  most  time- 
ly today.  Time  and  again  he  stresses  the  importance  of  indi- 
viduals in  a  democracy  and  of  educated  men  who  have  "the  ability 
to  think  straight  and  to  think  through  to  right  conclusions.' '  He 
desired  "men  of  ideas  rather  than  technical  experts"  with  limited 
vision.  He  believed  in  a  creative  education-education  recognizing 
intellect  as  a  function  of  personality  and  embracing  the  emotions 
and  affections  as  part  of  character.  With  him,  religion  was  vital 
in  daily  living,  and  he  believed  in  progress  through  ideas  and 
work,  not  through  force.  He  wrought  mightily  and  had  the  good 
fortune  to  live  to  see  the  realization  of  many  of  his  dreams. 

This  volume  will  be  of  interest  to  all  concerned  with  the  de- 
velopment of  higher  education  in  the  South  since  the  Civil  War. 
It  will  be  welcomed  especially  by  the  faculties,  alumni,  and 
friends  of  Duke  University.  Attractively  printed  and  bound,  it 
contains  several  illustrations.  There  is  no  index  or  bibliography, 
but  authorities  are  adequately  discussed  in  the  preface.  Professor 
Woody  and  Duke  University,  Few's  monument,  merit  heartiest 
congratulations  on  this  work. 

David  A.  Lockmiller. 

University  of  Chattanooga, 
Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 


Graveyard  of  the  Atlantic:  Shipwrecks  of  the  North  Carolina  Coast.  By 
David  Stick.  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press.  1952. 
Pp.  ix,  276.  $5.00.) 

This  is  a  chronicle  of  disaster  along  the  North  Carolina  coast 
from  Currituck  to  Shallotte,  and  especially  off  Cape  Hatteras 
where  the  Gulf  Stream  meets  the  Arctic  waters  and  where  hur- 
ricanes from  the  West  Indies  and  elsewhere  have  joined  with 
natural  features  of  the  coast  to  bring  destruction  to  skilled  sea- 
men and  stout  ships.  More  than  six  hundred  vessels  which  were 
"totally  lost"  are  mentioned  in  Mr.  Stick's  narrative.  Most  of 
these  were  of  more  than  fifty  tons.  A  list  of  the  ships  lost  by 
name,  type,  date,  place,  and  number  of  lives  lost  (except  for 
World  War  II)  is  given,  headed  by  the  brigantine  of  Vasquez  de 
Ayllon,  June,  1526,  and  concluded  by  the  amazingly  long  list  of 
vessels  lost  during  World  War  II,  mostly  by  German  submarines 
during  the  period  from  January  to  July,  1942. 


Book  Reviews  583 

The  narrative  follows  a  chronological  pattern,  and  the  burden 
of  it  is  made  up  of  accounts  of  specific  wrecks,  not  all  of  which 
were  due  to  the  forces  of  nature.  The  Pulaski,  for  example,  was 
wrecked  by  an  exploding  steam  engine.  Sometimes  disasters  were 
multiple,  as  in  the  great  hurricane  of  1899  when  seven  vessels 
and  more  than  fifty  lives  were  lost,  or  in  1942  when  as  many  as 
five  ships  were  lost  to  submarines  in  one  night.  The  author  takes 
notice  of  the  effects  of  the  events  described  on  the  inhabitants  of 
the  outer  banks,  the  "bankers,"  some  of  whom  are  descendants 
of  the  survivors  of  shipwrecks.  Economic  advantages  have  come 
through  the  recovery  of  cargoes,  and  employment  by  lifesaving 
stations,  and  more  recently  through  tourist  curiosity  concerning 
the  remains  of  some  of  the  ancient  hulks  of  wrecked  ships. 

Inevitably  there  is  a  degree  of  monotony  in  the  description  of 
shipwrecks,  however  much  they  may  vary  in  detail  and  the  ex- 
tent to  which  rescue  efforts  were  successful,  but  there  is  also 
much  of  heroism,  luck,  suspense,  and  sometimes  a  touch  of  mys- 
tery, and  the  author  has  been  successful  in  making  the  most  of 
these.  He  writes  vigorously  and  naturally,  and  because  he  has 
done  considerable  research  in  verifying  his  data,  he  has  a  book 
which  is  both  readable  and  informative.  Shipwrecks  on  the  North 
Carolina  coast  have  not  ceased,  but  the  nearly  universal  use  of 
the  steamship,  improvements  in  ship  construction,  and  modern 
facilities  for  lifesaving  have  brought  great  changes,  despite  the 
fact  that  the  elements  of  nature  which  have  made  the  North 
Carolina  coast  so  hazardous  remain. 

The  chapter  references  placed  at  the  end  of  the  book  constitute 
a  bibliography.  To  the  extent  that  the  book  is  based  upon  personal 
interview  it  is  a  source  book.  The  pen  and  ink  drawings  by  the 
author's  father  are  excellent.  Perhaps  Mr.  Stick  is  the  man  to 
write  a  book  on  the  "bankers." 

Robert  H.  Woody. 

Duke  University, 
Durham. 


Behold  Virginia!  The  Fifth  Crown.  By  George  F.  Willison.  (New  York:  Har- 
court,  Brace  and  Company.  1951.  Pp.  xii,  422.  $4.75.) 

Out  of  the  numerous  glowing  accounts  of  Virginia  published 
in  the  early  seventeenth  century  by  the  London  merchants  who 


584 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


invested  money  in  the  colony,  from  the  letters  of  the  gloomy  set- 
tlers, from  the  records  of  the  Virginia  Company,  and  from  John 
Smith,  Behold  Virginia  has  largely  come.  Author  Willison  has 
drawn  us  a  delightfully  real  picture  of  the  suffering  and  strug- 
gling that  went  into  the  making  of  England's  first  permanent  set- 
tlement in  America.  By  freely  drawing  from  the  accounts  of 
those  who  were  present  he  has  given  us  an  authentic  picture  of 
the  daily  hardships  of  the  first  Virginians. 

This  history  reads  like  fiction  and  the  average  reader  is  apt 
to  consider  it  a  mystery  with  the  solution  left  to  his  imagination. 
How  the  colony  survived  and  eventually  even  flourished  after 
undergoing  the  torture  of  the  sea  and  the  weather,  being  mas- 
sacred by  Indians,  facing  starvation,  and  living  under  harsh 
governors  and  even  harsher  laws  is  &  mystery. 

There  are  explanatory  notes  for  each  chapter  and  a  selective 
bibliography  setting  forth  the  principal  sources  from  which  the 
story  has  been  drawn.  From  time  to  time  the  reader  is  rather 
rudely  brought  back  into  the  present  by  observations  which 
should  have  no  place  in  a  work  of  this  sort.  In  writing  of  the 
Virginia  Company's  request  for  funds  from  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, for  example,  the  author  comments  that  this  was  "the  sort 
of  raid  on  the  taxpayer's  purse  that  has  been  so  popular  down 
the  ages,  never  more  so  than  in  our  own."  And  again,  reciting 
the  punishments  given  idle  women  who  were  guilty  of  gossiping, 
he  add,  "but  the  'babbling'  remained  incessant — as  it  was  in  the 
beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be." 

The  subtitle,  The  Fifth  Crown,  comes  from  the  fact  that  the 
escutcheon  of  Virginia's  coat  of  arms  was  quartered  with  the 
arms  of  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  France.  Virginia  was 
the  king's  fifth  dominion. 

Chances  are  that  this  work  will  find  favor  neither  with  the 
FFV's  and  the  Cavalier  school  of  Virginia,  nor  with  any  who 
accept  as  fact  every  word  that  came  from  the  pen  of  Captain 
John  Smith.  Those  who  enjoy  history  recorded  in  an  interesting 
and  readable  style,  however,  will  be  delighted  when  they  Behold 
Virginia  through  the  eyes  of  George  Willison. 

William  S.  Powell. 

University  of  North  Carolina, 
Chapel  Hill. 


Book  Reviews  585 

Charles  Waddell  Chesnutt:  Pioneer  of  the  Color  Line.  By  Helen  M.  Chesnutt. 
(Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press.  1952.  Pp.  viii,  324. 
$5.00.) 

This  book,  made  up  of  extracts  from  the  journals,  letters,  and 
other  papers  of  Charles  Waddell  Chesnutt  selected  by  his  daugh- 
ter Helen  M.  Chesnutt,  is  the  story  of  an  American  who  achieved 
considerable  success  in  spite  of  the  obstacles  of  poverty  and 
African  descent. 

Born  in  1858,  of  free  parents,  Chesnutt  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  had  become  principal  of  the  Normal  School  in  Fayetteville, 
North  Carolina,  the  most  important  school  for  Negroes  in  the 
state.  But  seeking  a  city  which  would  offer  more  opportunities 
for  people  of  his  race,  he  moved  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he 
built  up  a  good  business  as  stenographer,  court-reporter,  and 
lawyer. 

The  great  purpose  of  Chesnutt's  life  was  to  break  down  racial 
prejudice  and  improve  the  condition  of  his  people.  To  this  end  he 
pamphleteered,  appeared  on  lecture  platforms,  and  for  a  while 
gave  up  his  business  in  order  to  devote  all  his  time  to  writing. 
His  stories  about  colored  people  appeared  in  The  Atlantic  Monthly 
and  other  magazines,  and  two  collections  of  them  were  published 
by  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Company.  He  also  wrote  a  biography 
of  Frederick  Douglass,  the  Negro  leader,  and  three  novels — books 
which  won  considerable  praise  from  Northern  reviewers  al- 
though their  financial  returns  were  discouraging. 

Chesnutt  and  his  family  encountered  some  racial  prejudice  in 
Cleveland ;  but,  as  he  remarked  toward  the  end  of  his  long  life, 
they  got  "most  of  the  things  which  make  life  worth  living."  He 
was  a  respected  citizen  and  a  member  of  the  city's  best  clubs. 
Also  nationally  known,  his  crowning  honor  came  in  1928,  when 
he  was  awarded  the  annual  Spingarn  medal  for  his  "pioneer 
work  as  a  literary  artist  depicting  the  life  and  struggles  of  Amer- 
icans of  Negro  descent  and  for  his  long  and  useful  career  as 
scholar,  worker,  and  freeman  of  one  of  America's  greatest  cities.,, 

Miss  Chesnutt's  selections  are  chosen  to  give  not  only  a  record 
of  her  father's  career  but  also  many  human-interest  glimpses 
into  the  life  of  his  family.  Her  editing,  evidently  a  labor  of  love, 
adds  enough  explanatory  matter  to  bind  the  excerpts  into  a  com- 


586  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

plete  story.  The  result  is  a  book  that  is  of  timely  interest  today, 

when  we  still  have  with  us  what  Chesnutt  called  "the  everlasting 

problem." 

Louise  Greer. 

East  Carolina  College, 
Greenville. 


Cracker  Parties.  By  Horace  Montgomery.    (Baton  Rouge:   Louisiana  State 
University  Press.  1950.  Pp.  vii,  278.  $4.00.) 

Professor  Montgomery's  study  of  the  mutations  of  Georgia 
political  parties  and  partisans  during  the  ten  years  leading  up  to 
the  Civil  War  is  a  credit  to  his  scholarship  and  a  meaningful  ad- 
dition to  our  resources  in  history  and  politics.  It  is  in  addition, 
one  is  pleased  to  say,  another  monument  to  the  fruitful  work  of 
Professor  Coulter,  who  is  credited  with  suggesting  the  idea  and 
with  contributing  generously  to  its  realization. 

Professor  Montgomery's  point  of  departure  is  the  forties,  dur- 
ing which  there  was  in  Georgia  a  most  remarkable  balance  of 
forces  between  the  Democrats  and  the  Whigs.  "In  the  Congres- 
sional elections  of  1846  the  Democrats  cast  a  total  of  30,300 
votes,  while  the  Whigs  were  not  far  behind  with  29,526  votes. 
In  1847  .  .  .  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  defeated 
his  Whig  opponent  .  .  .  but  Whiggery  succeeded  in  winning  con- 
trol of  both  houses  of  the  State's  law-making  body." 

There  are  two  major  themes  running  clearly  and  reciprocally 
through  the  book.  One  is  the  ignoble  death  of  the  Whig  party, 
floundering  through  the  indignities  of  Know-nothingism  (under 
its  own  various  manifestations)  to  oblivion.  The  other  theme  is 
the  metamorphosis  of  the  Democratic  Party  from  a  robust  Jack- 
sonianism  into  the  image  of  John  C.  Calhoun. 

All  of  this  rending  struggle  is  pointed  up  in  the  soulsearching 
and  the  frantic  maneuvering  of  the  political  leaders — the  Jesuiti- 
cal unwhigging  of  Stephens  and  the  explosive  unwhigging  of 
Toombs,  the  growth  of  Herschel  Johnson,  the  Know-nothing 
pyrotechnics  of  Ben  Hill,  and  the  tricky  footwork  of  Howell 
Cobb,  whose  agonies  Professor  Montgomery  regards  as  the 
"symptoms  of  this  conversion"  of  the  Democratic  Party. 

In  May,  1853,  Hopkins  Holsey,  Jacksonian  editor  of  the  South- 
ern Banner  (Athens)  and  one  of  Cobb's  long-time  closest  friends, 


Book  Reviews  587 

charged  that  "in  order  to  drag  the  Union  Democrats  along  with 
him  into  a  party  organization  with  the  Secessionists,  into  which 
he  seems  resolved  to  plunge,  reckless  of  every  antecedent  passage 
in  his  political  history,  Gov.  Cobb  has  advanced  some  positions.  .  . 
that  are  false  in  fact-false  in  theory-and  totally  repugnant  to 
each  other."  Holsey's  resignation  followed  a  week  later.  "His 
passing  stilled  the  conscience  of  Andrew  Jackson.  No  longer 
would  it  vex  Georgia  Democracy." 

It  remained  only  for  a  new  party  to  come  out  of  the  West  and 
make  its  peace  with  the  East  under  the  name  of  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson's first  Democracy ;  in  Georgia  it  remained  only  for  Joseph 
E.  Brown — "Young  Hickory" ! — to  take  full  command  of  the 
overblown  Democratic  party:  with  Brown's  election  to  a  second 
term  appeared  "the  social  gospel  of  Jacksonian  Democracy  blithe- 
ly astride  the  credo  of  John  C.  Calhoun.  The  poor  man  had  be- 
come identified  with  Southern  rights.  Young  Hickory  was  soon 
to  measure  him  for  Confederate  gray." 

His  story,  with  all  its  timely  as  well  as  historical  value,  Profes- 
sor Montgomery  has  told  quickly  and  clearly,  with  a  lively  eye 
to  the  real  meaning  and  a  sure  feeling  for  the  drama. 

Glenn  W.  Rainey. 

Georgia  Institute  of  Technology, 
Atlanta. 


The  Legal  Status  of  the  Tenant  Farmer  in  the  Southeast.  By  Charles  S. 
Mangum,  Jr.  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press.  1952. 
Pp.  viii,  478.  $7.50.) 

Charles  S.  Mangum,  Jr.,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  Law  School,  has  done  an  excellent  job  of  research  in  a 
limited  and  technical  field.  His  book,  The  Legal  Status  of  the 
Tenant  Farmer  in  the  Southeast,  deals  with  all  phases  of  the  legal 
relationships  between  landlord  and  tenant ;  the  statutes  and  court 
decisions  of  the  eleven  states  of  the  Old  South — Alabama,  Arkan- 
sas, Florida,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Virginia — have  been 
examined  and  are  discussed. 

The  introductory  pages  show  how  the  present  tenancy  system 
of  the  South  grew  out  of  the  conditions  following  the  Civil  War 
period.  After  the  legal  and  social  implications  of  this  relationship 


588  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

are  briefly  discussed,  the  author  delves  into  the  many  and  varied 
aspects  of  the  law  as  applied  to  tenant  and  landlord.  Various 
types  of  tenancies  are  defined  and  distinguished  one  from  the 
other.  Rights  and  responsibilities  of  both  parties  in  the  farm 
tenancy  relationship  are  brought  out  and  explained,  with  numer- 
ous court  decisions  as  illustrations. 

Situations  involving  third  parties,  where  the  landlord  makes  a 
contract  with  a  second  tenant  while  the  original  tenant  is  still 
in  possession,  are  discussed  in  some  detail.  A  chapter  is  devoted 
to  torts  and  crimes,  with  the  conclusion  that  these  phases  of  the 
law,  as  they  relate  to  the  tenancy  status,  need  little  change.  The 
rights  of  assignees  are  considered  in  situations  involving  transfer 
of  interest. 

Much  attention  is  paid  to  agricultural  liens  and  the  numerous 
problems  and  complicated  situations  arising  where  liens  are  en- 
forced. The  removal  and  conversion  of  lien-encumbered  crops  are 
discussed,  with  the  conclusion  being  reached  that  this  subject  has 
generally  been  adequately  treated  by  the  courts  and  legislatures 
of  the  several  states  included  in  the  study.  In  cases  involving 
several  liens,  the  priority  problem  has  been  treated  differently 
under  varying  local  conditions;  these  cases  and  differences  are 
indicated  by  the  author. 

The  subjects  mentioned  here  give  a  hint  as  to  the  type  of  legal 
problems  treated  in  the  pages  of  this  volume;  numerous  others 
of  equal  importance  are  examined.  Throughout,  differences  in  law 
and  interpretation  among  the  states  are  pointed  out;  where 
change  is  desirable,  the  author  indicates  the  area  of  need  and 
shows  in  what  ways  the  law  could  be  bettered. 

Considering  the  vast  amount  of  research  which  was  necessary 
in  order  to  produce  this  book,  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  result 
will  be  understandable  to  few  who  have  not  had  legal  training. 
Legalistic,  technical  language  is  employed ;  considering  the  sub- 
ject of  the  treatise,  such  language  is  perhaps  necessary.  Two 
sentences  will  illustrate  the  difficulty  which  a  layman  will  have 
in  reading  the  pages  of  Mr.  Mangum's  book :  "Sometimes,  how- 
ever, an  equitable  estoppel  will  prevent  the  operation  of  the  rule, 
as  in  an  Alabama  case  where  a  mortgagor  was  induced  to  accept 
a  tenancy  by  the  mortgagee's  representations  that  the  original 
mortgage  relationship  would  be  continued.  Here  an  estoppel  pre- 


Book  Reviews  589 

vents  the  operation  of  another  estoppel,  a  confusion  of  terminol- 
ogy due  to  the  fact  that  the  rule  which  prevents  a  tenant  from 
questioning  his  landlord's  title  is  not  a  true  estoppel."  Of  course, 
these  sentences  are  lifted  from  context,  but  there  are  few  sen- 
tences which  do  not  contain  legalistic  wording  similar  to  that 
used  in  the  two  quoted  sentences.  Though  most  legal  terms  are 
defined  by  the  author,  the  use  of  such  technical  terminology  will 
discourage  many  prospective  readers. 

In  the  closing  pages,  the  author  suggests  various  reforms 
which  are  needed  and  which  would  improve  the  status  of  the 
tenant.  The  conclusions  which  are  drawn  throughout  the  chap- 
ters, as  well  as  in  the  final  chapter,  make  the  study  valuable  to 
those  interested  in  seeing  improvement  made  in  an  important 
part  of  southern  life.  As  a  reference  book  for  lawyers,  legislators, 
sociologists,  and  others  with  a  specific  interest  in  phases  of  the 
landlord-tenant  relationship,  this  volume  will  be  of  use. 

Fannie  Memory  Farmer. 

Department  of  Public  Welfare, 

Raleigh. 


HISTORICAL  NEWS 

Dr.  Paul  McCain  of  the  history  department  of  Brenau  College, 
Gainesville,  Georgia,  was  visiting  professor  at  Western  Carolina 
Teachers  College  in  Cullowhee  during  the  first  term  of  summer 
school. 

Mr.  Marvin  R.  Farley  has  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  assist- 
ant professor  of  social  sciences  at  Western  Carolina  Teachers 
College. 

Dr.  H.  H.  Cunningham  has  joined  the  faculty  of  Elon  College 
as  head  of  the  history  department.  During  the  past  year  he  com- 
pleted the  requirements  for  his  Ph.D  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  where  he  taught  as  a  regular  professor  during  the  1952 
summer  session. 

Dr.  Dewey  W.  Grantham,  Jr.,  has  resigned  as  a  member  of  the 
history  department  at  the  Woman's  College  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  Greensboro,  in  order  to  become  assistant  profes- 
sor of  history  at  Vanderbilt  University,  Nashville  Tennessee, 
and  Dr.  John  Cairns  has  joined  the  history  department  of  the 
University  of  Toronto. 

Dr.  George  B.  Tindall  and  Dr.  Lewis  J.  Edinger  have  been 
appointed  to  the  faculty  of  the  history  department  at  the  Wo- 
man's College,  and  Dr.  John  Beeler  and  Mr.  Lawrence  Graves 
have  returned  from  military  leave. 

Dr.  Joel  Colton  has  been  promoted  to  assistant  professor  in  the 
history  department  at  Duke  University,  Durham. 

Dr.  William  T.  Laprade  has  retired  as  chairman  of  the  depart- 
ment of  history  at  Duke  University,  but  he  will  continue  his  other 
duties. 

Dr.  Charles  S.  Sydnor  has  been  appointed  chairman  of  the 
history  department  succeeding  Dr.  Laprade  and  dean  of  the 
graduate  school  of  Duke  University,  succeeding  Dr.  Paul  M. 
Gross. 

The  appointment  of  Dr.  Rembert  W.  Patrick  of  the  University 
of  Florida  history  department  to  the  post  of  associate  editor  of 
The  Florida  Historical  Quarterly  has  been  announced. 

[590] 


Historical  News  591 

The  committee  for  the  Wright  Brothers  Museum  at  Kitty 
Hawk,  of  which  Mr.  David  Stick  of  Kitty  Hawk  is  chairman, 
met  in  the  governor's  office  in  Raleigh  on  May  27  and  made 
further  plans  for  raising  funds  for  the  establishment  of  the 
museum. 

The  Editorial  Board  of  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 
met  in  Winston-Salem  on  June  25  and  discussed  over-all  plans 
and  policies  of  the  journal. 

The  Executive  Board  of  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and 
History  met  on  August  15  and  approved,  with  certain  modifica- 
tions, the  maintenance  estimates  prepared  by  the  director  and 
staff  for  the  1953-1955  biennium,  to  be  submitted  to  the  Advisory 
Budget  Commission  and  the  General  Assembly. 

On  August  23  ceremonies  were  held  in  the  U.  D.  C.  Memorial 
Hall  at  Lincolnton  in  connection  with  the  erection  of  historical 
markers  to  that  building  and  to  the  Confederate  Laboratory  at 
Laboratory.  Among  those  present  for  the  occasion  were  Mr. 
Clarence  Griffin,  a  member  of  the  Executive  Board,  Dr.  Christo- 
pher Crittenden,  director,  and  Mr.  Edwin  A.  Miles,  researcher 
for  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh. 

During  the  summer  the  three  outdoor  historical  dramas  in  the 
North  Carolina  mountains  drew  a  total  of  more  than  200,000  paid 
admissions.  Kermit  Hunter's  "Unto  These  Hills"  at  Cherokee  and 
his  "Horn  in  the  West"  at  Boone  came  first  and  second,  with 
Hubert  Hayes's  "Thunderland"  at  Asheville  in  third  place.  "The 
Lost  Colony"  by  Paul  Green,  the  oldest  of  all  dramas  of  the  kind, 
produced  every  summer  at  Fort  Raleigh,  Roanoke  Island,  was 
attended  by  almost  50,000  persons.  The  grand  total  for  the  four 
was  thus  approximately  a  quarter  of  a  million  paid  admissions. 

"The  Sword  of  Gideon,"  the  outdoor  drama  which  is  presented 
on  the  Kings  Mountain  battleground,  closes  its  second  four-week 
season  on  October  4.  Sponsored  by  the  Kings  Mountain  Little 
Theatre,  the  play  was  written  by  Florette  Henri  and  deals  with 
the  uprising  which  was  climaxed  by  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain. 


592  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  Cherokee  Historical  Association  has  recently  opened  to 
visitors  a  reproduction  of  a  Cherokee  Indian  village  of  two  hun- 
dred years  ago  which  is  known  as  Occonaluftee  Village.  Located 
at  Cherokee,  the  village  will  be  open  through  October  and  will 
reopen  next  May. 

On  June  20  Mr.  James  G.  W.  MacClamroch  was  reappointed 
by  the  Guilford  County  commissioners  for  a  four-year  term  as 
county  historian.  He  was  first  appointed  in  1948  when  the  post 
was  reactivated  after  nearly  twenty-five  years. 

Two  interesting  articles  by  Miss  Mary  Louise  Medley  of  Wades- 
boro  have  appeared  in  The  Sanford  Herald.  The  first,  "Newspaper 
Once  Published  at  Harrington,  Near  Broadway,"  appeared  on 
June  26  and  dealt  with  a  handwritten  paper  edited  by  John  Mc- 
Lean Harrington  of  Harnett  County  from  1858  to  1860.  The 
second  article,  which  appeared  on  June  30,  was  entitled  "Whigs, 
Tories  Once  Battled  for  'House  in  the  Horseshoe'  "  and  told  of 
the  Phillip  Alston  home  in  Moore  County. 

According  to  Mr.  Denys  P.  Myers  of  the  State  Department, 
Washington,  D.  C,  North  Carolina  is  the  only  state  that  has  pre- 
served its  official  copy  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
sent  to  the  states  for  ratification  in  1787.  This  copy,  signed  by 
Charles  Thomson,  is  the  one  that  was  ratified  by  North  Carolina 
in  1789.  The  document  is  in  the  custody  of  the  State  Department 
of  Archives  and  History,  and  Mr.  Myers,  who  is  conducting  a 
research  project  on  the  Constitution,  reports  that  this  is  the  only 
official  copy  in  existence. 

On  June  21  a  group  of  interested  citizens  met  in  the  Y.M.C.A. 
at  Albemarle  to  set  up  a  temporary  organization  looking  toward 
permanent  organization  of  the  Stanly  County  Historical  Society. 
Mrs.  G.  D.  B.  Reynolds  of  Albemarle  was  elected  temporary 
chairman  and  a  later  meeting  was  scheduled,  at  which  time  the 
constitution  and  bylaws  and  a  permanent  organization  would  be 
perfected.  Mr.  D.  L.  Corbitt  of  the  State  Department  of  Archives 
and  History  spoke  on  the  need  for  and  the  possibilities  of  such 
an  organization  and  the  program  was  concluded  by  short  talks 
by  Col.  Jeffrey  F.  Stanback  and  others. 


Historical  News  593 

The  Pitt  County  Historical  Society  met  at  Sheppard  Memorial 
Library  in  Greenville  on  June  23.  Dr.  Howard  Clay  of  the  history 
department  at  East  Carolina  College  presided  in  the  absence  of 
the  president,  Judge  Dink  James.  Eight  new  objectives  for  the 
organization  were  added  to  its  original  one,  "arousing  and  main- 
taining more  interest  in  the  history  of  Pitt  County — its  economic, 
political,  and  social  development."  Mr.  J.  L.  Jackson  of  Raleigh 
spoke  to  the  twenty-one  members  who  were  present  on  the  history 
of  Winterville  and  its  widely  known  high  school,  and  it  was  an- 
nounced that  the  membership  now  numbers  seventy-three.  The 
next  meeting  is  to  be  held  in  September. 

On  Sunday,  June  29,  members  of  the  Society  of  County  and 
Local  Historians  made  a  tour  of  Orange  County.  The  group  met 
at  the  Carolina  Inn  in  Chapel  Hill  for  a  tour  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  and  of  the  town.  After  giving  a  brief  outline 
of  the  history  of  the  University,  Mr.  Phillips  Russell  conducted 
a  tour  which  included  the  Di  and  Phi  Senate  halls  in  New  West 
and  New  East  buildings,  Memorial  Hall,  the  Old  Well,  South 
Building,  Old  East,  Person  Hall,  Gerrard  Hall,  the  Playmaker 
Theater,  and  the  Davie  Poplar. 

After  a  brief  business  session  and  a  picnic  lunch,  the  historians 
went  to  Hillsboro,  where  they  were  met  by  Mr.  Edwin  M.  Lynch, 
clerk  of  the  Orange  County  superior  court,  who  conducted  a  tour 
of  the  courthouse,  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  house  once  oc- 
cupied by  William  Hooper  and  later  by  Governor  William  A. 
Graham,  the  Jones  house  on  the  Eno  River,  St.  Matthew's  Episco- 
pal Church,  "Heartease,"  once  the  home  of  Governor  Thomas 
Burke,  the  Colonial  Inn,  and  several  other  points.  Some  of  the 
members  also  visited  Alamance  Battleground. 

On  July  21  in  Chapel  Hill  the  Joint  Committee  for  the  Compila- 
tion of  a  Handbook  of  North  Carolina  Writers,  representing  the 
North  Carolina  Library  Association  and  the  North  Carolina 
English  Teachers  Association,  before  a  group  of  interested  per- 
sons recorded  the  voices  of  four  North  Carolina  writers,  James 
Larkin  Pearson,  Mrs.  Mebane  Holoman  Burgwyn,  Manly  Wade 
Wellman,  and  John  Harden,  each  of  whom  read  a  selection  of  his 
or  her  writings. 


594  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

The  Archaeological  Society  of  North  Carolina  held  a  field  meet- 
ing at  Town  Creek  Indian  Mound,  Montgomery  County,  on  July 
27.  The  program  included  a  tour  of  the  excavations,  a  picnic 
lunch,  and  the  following  reports:  ' 'Remarks  on  the  History  of 
Archaeological  Work  at  Town  Creek  Indian  Mound,"  by  Joffre 
L.  Coe  and  Harry  T.  Davis;  "Archaeological  Interpretations, 
Current  Excavations,  and  Future  Plans  for  Town  Creek  Indian 
Mound,"  by  Ernest  Lewis;  "The  Meaning  of  the  Creek  Indian 
Square,"  by  John  Witthoft;  and  "Archaeological  Survey  of  the 
Buggs  Island  Resorvoir  Area,"  by  John  Heimnick. 

A  joint  meeting  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical  Associa- 
tion, the  Western  North  Carolina  Historical  Association,  and  the 
North  Carolina  Society  of  County  and  Local  Historians  was  held 
on  the  campus  of  Appalachian  State  Teachers  College  in  Boone, 
August  30-31.  At  the  general  session  on  Saturday  afternoon, 
August  30,  Dr.  B.  B.  Dougherty  of  Boone,  president  of  Appala- 
chian State  Teachers  College,  made  an  address  on  "The  Men  Who 
Fought  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain."  After  this  separate  busi- 
ness meetings  were  held,  and  in  the  evening  members  of  the 
three  societies  attended  a  performance  of  Kermit  Hunter's  "Horn 
in  the  West"  in  the  Daniel  Boone  Theater.  On  Sunday  morning 
there  was  a  general  session  at  which  the  following  program  was 
presented:  "The  Story  behind  'Horn  in  the  West,'  "  by  Leo  K. 
Pritchett,  Boone,  chairman  of  the  public  relations  committee  of 
the  Southern  Appalachian  Historical  Association;  "Historical 
Background  of  Watauga  County,"  by  D.  J.  Whitener,  Boone, 
professor  of  history  at  Appalachian  State  Teachers  College ;  and 
"Plans  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Historical  Association," 
by  W.  E.  Bird,  Cullowhee,  dean  of  Western  Carolina  Teachers 
College.  A  program  of  tours  which  had  been  planned  was  can- 
celled because  of  rain  and  was  replaced  by  an  informal  session. 

Mr.  Joseph  F.  Steelman  has  accepted  a  position  at  A.  and  M. 
College  of  Texas. 

Mrs.  Dorothy  Phillips  and  Mrs.  Joye  E.  Jordan  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh,  made  a  trip  on  June 
24-27  to  Edenton,  Elizabeth  City,  and  Manteo  to  make  color  slides 


Historical  News  595 

of  historical  material.  On  August  25-28  they  made  a  similar  trip 
to  Jugtown,  Tryon,  Flat  Rock,  Hendersonville,  Asheville,  and 
Boone,  where  they  photographed  old  houses  and  other  buildings, 
and  native  crafts  which  included  pottery,  weaving,  and  silver 
work. 

New  members  of  the  staff  of  the  Department  of  Archives  and 
History,  who  are  working  on  the  microfilm  project,  are  Mrs. 
Beatrice  Hardie  and  Miss  Barbara  Schettler,  who  joined  the  staff 
on  July  1,  and  Mrs.  June  Cherry  and  Mrs.  Rose  Ennett,  who 
began  work  on  August  1. 

On  May  15  in  Littleton  Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  talked  to 
the  Granville-Warren  Committee,  Colonial  Dames  of  America, 
on  the  importance  of  preserving  historic  sites  and  buildings  and 
particularly  Person's  Ordinary  in  Littleton.  On  June  18  he 
addressed  the  Caswell-Nash  Chapter,  United  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy,  in  Raleigh.  On  July  11  he  addressed  the  Ashe  Coun- 
ty Historical  Society  on  a  program  for  a  local  historical  organiza- 
tion. On  July  22  he  spoke  to  the  Resource-Use  Education  Con- 
ference, Chapel  Hill,  on  the  program  of  the  State  Department  of 
Archives  and  History.  On  August  22  he  spoke  at  Ridgecrest  to 
the  Historical  Commission  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention 
and  representatives  of  the  Baptist  historical  organizations  of 
the  various  southern  states,  suggesting  a  program  of  action  for 
these  groups. 

The  Department  of  Archives  and  History  has  recently  publish- 
ed the  following  items  in  mimeograph :  Resources  Available  for 
In-service  Education  from  the  State  Department  of  Archives  and 
History  (July,  1952)  and  A  Bibliography  of  North  Carolina 
County  Histories,  compiled  by  Eva  J.  Lawrence  and  William  S. 
Powell.  These  publications  are  available  upon  application  to  the 
Division  of  Publications. 

Books  received  include:  Wilson  Record,  The  Negro  and  the 
Communist  Party  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina Press,  1951)  ;  J.  H.  Easterby,  The  Colonial  Records  of  South 
Carolina — The  Journal  of  the  Commons  House  of  Assembly, 
September  12,  1739-March  26,  171*1   (Columbia:  The  Historical 


596  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Commission  of  South  Carolina,  1952)  ;  Henry  Wilkins  Lewis, 
Northampton  Parishes  (Jackson,  N.  C. :  published  by  the  author, 
1951)  ;  Chapman  J.  Milling,  Colonial  South  Carolina:  Two  Con- 
temporary Descriptions  (Columbia :  University  of  South  Carolina 
Press,  1951)  ;  Lynn  Montross,  Rag,  Tag  and  Bobtail  (New  York: 
Harper  and  Brothers,  1952)  ;  Marvin  W.  Schlegel,  Conscripted 
City:  The  Story  of  Norfolk  in  World  War  II  (Norfolk,  Virginia: 
Norfolk  War  History  Commission,  1951)  ;  Richard  Walser, 
Inglis  Fletcher  of  Bandon  Plantation  (Chapel  Hill:  The  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina  Library  Extension  Publication,  XVII,  no. 
2,  1952)  ;  Wesley  Frank  Craven  and  James  Lea  Cate,  The  Army 
Air  Forces  in  World  War  II,  volume  III,  Europe:  Argument  to 
V-E  Day,  January  19  UU  to  May  191*5  (Chicago:  The  University 
of  Chicago  Press,  1951)  ;  George  F.  Willison,  Behold  Virginia! 
The  Fifth  Crown  (New  York:  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company, 

1951)  ;  Merritt  B.  Pound,  Benjamin  Hawkins,  Indian  Agent 
(Athens:  University  of  Georgia  Press,  1951)  ;  Helen  M.  Ches- 
nutt,  Charles  Waddell  Chesnutt,  Pioneer  of  the  Color  Line 
(Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1952)  ; 
Henry  J.  Kauffman,  Early  American  Gunsmiths  (Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania:  The  Stackpole  Company,  1952)  ;  Franklin  T.  Mc- 
Cann,  English  Discovery  of  America  to  1585  (New  York:  Colum- 
bia University  Press,  1952)  ;  William  B.  Hamilton,  Fifty  Years 
of  the  South  Atlantic  Quarterly,  1902-1952:  Liberalism  and 
Learning  (Durham:  Duke  University  Press,  1952)  ;  George  W. 
McCoy,  The  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Asheville,  N.  C,  179  lf- 
1951  (Asheville:  The  First  Presbyterian  Church,  1951)  ;  New- 
man I.  White,  The  Frank  C.  Brown  Collection  of  North  Carolina 
Folklore,  volumes  I,  II,  and  III  (Durham :  Duke  University  Press, 

1952)  ;  William  Alfred  Bryan,  George  Washington  in  American 
Literature,  1775-1865  (New  York:  Columbia  University  Press, 
1952)  ;  Gregor  Sebba,  Georgia  Studies:  Selected  Writings  of 
Robert  Preston  Brooks  (Athens:  University  of  Georgia  Press, 
1952)  ;  David  Stick,  Graveyard  of  the  Atlantic:  Shiptvrecks  of 
the  North  Carolina  Coast  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University  of  North 
Carolina  Press,  1952)  ;  Clarence  W.  Griffin,  History  of  Rutherford 
County,  1937-1951  (Asheville:  The  Inland  Press,  1952)  ;  Frances 
Latham  Harriss,  Laiv son's  History  of  North  Carolina  (Richmond, 
Virginia:  Garrett  and  Massie,  1952)  ;  Charles  S.  Mangum,  The 


Historical  News  597 

Legal  Status  of  the  Tenant  Farmer  in  the  Southeast   (Chapel 
Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1952)  ;  Mary  C. 
Simms  Oliphant,  Alfred  Taylor  Odell,  and  T.  C.  Duncan  Eaves, 
The  Letters  of  William  Gilmore  Simms,  volume  1,  1830-18 UU 
(Columbia:  University  of  South  Carolina  Press,  1952)  ;  Fletcher 
M.  Green,  The  Lides  Go  South  .  .  .  and  West:  The  Record  of  a 
Planter  Migration  in  1835  (Columbia:  University  of  South  Caro- 
lina Press,  1952)  ;  Joseph  I.  Shulim,  The  Old  Dominion  and  Na- 
poleon Bonaparte:  A  Study  in  American  Opinion  (New  York: 
Columbia  University  Press,  1952)  ;  Robert  H.  Woody,  The  Papers 
and  Addresses  of  William  Preston  Fetv  (Durham:  Duke  Univer- 
sity Press,  1951)  ;  Frank  E.  Vandiver,  Ploughshares  into  Swords: 
Josiah  Gorgas  and  Confederate  Ordnance  (Austin :  University  of 
Texas  Press,  1952)  ;  Willard  Range,  The  Rise  and  Progress  of 
Negro  Colleges  in  Georgia,  1865-19 %9    (Athens:  University  of 
Georgia  Press,  1951)  ;  Ernest  C.  Shearer,  Robert  Potter:  Re- 
markable North  Carolinian  and  Texan  (Houston,  Texas:  Univer- 
sity of  Houston  Press,  1951)  ;  Carroll  Kilpatrick,  Roosevelt  and 
Daniels:  A  Friendship  in  Politics  (Chapel  Hill:  The  University 
of  North  Carolina  Press,  1952)  ;  North  Callahan,  Smoky  Moun- 
tain Country  (New  York:  Duell,  Sloan  &  Pearce,  1952)  ;  William 
Binkley,  The  Texas  Revolution  (Baton  Rouge:  Louisiana  State 
University   Press,    1952)  ;    John    Edwards    Caldwell,    A    Tour 
Through  Part  of  Virginia  in  the  Summer  of  1808  (Richmond, 
Virginia:  The  Dietz  Press,  1951)  ;  William  Bross  Lloyd,  Jr., 
Town  Meeting  for  America  (New  York:  Island  Press  Coopera- 
tive, Inc.,  1951)  ;  Alexander  Heard,  A  Two-Party  South?  (Chapel 
Hill:  The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1952)  ;  Walter 
Hart  Blumenthal,    Women   Camp  Folloivers   of  the  American 
Revolution  (Philadelphia:  George  S.  MacManus  Company,  1952)  ; 
Washington's  Official  Map  of  Yorktown,  National  Archives  Fac- 
simile  no   21.    (Washington:    The   National   Archives,    1952)  ; 
Washington's  Inaugural  Address   of  1789,   National   Archives 
Facsimile  no.  22  (Washington:  The  National  Archives,  1952)  ; 
Robert  C.  Black,  The  Railroads  of  the  Confederacy  (Chapel  Hill: 
The  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1952)  ;  Joe  R.  Nixon, 
Unity  Presbyterian  Church,  Cradle  of  State  Builders  (Lincoln- 
ton:  published  by  the  author,  1952)  ;  Water  and  Poiver  Develop- 
ment in  North  Carolina:  Papers  Presented  at  the  Fourth  Annual 


598  The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 

Resource-Use  Education  Conference,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  August 
8-10,  1951  (Raleigh:  North  Carolina  Resource-Use  Education 
Commission  and  North  Carolina  Department  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion [1952])  ;  Charles  S.  Sydnor,  Gentlemen  Freeholders:  Politi- 
cal Practices  in  Washington's  Virginia  (Chapel  Hill :  The  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina  Press,  1952)  ;  James  McBride  Dabbs, 
Pee  Dee  Panorama  (Columbia:  University  of  South  Carolina 
Press,  1951)  ;  and  Mebane  Holoman  Burgwyn,  Penny  Rose  (New 
York:  Oxford  University  Press,  1952). 


CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THIS  ISSUE 

Dr.  Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr.,  is  an  assistant  professor  of  his- 
tory at  the  University,  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 

Dr.  Howard  Braverman  during  1951-1952  was  an  instructor 
in  the  department  of  history  in  the  European  program  of  the 
University  of  Maryland. 

Mr.  Hugh  Hill  Wooten  is  an  agricultural  economist  with  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics. 

Miss  Helen  Harriet  Sails  was  formerly  head  of  the  English 
departments  at  Peace  College,  Raleigh,  and  Flora  MacDonald 
College,  Red  Springs,  and,  in  1947-1948,  assistant  in  charge  of 
manuscripts  at  Duke  University  Library. 

Dr.  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson  is  a  reference  consultant  of 
the  Manuscript  Division  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  Washington. 


[599] 


CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THIS  VOLUME 

Dr.  Douglas  LeTell  Rights  is  acting  archivist  of  the  Moravian 
Church,  Southern  Province,  and  a  Moravian  minister  of  Winston- 
Salem. 

Dr.  James  S.  Purcell  is  associate  professor  of  English  at  David- 
son College,  Davidson. 

Dr.  James  High  is  acting  assistant  professor  of  history  in  the 
University  of  Washington  at  Seattle. 

Dr.  Joseph  Davis  Applewhite  is  assistant  professor  of  history 
at  the  University  of  Redlands  in  Redlands,  California. 

Mr.  William  T.  Alderson  is  a  graduate  student  and  teaching 
fellow  at  Vanderbilt  University,  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

Dr.  Mary  Callum  Wiley,  daughter  of  Calvin  Henderson  Wiley 
and  former  head  of  the  department  of  English  at  R.  J.  Reynolds 
High  School  in  Winston-Salem,  is  the  author  of  a  daily  column, 
"Mostly  Local,"  in  the  Ttvin-City  Daily  Sentinel,  Winston-Salem. 

Miss  Fannie  Memory  Farmer  is  administrative  assistant  in 
the  Department  of  Public  Welfare  in  Raleigh. 

Dr.  Elizabeth  Gregory  McPherson  is  a  reference  consultant  of 
the  Manuscript  Division  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  Washington. 

Dr.  John  Chalmers  Vinson  is  an  assistant  professor  of  history 
at  the  University  of  Georgia,  Athens. 

Dr.  Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr.,  is  an  assistant  professor  of 
history  at  the  University,  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  James  M.  Merrill  is  a  doctoral  candidate  in  American 
history  at  the  University  of  California,  Los  Angeles. 

Dr.  Ernest  M.  Lander,  Jr.,  is  an  associate  professor  of  history 
and  government  at  Clemson  College,  Clemson,  South  Carolina. 

Dr.  Christopher  Crittenden  is  director  of  the  State  Department 
of  Archives  and  History,  Raleigh,  and  secretary  of  the  State 
Literary  and  Historical  Association. 


[600] 


Contributors  To  This  Volume  601 

Mr.  E.  Lawrence  Lee,  Jr.,  is  a  doctoral  candidate  specializing 
in  colonial  American  history  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
At  the  present  time  he  holds  the  William  Richardson  Davie 
memorial  scholarship  in  history  for  North  Carolina,  which  is 
awarded  by  the  North  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

Dr.  Frontis  W.  Johnston  is  head  of  the  department  of  history 
at  Davidson  College,  Davidson. 

Miss  Mary  Lindsay  Thornton  is  librarian,  North  Carolina  Col- 
lection, University  of  North  Carolina  Library,  Chapel  Hill. 

Dr.  David  B.  Quinn  is  a  professor  and  head  of  the  department 
of  history  at  the  University  College  of  Swansea,  in  Wales. 

Mr.  C.  Robert  Haywood,  assistant  professor  of  history  at 
Southwestern  College,  Winfield,  Kansas,  is  on  leave  of  absence 
while  pursuing  studies  for  a  doctoral  degree  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina. 

Dr.  Donald  J.  Rulfs  is  assistant  professor  of  English  at  North 
Carolina  State  College,  Raleigh. 

Dr.  Wilfred  B.  Yearns,  Jr.,  is  assistant  professor  of  history  at 
Wake  Forest  College,  Wake  Forest. 

Miss  Elaine  von  Oesen  is  field  librarian  with  the  North  Caro- 
lina Library  Commission,  Raleigh. 

Dr.  Howard  Braverman  during  1951-1952  was  an  instructor 
in  the  department  of  history  in  the  European  program  of  the 
University  of  Maryland. 

Mr.  Hugh  Hill  Wooten  is  an  agricultural  economist  with  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics. 

Miss  Helen  Harriet  Sails  was  formerly  head  of  the  English 
departments  at  Peace  College  and  Flora  Macdonald  College 
and,  in  1947-1948,  assistant  in  charge  of  manuscripts  at  Duke 
University  Library. 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  XXIX— 1952 


Abbott,  Lyman,  desires  spread  of 
education,  65;  writes  of  Negro 
education,  65. 

Abercromby,  James,  realizes 
strength  of  colonies,  320. 

Abrams,  W.  Amos,  chosen  to  serve 
on  council,  151. 

Academies,  examinations  of,  551%; 
history  of,  in  state,  550%;  role 
of,  in  town  life,  551%. 

Acomb,  Frances,  plans  study 
abroad,  466;  takes  part  in  his- 
torical meeting,  299. 

Acosta,  Miguel  de,  commands  Nues- 
tra  Senora  del  Rosario,  311. 

Adams,  John,  mentioned,  344. 

Addison,  Joseph,  poetry  of,  used 
in  N.  C.  Reader,  507. 

Addison  County  Grammar  School 
(Middlebury,  Vt.),  boasts  Ionic 
columns,  541 ;  Joseph  Labaree 
principal  of,  546%. 

Adelaide,  Confederates  placed  on 
board,  216;  grounded,  215;  used 
in  attack  on  Hatteras,  210. 

"Adelaide  Lisetta  Fries,"  article 
by  Douglas  LeTell  Rights,  1-7. 

Adeline,  or  the  Victim  of  Seduction, 
interests  Raleigh  audiences,  351. 

Advisory  Budget  Commission,  esti- 
mates  prepared   for,   591. 

Advisory  Committee  on  Historical 
Markers,  Elisha  P.  Douglas  acts 
on,  297. 

Agricultural  industries,  described, 
534-538. 

Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege, established,  578%. 

Agriculture,  book  on  legal  aspects 
of,  reviewed,  587;  subject  of  arti- 
cles in  World's  Work,  492 ;  W.  H. 
Page  promotes,  496. 

Alamance  Cotton  Mills,  established, 
578%. 

Alamance;  or,  the  Great  and  Final 
Experiment,  written  by  C.  H. 
Wiley,  500. 

Albemarle,  settlement  of,  encourag- 
ed, 230. 

Alden,  John  Richard,  his  book, 
General  Charles  Lee:  Traitor  or 
Patriot?  received,  155;  reviewed, 
123. 

Alderman,  Edwin  A.,  chided  for 
prejudice,  490;  writes  for  World's 
Work,  493. 


Alderson,  William  T.,  article  on 
"The  Freedmen's  Bureau  and 
Negro  Education  in  Virginia," 
64-90. 

Alexander,  James,  assistant  asses- 
sor, 526%. 

Alexander  County,  lacks  library 
service,  397. 

Alexandria,  (Va.),  Negro  normal 
school  established  at,  75,  82 ;  pub- 
lic school  system  begun  at,  79. 

Allen,  Eleazar,  settles  in  Cape  Fear 
section,  231. 

Allcott,  John,  elected  vice-president, 
150. 

Allston,  R.  F.  W.,  mentions  class 
differences,  46;  wins  prize,  51. 

Alston,  Mrs.  George,  home  lent  to, 
560%;  Pamela  Savage  visits, 
560%. 

Alston,  Phillip,  home  of,  subject  of 
article,  592. 

American  Association  of  Museums, 
Joye  E.  Jordan  attends  meeting 
of,  473. 

American  Colonization  Society, 
auxiliaries  organized,  556%; 
works  in  Liberia,  556%. 

American  Freedmen's  Union  Com- 
mission, works  for  freedmen's 
education,  66. 

American  Historical  Association, 
Harold  A.  Bierck,  Jr.,  elected 
secretary-treasurer  of,  298 ;  holds 
annual  meeting,  299;  mentioned, 
145. 

American  Library  Association, 
makes  recommendation,  395;  of- 
fers plan  for  developing  libra- 
ries, 381;  sets  standards,  381; 
urges  help  from  the  state,  395. 

American  Missionary  Association, 
mentioned,  83;  opens  first  freed- 
men's school,  66;  reports  on  Ne- 
gro education  65,  71;  sponsors 
Normal  and  Agricultural  Insti- 
tute at  Hampton,  76;  works  for 
freedmen's  education,  66. 

American  Revolution,  absence  of 
mob  rule  noted  in,  332;  influ- 
enced by  Stamp  Act  struggle, 
342;  mentioned,  24,  30,  37,  331. 

American  Sociology,  Howard  W. 
Odum  writes,  254. 

"American  Tom  Thumb,"  performs 
in  City  Hall,  355. 

Americans  before  Columbus,  Eliza- 
beth Chesley  Baity  writes,  249; 


[  602  ] 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


603 


Frontis  W.  Johnston  comments 
on,  249. 

Amis,  Julius,  appointed  State  Li- 
brary Supervisor,  382. 

Anatole  France  and  the  Greek 
World,  Loring  Baker  Walton 
writes,  256. 

Anderson,  Mrs.  Edward  M.,  elect- 
ed director  of  publicity,  466; 
elected  secretary,  301 ;  remains 
vice-president,  150. 

Andrews,  Joseph,  activities  of,  in 
North  Carolina,  551ft;  mention- 
ed, 552ft. 

Anglican  Church,  colonies  oppose 
establishment  of,   340. 

Annual  Register,  carries  chapters 
on  Stamp  Act  conflict,  317. 

Annual  Report  of  the  Historical 
Commission  of  South  Carolina  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  South 
Carolina  at  the  Regular  Session 
of  1952,  received,  473. 

"Ante-Bellum  Professional  Theater 
in  Raleigh,  The,  "  article  by  Don- 
ald J.  Rulfs,  344-358. 

Appalachian  State  Teachers  Col- 
lege, historical  societies  engage 
rooms  at,  473;  host  to  historical 
societies,    594. 

Appalua,  Juan  de  Oribe,  commands 
Spanish  fleet,  310. 

Appeal  to  Arms:  A  Military  His- 
tory of  the  American  Revolution, 
received,  152. 

Applewhite,  Joseph  Davis,  article, 
"Some  Aspects  of  Society  in  Ru- 
ral South  Carolina  in  1850,"  39- 
63 ;  reviews  Storm  Over  Savan- 
nah: The  Story  of  Count  d'Es- 
taing  and  the  Siege  of  the  Town 
in  1799,  445. 

Archaeological  Society  of  North 
Carolina,  holds  field  meeting,  594. 

Armstrong,  Samuel  Chapman,  ac- 
tive in  organizing  Normal  and 
Agricultural  Institute,  76. 

Army  Air  Force  in  World  War  II, 
The,  volume  III,  Arthur  B.  Fer- 
guson writes  for,  465;  received, 
596. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  mentioned,  567ft, 

Arrington,  Archibald  Hunter,  elect- 
ed to  First  Congress,  365. 

Arrington,  Mrs.  Katherine  Pendle- 
ton, discusses  Elizabethan  gar- 
den project,  150;  elected  presi- 
dent, 149 ;  remains  vice-president, 
150. 

Asbury,  Francis,  describes  Bruns- 
wick, 245. 

Ashe,  John,  prevents  landing  of 
stamps,  334. 


Ashe,  John  Baptista,  settles  in 
Cape  Fear  section,  231. 

Ashe,  Thomas  Samuel,  conserva- 
tives elect,  366;  elected  to  First 
Congress,  365. 

Ashe  County  Historical  Society, 
Christopher  Crittenden  address- 
es 595;  elects  officers,  466;  or- 
ganized, 301. 

Asheville,  Daughters  of  Confed- 
eracy hold  convention  in,  146; 
history  of  church  at,  published, 
579. 

Asheville-Biltmore  College,  receives 
profits  from  "Thunderland,"  466. 

Ashmun,  Jehudi,  agent  of  coloniza- 
tion society,  556ft. 

Askew,  Mrs.  E.  S.,  reads  paper, 
146. 

Atlantic  Monthly,  The,  given  na- 
tional outlook,  492;  publishes 
stories  by  C.  W.  Chesnutt,  585; 
W.  H.  Page  articles  to  appear 
in,  495;  W.  H.  Page  edits,  488; 
W.  H.  Page  writes  for,  483. 

Avery,  Mrs.  L.  T.,  represents  com- 
munity, 467. 

Avery,  William  Waightstill,  con- 
tributor to  North  Carolina  Read- 
er, 507;  elected  delegate,  361;  op- 
poses tax  bill,  363;  supports 
George  Davis,  366. 

Aycock,  Charles  B.,  writes  for  Wal- 
ter Hines  Page,  488. 

Ayllon,  Vasquez  de,  brigantine  of, 
lost,  582. 


B 


Babcock,  T.,  advises  C.  H.  Wiley, 
502. 

Badger,  George  E.,  passes  law  ex- 
amination,   164. 

Badger,  Lawrence,  contributor  to 
North  Carolina  Reader,  507ft. 

Bailey,  George,  plays  leading  comic 
roles,  356. 

Bailey,  J.  O.,  his  book,  The  South- 
ern Humanities  Conference  and 
Its  Constituent  Societies,  receiv- 
ed 153;  reviewed,  286. 

Baity,  Elizabeth  Chesley,  writes 
Americans  before  Columbus,  249. 

Baker,  Blanche  Egerton,  her  book, 
Mrs.  G.  I.  Joe,  received,  154;  re- 
viewed, 434. 

Baker,  Isaac,  marries  Mary  A.  Gil- 
liam, 561ft. 

Baker,  O.  E.,  work  of,  cited,  525ft, 
530. 

Baltimore  (Md.),  described,  566, 
566ft. 


604 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Bancroft,  George,  his  History  of 
the  United  States  used  as  source, 
506n. 

Bank  of  Cape  Fear,  opened,  558w. 

Bank  of  New  Bern,  offers  theater 
for  sale,  346. 

Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  re- 
ports progress  in  educational 
work,  71;  works  for  freedmen's 
education,  66. 

"Bar  Examination  and  Beginning 
Years  of  Legal  Practice  in  North 
Carolina,  1820-1860,  The,"  article 
by  Fannie  Memory  Farmer,  159- 
170. 

Barber,  F.  I.,  elected  director,  149. 
Bardolph,  Richard,  receives  fel- 
lowship, 465;  reviews  The  United 
States,  1830-1850:  The  Nation 
and  Its  Sections,  142. 

Barnes,  A.  S.,  and  Company,  buys 
copyright  for  North  Carolina 
Reader,  522. 

Barnes,  William,  Raleigh  theater 
presents  plays  of,  350. 

Barnett,  John,  preaches  in  Bruns- 
wick, 237. 

Barre  Isaac,  opposes  Stamp  Bill, 
325. 

Barringer,  D.  L.,  wages  vigorous 
campaign,  184. 

Barringer,  D.  M.,  contributor  to 
North  Carolina  Reader,  501n; 
letter  from,  103. 

Barron,  Samuel,  commands  Fort 
Hatteras,  214;  surrenders  Fort 
Hatteras,  215. 

Bass,  C.  H.,  elected  recorder  of 
crosses,   146. 

Bassett,  John  Spencer,  starts 
Quarterly,  298. 

Bath  Paper  Mills,  becomes  leading 
factory,  223;  operates  at  begin- 
ning of  Civil  War,  227;  organ- 
ized, 227. 

Battle,  Kemp  P.,  mentioned,  163. 

Battle,  William  Horn,  begins  law 
practice,  169 ;  receives  law 
licenses,  161. 

Battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  com- 
memorated in  play,  591;  subject 
of  address,  594. 

Bayley,  T.  Haynes,  has  play  pre- 
sented, 353. 

Beal,  Marjorie,  appeals  to  General 
Assembly,  396;  works  for  library 
program,  399. 

Beaufort  County,  operates  WPA 
library,  394. 

Beaufort-Hyde-Martin  Regional  Li- 
brary, established,  394. 

Beck,  Samuel  E.,  edits  To  Make 
My  Bread:  Preparing  Cherokee 
Foods,  120,  153. 


Bedford,  John,  assumes  command 
of  Moonlight,  311. 

Beeler,  John,  returns  to  Woman's 
College,  590. 

Behold  Virginia!  The  Fifth  Crown, 
received,  596;  reviewed,  583. 

Belvidera,  identified,  547n;  Labaree 
party  books  passage  on,  547. 

Benjamin  Hawkins,  Indian  Agent, 
received,  596. 

Bennett,  Elaine  C,  compiles  Pre- 
liminary Inventories,  No.  32 — 
Records  of  the  Accounting  De- 
partment of  the  Office  of  Price 
Administration,  153;  compiles 
Records  of  the  Accounting  De- 
partment of  the  Office  of  Price 
Administration,  293. 

Benton,  Samuel,  Granville  county 
seat  transferred  to  plantation  of, 
550n. 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  letter  from,  92. 

Bergh,  Christian,  builds  packet, 
567n. 

Bernhardt,  M.  F.,  letter  from,  575. 

Bertie  County  Historical  Associa- 
tion, holds  fall  meeting,  146; 
holds  spring  meeting,  467;  Hugh 
Lefler  addresses,  467;  mentioned, 
470;  receives  portrait,  146. 

Bible,  The,  King  James  Version  of, 
Clarence  H.  Brannon  analyzes, 
248. 

"Bibliography  and  the  Editorial 
Problem  in  the  Eighteenth  Cen- 
tury," William  B.  Todd  publish- 
es, 297. 

Bibliography  of  North  Carolina 
Histories,  A,  published,  595. 

Bierck,  Harold  A.,  Jr.,  appears  on 
Southern  Historical  Association 
program,  148;  elected  secretary- 
treasurer,  298. 

Biggs,  Jeannette,  elected  registrar, 
146. 

Bingham  School,  mentioned,  573n; 
W.  H.  Page  attends,  482. 

Binkley,  William  writes  The  Texas 
Revolution,  597. 

Biography  of  a  Country  Church, 
Garland  A.  Hendricks  writes, 
252. 

Bird,  W.  E.,  discusses  plans  of 
Western  North  Carolina  His- 
torical Association,  594;  elected 
president,  468. 

Bishop,  Anna,  gives  costume  recit- 
al, 357. 

Bishop,  Betty,  unveils  marker,  471. 

Bishop,  Julian,  elected  third  vice- 
president,  467;  represents  com- 
munity in  historical  association, 
467. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


605 


Black,  Robert  C,  writes  The  Rail- 
roads of  the  Confederacy,  597. 

Black,  Samuel  P.,  conducts  acad- 
emy, 190. 

Blackbeard.  A  Comedy,  in  Four 
Acts.  Founded  on  Fact,  Depart- 
ment of  Archives  and  History 
publishes,  471. 

Bladen  County,  Tryon  addresses 
men  of,  333. 

Blair,  Francis  Preston,  Jr.,  men- 
tioned, 574. 

Blair,  Hugh,  Sermons  of,  become 
popular,  22. 

Blair,  Montgomery,  mentioned,  204. 

Blenning,  Hugh,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Bloom,  Leonard,  writes  Cherokee 
Dance  and  Drama,  152. 

Blue  Devils,  The,  mentioned,  349. 

Blue  Ridge  Parkway,  mentioned, 
472. 

Blumenthal,  Walter  Hart,  writes 
Women  Camp  Followers  of  the 
American   Revolution,    597. 

Blythe,  Legette,  writes  A  Tear  for 
Judas,  248. 

Board  of  Trade,  Tryon  asks  troops 
of,  336;  Tryon  writes,  333,  336. 

Bodde,  Derk,  speaks  at  Social  Sci- 
ence Forum,  145. 

Bolivar,  Simon,  statue  of,  men- 
tioned, 547. 

Bombastes  Furioso,  presented  to 
Raleigh  audience,  350. 

"Book  Pedlar's  Progress  in  North 
Carolina,  A,"  article  by  James 
S.  Purcell,  8-23. 

Boone,  historical  societies  hold 
meeting  at,  473,  594. 

Borde,  Juan  de,  Christopher  New- 
port takes  articles  from,  315; 
Little  John  attacks  ship  of,  311 ; 
loses  ship,  312. 

Bost,  Mrs.  W.  T.,  placed  on  execu- 
tive committee,  300. 

Boston  Journal,  comments  on  Bat- 
tle of  Bull  Run,  204. 

Boston  Transcript,  mentioned,  495. 

Bourbon  Democracy  in  Alabama, 
187U-1890,  received,  155;  review- 
ed, 288. 

Boyce,  Ker,  elected,  222. 

Boyd,  Elizabeth,  marries  P.  H. 
Winston,  571%. 

Boyd,  Mrs.  James,  represents  com- 
munity, 467. 

Brady,  M.  A.,  signs  affidavit,  266. 

Bragg,   Braxton,   mentioned,    563%. 

Bragg,  Jefferson  Davis,  reviews 
Origins  of  the  New  South,  1877- 
1913,  447. 

Bragg,  Thomas,  mentioned,  563%. 


Branch,  Mrs.  Ernest  A.,  remains 
secretary-treasurer,   150. 

Brannon,  Clarence  H.,  classifies 
Biblical  characters,  248;  writes 
An  Introduction  to  the  Bible, 
248. 

Branson,  E.  C,  member  of  Wa- 
tauga Club,  493;  writes  for 
World's  Work,  493. 

Braverman,  Howard,  article,  "Cal- 
vin H.  Wiley's  North  Carolina 
Reader,"  500-522. 

Brawley,  James  S.,  interested  in 
Western  North  Carolina  Histor- 
ical Society,  468;  mentioned,  470. 

Brewster,  Lawrence  F.,  reads 
paper,  471 ;  reviews  St.  Mich- 
ael's, Charleston,  1751-1951,  438. 

Bricknell,  William  A.,  buys  paper 
mill,  220. 

Bridgers,  Robert  Rufus,  against 
peace  negotiations,  374;  delegate 
to  Second  Congress,  373 ;  elected 
to  First  Congress,  365;  fears  for 
North  Carolina,  371;  gains  ad- 
mission to  the  bar,  160. 

Bridges,  Early  W.,  writes  Greens- 
boro Lodge  No.  76,  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.,  253. 

British  government,  governors  in- 
structed by,  320;  urged  to  aid 
North  Carolina's  currency,  328. 
See  also.  England. 

British  Museum,  Henry  McCulloh 
documents  found  in,  462. 

British  West  Indies,  Wilmington 
ships  to,  235. 

Britton's  Cross  Road  (Roxobel), 
mentioned,  467. 

Brooks,  Stella  Brewer,  writes  Joel 
Chandler  Harris — Folklorist,  152. 

Brooklyn  Union,  W.  H.  Page  works 
for,  586,  588. 

Brooks,  Aubrey  Lee,  elected  vice- 
president,  147;  writes  A  South- 
ern Lawyer,  258. 

Brothers  House,  Old  Salem,  Incor- 
porated, plans  restoration  of, 
469. 

Brown,  Aycock,  remains  vice-presi- 
dent,  150. 

Brown,  Cecil  K.,  reads  paper,  147; 
reviews  Economic  Resources  and 
Policies  of  the  South,  138;  re- 
views The  Railroad  Monopoly : 
An  Instrument  of  Banker  Con- 
trol of  the  American  Economy, 
455. 

Brown,  Frederick,  appears  in 
Raleigh  theater,  349,  350. 

Brown,  Joseph  E.,  mentioned,  481; 
takes  command  of  party,  587. 


606 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Brown,  Leonidas,  letter  from,  569; 
would  establish  newspaper,  569. 

Brown,  Marvin  L.,  Jr.,  becomes  as- 
sistant professor,  269. 

Brown,  Neal,  letter  from,  572 ;  suf- 
fers in  war,  573. 

Brown,  Orlando,  appointed  assist- 
ant commissioner,  64;  urges 
freedmen  to  educate  themselves, 
68. 

Brown,  Sumner,  hired  as  superin- 
tendent, 222. 

Brown,  Thomas,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Brunswick,    abandoned,    244;    Ar- 
thur  Dobbs    comments    on,    240 
becomes    county    seat,    233;    be 
comes      political      center,      234 
boasts  interesting  buildings,  240 
citizens    of,    seek    independence 
242;    develops    large    port,    235 
Diligence  brings  stamps  to,  334 
Edward  Moseley  resides  in,  241 
experiences    shipping    loss,    236 
growth  of,  encouraged,  234;  John 
Lapierre  preaches  in,  237 ;  Mau- 
rice    Moore    founds,     232,     239; 
offers  field  for  archaeologist,  245; 
port    of,    mentioned,    322 ;    port 
officials    move    to,    234;     resists 
royal      governor,      242;      Robert 
Hunter  writes  of  destruction  of, 
244;     sees    noisy    merrymaking, 
241 ;    Spanish   privateers   attack, 
236;  struggles  with  British,  243; 
William    Dry    becomes    collector 
for,     326;     William     Pennington 
becomes  comptroller  at,  326 ;  Wil- 
mington   delegation   marches   to, 
335. 

Brunswick  County,  lacks  complete 
library  service,  393,  397;  Tryon 
addresses  men   of,   333. 

Bryan,  William  Alfred,  writes, 
George  Washington  in  Ameri- 
can Literature,  1775-1865,  596. 

Bryan,  William  Jennings,  mention- 
ed, 491. 

Buggs  Island  Reservoir,  archaeol- 
ogy of,  discussed,  594. 

Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen  and 
Abandoned  Lands,  organized,  64. 

Burgoyne,  John,  mentioned,  565. 

Burgwyn,  Mebane  Holoman,  voice 
of,  recorded,  593 ;  writes  Penny 
Rose,  598. 

Burke,  Thomas,  home  of,  visited, 
593. 

Burrington,  George,  becomes  gov- 
ernor, 231 ;  shows  interest  in 
Cape  Fear  section,  231. 

Burton,  Robert,  presents  land, 
555?2. 


Burton,  W.  Frank,  addresses  North 
Carolina  Society  of  Tax  Super- 
visors, 145;  appointed  chairman 
of  Committee  on  Historical  Ma- 
terials, 472;  attends  Southern 
Historical  Association  meeting, 
148;  speaks  before  Society  of 
American  Archivists,  146. 

Busbee,  Isabel  B.,  elected  first  vice- 
president,  151. 

Busbee,  Isabel  Donaldson,  mention- 
ed, 552n. 

Busbee,  Mrs.  Jacques,  elected  vice- 
president,  150. 

Busbee,  Sophia,  mentioned,  552n. 

Business  Executives  and  the  Hu- 
manities, reviewed,  456. 

Butler,  Benjamin  F.,  celebrates 
victory,  216;  commands  New 
York  Volunteers,  210;  mention- 
ed, 572;  offers  terms,  215;  Phila- 
delphia Public  Ledger  criticizes, 
217;  tells  of  fall  of  Hatteras, 
204. 

Buttrick,  Wallace,  introduces  Sea- 
man A.  Knapp,  496;  memo  to, 
495;  mentioned,  496. 

Byrd,  William,  mentioned,  522. 

Byrnes,  James,  mentioned  in  The 
Man  of  Independence,  250. 


Cabarrus  County,  lacks  complete 
library,  393. 

Caesar,  Julius,  examines  for  the 
admiralty,  314. 

Cains,  Christopher,  resides  in 
Brunswick,  241. 

Cains,  John,  resides  in  Brunswick, 
241. 

Cairns,  John,  leaves  Woman's  Col- 
lege, 590. 

Caldwell,  Andrew,  principal  county 
assessor,  526w. 

Caldwell,  D.  F.,  C.  H.  Wiley  writes, 
507%   509. 

Caldwell,  J*.  F.  J.,  his  book,  The 
History  of  a  Brigade  of  South 
Carolinians,  received,  154;  re- 
viewed,  124. 

Caldwell,  James  H.,  gives  Shake- 
spearian performance,  347 ;  man- 
ages Raleigh  theater,  347. 

Caldwell,  John  Edwards,  writes  A 
Tour  Through  Part  of  Virginia 
in  the  Summer  of  1808,  597. 

Caldwell,  Joseph,  becomes  univer- 
sity president,  201;  checks  stu- 
dents' amusements,  200;  men- 
tioned, 193;  teaches  mathematics, 
191. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


607 


Caldwell,  Tod  R.,  seeks  advice,  159. 

Caldwell,  Wallace  E.,  publishes 
Readings  in  Ancient  History, 
297 ;  teaches  at  University  of 
North  Carolina,  297. 

Caldwell  Institute  (Greensboro), 
Wiley  attends,  91. 

Calhoun,  John  C,  influence  of, 
587. 

Callahan,  North,  writes  Smoky 
Mountain  Country,  597. 

Calvin,  John,  Clarence  H.  Brannon 
differs  with,  248. 

"Calvin  H.  Wiley's  North  Carolina 
Reader,"  article  by  Howard 
Braverman,  500-522. 

Camden  County,  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints 
microfilms  records  in,  295. 

Cameron,  Simon,  stresses  holding 
Cape  Hatteras,  217. 

Campbell,  Hugh,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Canby,  Edward  R.  S.,  letter  from, 
117,  262,  406;  letter  to,  110,  112, 
115,  116,  401,  404. 

Cannon,  C.  V.,  elected  vice-presi- 
dent,  300. 

Cannon,  Mrs.  Charles  A.,  remains 
president,   150. 

Canova,  Antonio,  statue  by,  de- 
scribed,  558,   558%. 

Cape  Fear  region,  boasts  large 
plantations,  232 ;  grows  rich  in 
livestock,  235;  imports  supplies, 
236;  John  A.  Oates  writes  of, 
252 ;  Lords  Properietors  lose  in- 
terest in,  230 ;  Maurice  Moore 
draws  settlers  to,  231 ;  presents 
desolate  scene,  230 ;  produces 
naval  supplies,  231,  235;  sends 
supplies  to  Boston,  243;  Wil- 
mington becomes  leading  town 
of,  233. 

Cape  Fear  River,  Carolinians  re- 
sume trade  on,  337 ;  Henry  Mc- 
Culloh  receives  land  grants  on, 
28;  settlements  prohibited  near, 
230;  shipping  on,  restricted,  334; 
Stamp  Act  enforced  on,  335. 

Capitol  (Washington,  D.  C),  his- 
story  of,  566n. 

Carey,  Mathew,  John  Steele  writes, 
16;  M.  L.  Weems  sells  books  for, 
10;  Weems  writes,  15;  publishes 
works  of  Weems,  18. 

Carolina  Beach,  State  Literary  and 
Historical  Association  holds 
meeting  at,  468. 

Carolina  Comments,  Department 
of  Archives  and  History  pub- 
lishes, 471. 

Carolina      Paper      Manufacturing 


Company,  manufactures  book 
paper,  224. 

Carolina  Times,  has  difficulty  in 
buying  paper,  225. 

Carpenter,  L.  L.,  elected  to  execu- 
tive committee,  152. 

Carr,  Mrs.  Elias,  appointed  on  sub- 
committee, 470;  mentioned,  470; 
remains  vice-president,  150. 

Carraway,  Gertrude  S.,  remains  on 
board  of  directors,  151. 

Carroll,  E.  Malcolm,  responsible 
for  publishing  Documents  on 
German  Foreign  Policy,  1918- 
19 %5,  from  the  Archives  of  the 
German  Foreign  Ministry,  Series 
D  (1937-1943)  Germany  and  the 
Spanish  Civil  War,  1936-1939, 
144. 

Carter,  Clarence  Edwin,  edits  The 
Territorial  Papers  of  the  United 
States,  volume  XV,  The  Terri- 
tory of  Louisiana-Missouri,  1815- 
1821,   290. 

Caruthers,  E.  W.,  his  Sketch  of  the 
Life  and  Character  of  the  Rev. 
David  Caldwell,  D.  D.  used  as 
source,  506n. 

Castle  Spectre,  The,  played  for 
Raleigh  audience,  350. 

Caswell  County,  joins  in  library 
agreement,  394. 

Cate,  James  Lea,  writes  The  Army 
Air  Forces  in  World  War  II, 
volume  III,  Europe:  Argument 
to  V-E  Day,  January  19 UU  to 
May  19Jf5,  596. 

Catherine  and  Petruchio,  proves 
popular  in  Raleigh,  351. 

Cathey,  F.  A.,  Jr.,  aids  in  forming 
historical  society,  467. 

Caulkin,  Jonathan,  resides  in 
Brunswick,  241. 

Cauthen,  C.  E.,  reviews  Colonial 
South  Carolina:  Two.  Contem- 
porary Descriptions,  441. 

Caziarc,  Louis  V.,  letter  to,  259. 

Champlain  (New  York),  has 
French  element,  350?^;  history  of, 
546n;  Pamela  Savage  returns  to, 
540. 

Chapel  Hill,  amusements  at,  200; 
James  Polk's  companions  at,  199 ; 
Mason  Locke  Weems  sells  books 
in,  18;  mentioned,  202;  Society 
of  County  and  Local  Historians 
tours,  593 ;  trustees  arrive  in, 
202;  writers  of,  interested  in 
Mayflower  Cup,  246. 

Chapman,  Robert,  mentioned,  191 ; 
opposes  War  of  1812,  200;  re- 
signs, 201. 


608 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Charles  A.  Cannon  award,  pre- 
sented, 150. 

Charles  B.  Aycock  Memorial  Com- 
mission, launches  campaign,  469. 

Charles  Waddell  Chesnutt:  Pioneer 
of  the  Color  Line,  received,  596; 
reviewed,  585. 

Charleston,  assumes  role  of  lead- 
ing port,  236;  British  troops  sail 
towards,  243;  mentioned,  225; 
Nathaniel  Tucker  visits,  255. 

Charleston  Theater,  Frederick 
Brown  leaves,  349;  James  H. 
Caldwell  plays  in,  347. 

Charlotte  Observer,  applauds  W. 
H.  Page,  489. 

Charlottesville  Normal  School,  es- 
tablished, 82;  mentioned,  87. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  appoints  J.  T. 
Deweese,  574%. 

Chatham  County,  bookmobile  be- 
gins operations  in,  388;  joins  in 
library  agreement,  394. 

Chavis,  John,  sketch  of,  556%;  sup- 
plies as  pastor,  554%. 

Cherokee,  reproduction  of  Indian 
village  at,  opened,  592. 

Cherokee  County,  joins  in  regional 
library,  394. 

Cherokee  Dance  and  Drama,  re- 
ceived, 152. 

Cherokee  Historical  Association 
opens  reproduction  of  village,  592. 

Cherokees,  show  respect  for  Tryon, 
333. 

Cherry,  June,  joins  microfilm  staff, 
595. 

Chesnutt,  Charles  Waddell,  book 
about,  585. 

Chesnutt,  Helen  M.,  her  Charles 
Waddell  Chesnutt:  Pioneer  of  the 
Color  Line,  received,  596;  review- 
ed, 585. 

Chicago  World's  Fair,  North  Caro- 
lina desk  sent  to,  296. 

Child  labor,  W.  H.  Page  not  con- 
cerned with,  497;  World's  Work 
publishes  article  on,  492. 

Christian,  Samuel  H.,  delegate  to 
Second  Congress,  373. 

Christian,  William,  lays  out  city, 
558%. 

"Christopher  Newport  in  1590," 
article  by  David  B.  Quinn,  305- 
316. 

Chronicle.  See  State  Cronicle. 

Chunn's  Cove,  "Thunderland"  pro- 
duced at,  466. 

Citizen's  Library  Movement,  inter- 
cedes for  public  libraries,  398. 

Clark,  Joseph  D.,  elected  to  serve 
on  council,  151. 

Clark,  Walter,  member  of  Watauga 
Club,  493. 


Clay,  Howard,  presides  at  meeting 
of  historical  society,  593. 

Clay  County,  joins  in  regional  li- 
brary, 394. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  mentioned,  498. 

Clingman,  Thomas  Lanier,  mention- 
ed, 184;  supports  George  Davis, 
366. 

Clinton,  WPA  provides  for  library 
at,  391. 

Clous,  J.  C,  letter  to,  104. 

Clyde,  Paul  H.,  takes  part  in  his- 
torical meetings,  148,  299. 

Cobb,  Howell,  criticized,  587;  men- 
tioned, 586. 

Cobb,  Lyman,  edits  North  American 
Reader,  500. 

Cocke,  Abraham,  commands  Harry 
and  John,  307 ;  increases  his  fleet, 
308;  sails  for  Cape  San  Antonio, 
310 ;  sails  for  Virginia,  310. 

Coe,  Joffre  L.,  elected  president, 
148;  reads  paper,  147;  speaks  on 
excavation  work,  594. 

Coker  College,  Joseph  C.  Robert 
elected  president  of,  466. 

Colburn,  B.  S.,  elected  vice-presi- 
dent, 152. 

Coleman,  George,  writes  The  Moun- 
taineers, 348. 

Coleman,  R.  V.,  his  book,  Liberty 
and  Property,  received,  154;  re- 
viewed, 138. 

College  Life  at  Old  Oglethorpe,  re- 
ceived, 155;  reviewed,  128. 

College  Life  in  the  Old  South,  re- 
ceived, 155;  reviewed,  136. 

Colonial  Dames  of  America, 
Christopher  Crittenden  addresses 
Granville-Warren  Committee  of, 
595;  restore  church,  549%. 

Colonial  Records  of  South  Carolina 
— The  Journal  of  the  Commons 
House  of  Assembly,  November 
10,  1736-June  7,  1939,  received, 
152,  595. 

Colonial  South  Carolina:  Two  Con- 
temporary Descriptions,  received, 
596;  reviewed,  440. 

Colton,  Joel  G.,  becomes  assistant 
professor  at  Duke,  590;  writes 
Compulsory  Labor  Arbitration  in 
France,  1936-1939,  144. 

Colton,  Simeon,  contributor  to 
North  Carolina  Reader,  507. 

Columbus  County,  lacks  complete 
library,  393. 

Combs,  Gilbert  R.,  delivers  address, 
151. 

Compton,  Spencer,  Wilmington 
named  for,  562%. 

Compulsory  Labor  Arbitration  in 
France,  ^1936-1939,  Joel  G.  Col- 
ton writes,  144. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


609 


Conclude,  attacks  El  Buen  Jesus, 
310;  joins  Mary  Terlanye,  308; 
owners  of,  bring  action,  313;  re- 
turns to  England,  313;  sails  for 
Azores,  310. 

Confederacy,  crops  pass  through 
ports  of,  363;  policies  of,  Edwin 
G.  Reade  deplores,  372;  financed 
inadequately,  362;  North  Caro- 
lina debates  taxes  of,  368;  ratifies 
constitution,  360;  strives  for 
manpower  control,  363;  Zebulon 
Vance  against  leaving,  372. 

Confederate  Congress,  advises  se- 
cession, 359 ;  approves  produce 
loan  program,  369 ;  dismayed  by 
fall  of  Hatteras,  204;  enacts  ha- 
beas corpus  laws,  369;  establish- 
es policies,  361 ;  gives  executive 
power  to  purchase  vessels  of  war, 
369;  permits  suspension  of  ha- 
beas corpus,  369;  prohibits  im- 
portation of  luxuries,  369 ;  stud- 
ies plans  for  funding,  368.  See 
also  First  Permanent  Congress, 
Second  Permanent  Congress,  and 
Provisional  Congress. 

Confederate  Laboratory  (Labora- 
tory), marker  to,  unveiled,  591. 

Conference  on  Latin  American  His- 
tory, elects  Harold  A.  Bierck,  Jr., 
secretary-treasurer,  298. 

Congress,  history  of,  54672;  Pamela 
Savage  boards,  546. 

Connery,  Robert  H.,  writes  The 
Navy  and  Industrial  Mobiliza- 
tion in  World  War  II,  253. 

Conscripted  City:  The  Story  of 
Norfolk  in  World  War  II,  receiv- 
ed, 596;  reviewed,  443. 

Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
North  Carolina  has  official  copy 
of,  592. 

Cooke,  W.  D.,  identifies  letter  writ- 
er, 516;  publishes  Weekly  Post, 
511;  reprints  review  of  North 
Carolina  Reader,  511. 

Cooper,  Bell,  supplies  information, 
553n. 

Copeland,  J.  Isaac,  reviews  Univer- 
sity of  South  Carolina,  volume  I, 
South  Carolina  College,  437. 

Corbitt,  David  Leroy,  addresses 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, 299;  addresses  Gaston 
County  citizens,  467;  addresses 
Junior  League  of  Raleigh,  299; 
appointed  chairman  of  commit- 
tee, 300;  assists  in  organizing 
historical  societies,  300;  attends 
meeting  of  Society  of  American 
Archivists,  146;  attends  Southern 
Historical  Association  meeting, 
148;   elected  program  chairman, 


147;  interested  in  Western  North 
Carolina  Historical  Society,  468; 
speaks  before  historical  society, 
592;  speaks  before  Rotary  Club, 
473. 

Cordon,  Mrs.  James  H.,  elected 
treasurer,  150. 

Cornelius,  Roberta  D.,  her  book, 
The  History  of  Randolph-Macon 
Woman's  College:  From  the 
Founding  in  1891  Through  the 
Year  194.9-1950,  received,  154;  re- 
viewed, 133. 

Cornwallis,  Charles,  attempts  to 
conquer  North  Carolina,  243; 
mentioned,  565;  proclamations  of, 
4. 

Corporation  of  Wilmington,  defends 
Stamp   Act  position,   339. 

Cotton,  Mrs.  Lyman  A.  (Elizabeth 
H.),  aids  in  securing  Virginia 
Dare  desk,  296;  gives  gavel  to 
State  Department  of  Archives 
and  History,  296;  remains  on 
board  of  directors,  296. 

Cotton  Plant,  makes  maiden  voy- 
age, 563?2. 

Couch,  W.  T.,  writes  Culture  in  the 
South,  40. 

Coulter,  E.  Merton,  his  book,  Col- 
lege Life  in  the  Old  South,  re- 
ceived, 155;  reviewed,  136. 

Cox,  A.  G.,  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, records  of,  accessioned, 
296. 

Cox,  Gertrude  A.,  supplies  infor- 
mation, 540?t. 

Cracker  Parties,  reviewed,  586. 

Craige,  Francis  Burton,  elected 
delegate,  361;  John  Giles  writes 
recommendation  for,  162;  opposes 
administration  measures,  364;  op- 
poses tax  bill,  363;  opposes  volun- 
teer control,  364;  Rowan  Public 
Library  dedicated  to,  145. 

Craven,  Wesley  Frank,  writes  The 
Army  Air  Force  in  World  War 
II,  volume  III,  Europe:  Argu- 
ment to  V-E  Day,  January  1944. 
to  May  1945,  596. 

Creek  Indian  square,  meaning  of, 
discussed,  594. 

Crenshaw,  Herbert,  elected  director, 
149. 

Crisp,  Lucy  Cherry,  elected  execu- 
tive secretary,  150. 

Crittenden,  Christopher,  accepts 
award  for  Fessenden  National 
Memorial  Association,  470;  ad- 
dresses Ashe  County  Historical 
Society,  595;  addresses  Colonial 
Dames,  595;  addresses  Eastern 
States  Archaeological  Federation, 
147;    addresses    Historical    Com- 


610 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


mission  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,  595;  addresses  Re- 
source-Use Education  Confer- 
ence, 595;  addresses  St.  Augus- 
tine's College,  299;  addresses  Se- 
same Club  of  Faison,  299;  ad- 
dresses Trinity  College  Historical 
Society,  147;  addresses  United 
Daughters  of  the  Confederacy, 
595;  appears  on  Southern  His- 
torical Association  program,  148 ; 
appointed  chairman  of  Society  of 
American  Archivists'  Committee 
on  Long-Range  Planning,  299; 
appointed  on  subcommittee,  470; 
article,  "Papers  from  the  Fifty- 
First  Annual  Session  of  the  State 
Literary  and  Historical  Associa- 
tion, Raleigh,  December,  1951," 
228-229 ;  attends  meeting,  145 ;  at- 
tends meeting  of  National  Coun- 
cil for  Historic  Sites  and  Build- 
ings, 299,  472 ;  attends  meeting  of 
National  Trust  for  Historic  Pres- 
ervation in  the  United  States, 
472;  attends  reopening  of  Wood- 
lawn  Plantation,  472;  attends 
unveiling  of  highway  marker, 
591 ;  delivers  marker  address, 
145;  discusses  preservation  of 
historic  sites,  595;  interested  in 
marking  historic  sites,  472;  men- 
tioned, 148,  470 ;  placed  on  execu- 
tive committee,  300;  placed  on 
museum  committee,  295;  placed 
on  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Day  Com- 
mittee, 300;  re-elected  secretary- 
treasurer,  152;  speaks  before 
Florida  Historical  Society,  472; 
speaks  before  Society  of  Ameri- 
can Archivists,  146. 

Croom,  Mrs.  Dan,  elected  recording 
secretary,  146. 

Cross-Creek,  public  demonstration 
occurs  in,  331. 

Crudup,  Josiah,  wages  vigorous 
campaign,  184. 

Culture  in  the  South,  W.  T.  Couch 
writes,  40. 

Cumberland,  fires  on  Fort  Clark, 
212;  fires  on  Fort  Hatteras,  214; 
used  in  attack  on  Hatteras,  210. 

Cunningham,  Horace  H.,  heads  Elon 
history  department,  590;  teaches 
at  University,  590. 

Current,  Ruth,  reviews  To  Make 
My  Bread:  Preparing  Cherokee 
Foods,  120. 

Curtiss,  John  A.,  promoted,  144. 

Curtiss,  John  S.,  teaches  summer 
session  at  Stanford  University, 
465. 


D 


Dabbs,  James  McBride,  compiles 
Pee  Dee  Panorama,  598. 

Dabney,  Charles  W.,  member  of 
Watauga  Club,  493. 

Damon  and  Pythias,  Raleigh  thea- 
ter  presents,    350. 

Daniel,  Alice,  supplies  information, 
553n. 

Daniel,  J.  J.,  James  C.  Dobbin 
writes,  162. 

Daniel,  W.  Crichton,  supplies  date, 
553%. 

Daniel,  Mrs.  W.  R.,  supplies  infor- 
mation, 553%. 

Daniels,  Jonathan,  elected  to  ex- 
ecutive committee,  150;  receives 
award,  152,  228;  writes  The  Man 
of  Independence,  250. 

Daniels,  Josephus,  member  of  Wa- 
tauga Club,  493;  mentioned,  486; 
takes  over  Chronicle,  486;  urges 
fair  hearing  for  W.  H.  Page,  488. 

Danville,  (Va.),  Negro  normal 
school  established  at,  82. 

Dare,  Virginia,  mentioned,  296. 

Davenport,  Edward  L.,  family  of, 
appears  in  Charleston  theater, 
354;  family  of,  appears  in  Raleigh 
theater,  354. 

Davenport,  Fanny,  makes  hit  in 
Raleigh,  354. 

Davenport,  Mrs.  J.  Paul,  elected 
vice-president,  300. 

Davidson,  Allen  Turner,  elected 
delegate,  361;  elected  to  First 
Congress,  365;  opposes  adminis- 
tration measures,  364. 

Davidson,  Chalmers  G.,  his  book, 
Friend  of  the  People:  The  Life 
of  Dr.  Peter  Fayssoux  of 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  re- 
viewed, 130;  reviews  Inglis  Flet- 
cher of  Bandon  Plantation,  434; 
reviews  The  Ragged  Ones,  126; 
writes  Piedmont  Partisan:  The 
Life  and  Times  of  Brigadier- 
General  William,  Lee  Davidson, 
154. 

Davidson,  William  F.,  edits  They 
Gave  Us  Freedom,  127. 

Davidson  College,  issues  invitation, 
575. 

Davie,  William  R.,  Mason  L.  Weems 
corresponds  with,  22. 

Davie  County,  lacks  public  library, 
393. 

Davis,  Burke,  his  book,  The  Rag- 
ged Ones,  reviewed,  125. 

Davis,  Chester,  becomes  new  board 
member,  299. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


611 


Davis,  Edwin  Adams,  reviews  Re- 
volt of  the  Rednecks :  Mississippi 
Politics,  1876-1925,  136 

Davis,  George,  becomes  Confederate 
attorney-general,  366;  elected 
delegate,  361;  resigns,  366. 

Davis,  Harry  T.,  re-elected  secre- 
tary-treasurer, 148;  speaks  on 
excavation  work,  594. 

Davis,  I.  P.,  elected  secretary,  299. 

Davis,  Mrs.  James,  makes  picture 
of  church,  553%. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  administration  of, 
initiates  war  measures,  364; 
administration  of,  urges  heavy 
taxation,  368;  agrees  to  meet 
representatives,  377;  appoints 
recruiting  officers,  364;  congress- 
men resent  acts  of,  372;  contem- 
plates use  of  Negroes,  376;  con- 
trols major  legislation,  362;  em- 
bodies Confederate  spirit,  362; 
N.  C.  delegation  holds  interview 
with,  373;  recommends  arming 
of  slaves,  377;  refused  right  to 
impress  railroads,  376;  regarded 
unfit  for  position,  374;  seeks  to 
curb  inflation,  368;  urged  to  make 
peace,  370;  urges  drafting  men, 
367;  Zebulon  B.  Vance  contends 
with,  371. 

Davis,  Ned,  Ohio  Minstrels  of,  play 
in  City  Hall,  357. 

Davis,  Samuel,  sermons  of,  in  de- 
mand, 22. 

Dean,  Vera  Micheles,  speaks  at 
Forum,  145. 

Deaver,  A.  E.,  signs  affidavit,  264. 

DeBerry,  Edmund,  home  of,  visited, 
147. 

DeBow,  J.  D.  B.,  cites  value  of 
records,  63. 

de  Grummond,  Jane  Lucas,  writes 
Envoy  to  Caracas:  The  Story  of 
John  G.  A.  Williamson,  Nine- 
teenth-century Diplomat,  152. 

Delacroix,  Louis,  home  of,  men- 
tioned, 543%. 

Dennis,  Edgar  W.,  letter  from, 
259. 

Depo,  Henry  H.,  letter  from,  577. 

Depo,  Henry  Milton,  mentioned, 
577. 

Depo,  John,  mentioned,  577. 

Deweese,  John  T.,  mentioned,  574; 
sketch  of,  574%. 

Dewey,  Charles,  acts  as  cashier, 
558% 

De  Wolfe,  F.  S.,  letter  from,  576. 

Dialectic  Society,  fines  James  Polk, 
196;  Philanthropic  Society  ac- 
cuses, 201;  Polk  contributes  to 
library  of,  197. 

Dick,  Thomas,  resides  in  Brunswick, 
241. 


Dickens,  Mrs.  William,  elected  first 
vice-president,  146. 

Diligence,  arrives  with  stamps,  334 ; 
guards  shipping,  334. 

Dill,  A.  T.,  employed  by  Perry, 
Shaw  and  Hepburn,  Kehoe  and 
Dean,  469;  works  on  Try  on 
Palace,  469. 

Distinctive  Customs  and  Practices 
of  the  Moravian  Church,  Adelaide 
L.  Fries  writes,  3. 

Dixon,  Thomas,  writes  for  Double- 
day,  Page,  493. 

Dobbin,  James  C,  attends  county 
and  superior  courts,  169;  praises 
Robert  Strange,  Jr.,  162. 

Dobbs,  Arthur,  advises  English 
government,  320;  becomes  gover- 
nor, 28;  comments  on  size  of 
Brunswick,  240;  comments  on 
size  of  Wilmington,  240;  defends 
crown  prerogative,  320;  disagrees 
with  Assembly,  319;  encourages 
building  of  St.  Philip's  Church, 
238;  mentioned,  463;  speculates 
in  land  with  Henry  McCulloh,  28; 
suggests  diverting  revenue,  323; 
war  power  of,  depends  on  As- 
sembly, 320. 

Documents  on  German  Foreign 
Policy,  1918-19 £5,  from  the  Ar- 
chives of  the  German  Foreign 
Ministry,  Series  D.  (1937-1943) 
Germany  and  the  Spanish  Civil 
War,  1936-1939,  E.  Malcolm  Car- 
roll responsible  for,  144. 

Dodd,  Dorothy,  reviews  Records  of 
the  Accounting  Department  of 
the  Office  of  Price  Administra- 
tion, 293;  reviews  Records  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ordnance,  293 ;  re- 
views Records  of  the  Solid  Fuels 
Administration  for  War,   293. 

Dodson,  Leonidas,  reviews  George 
Washington:  A  Biography,  450. 

Dortch,  Drucilla,  mentioned,  573%. 

Dortch,  William,  mentioned,   573%. 

Dortch,  William  Theophilus,  favors 
arming  slaves,  377;  letter  from, 
573;  opposes  unlimited  impress- 
ment of  slaves,  377;  requests 
withdrawal  of  troops,  573;  sanc- 
tions funding  program,  369; 
sketch  of,  573%;  supports  ad- 
ministration, 370;  supports  na- 
tional policies,  378;  Whig  candi- 
dates back,  366. 

Doubleday,  Frank  N.,  founds  pub- 
lishing house,  488. 

Doubleday,  Page,  and  Company, 
publishes  southern  books,  493. 

Dougherty,  B.  B.,  makes  address, 
594. 


612 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Douglass,  Elisha  P.,  appears  on 
Southern  Historical  Association 
program,  148;  appointed  profes- 
sor at  University  of  N.  C,  297. 

Douglass,  Frederick,  biography  of, 
written,   585. 

Downey,  James,  builds  meeting 
house,  553%. 

Druggists  Circular,  The,  Francis 
B.  Hays  edits,  545%. 

Drummond,  W.  C,  makes  debut  in 
Baltimore,  349;  manages  Raleigh 
theater,  349. 

Dry,  William,  becomes  stamp  tax 
collector,  326;  builds  brick  home, 
240;  English  burn  home  of,  244; 
purchases  Russellboro,  241 ;  re- 
sides in  Brunswick,  241 ;  settles 
in  Cape  Fear  section,  231. 

DuBois,  W.  E.  B.,  writes  for 
World's  Work,  492. 

Duke,    James    B.,    mentioned,    481. 

Duke  University,  announces  pro- 
motions, 144;  changes  in  faculty 
administration  at,  590;  Joel  Col- 
ton  becomes  assistant  professor 
at,  590;  professors  of,  take  part 
in  meeting,  299 ;  works  of  faculty 
of,  253,  255,  256. 

Duke  University  Medical  School, 
Loren  C.  MacKinney  delivers  lec- 
ture at,  297. 

Duke  University  Press,  publishes 
Fifty  Years  of  the  South  Atlan- 
tic Quarterly,  144;  publishes  The 
Papers  and  Addresses  of  William 
Preston  Few,  Late  President  of 
Duke  University,  144. 

Dula,  W.  C,  his  Durham  and  Her 
People,  received,  282. 

Dulany,  Daniel,  writes  of  Stamp 
Act,  35. 

Duncan,  J.  W.,  letter  from,  570. 

Duncan,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  mentioned, 
571. 

Dunham,  Benajah,  buys  paper  mill, 
221;  fire  destroys  mill  of,  222; 
instructs  agents  to  buy  rags,  226; 
manufactures  letter  sheets,  224; 
manufactures  wrapping  paper, 
224;  uses  slaves  in  paper  mill, 
222. 

Duplin  County,  joins  in  library 
agreement,  394. 

Durham,  writers  of,  interested  in 
Mayflower  Cup,  246. 

Durham  County,  N.  C.  starts  book- 
mobile in,  388. 

Durham  and  Her  People,  received, 
155;   reviewed,  282. 

Duty,  Matilda  B.,  awarded  medal, 
551%. 

Dyer,  John  P.,  writes  The  Gallant 
Hood,  152. 


Early  American  Gunsmiths,  re- 
ceived, 596. 

Easterby,  J.  H.,  his  Journal  of  the 
Commons  House  of  Assembly, 
September  12,  1739-March  26, 
17 \l  (The  Colonial  Records  of 
South  Carolina),  received,  152, 
595;  reviewed,  438. 

Eastern  States  Archaeological  Fed- 
eration, holds  session,  147. 

Eaton,  William,  Jr.,  contributor  to 
N.  C.  Reader,  507. 

Eaves,  T.  C.  Duncan,  edits  The  Let- 
ters of  William  Gilmore  Simms, 
volume  I,  1 830-18 U,  597. 

Economic  Resources  and  Policies  of 
the  South,  B.  U.  Ratchford 
writes,  257;  Calvin  B.  Hoover 
writes,  257;  received,  155;  re- 
viewed, 137. 

Edenton,  citizens  of,  inquisitive  as 
to  location  of  Weems,  13;  public 
demonstration  occurs  in,  331. 

Edie,  John  R.,  extract  of  letter  to, 
262. 

Edinger,  Lewis  J.,  joins  faculty  of 
Woman's  College,  590. 

Edmonds,  Helen  G.,  her  book,  The 
Negro  and  Fusion  Politics  in 
North  Carolina,  1894-1901,  re- 
viewed, 278. 

Edsall,  Preston  W.,  leads  in  dis- 
cussion, 297;  reviews  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Sutherland:  A  Man  against 
the  State,  459;  reviews  The  Ne- 
gro and  the  Communist  Party, 
282 ;  reviews  The  Negro  and  Fu- 
sion Politics  in  North  Carolina, 
1894-1901,  280;  teaches  history 
at  North  Carolina  State  College, 
297. 

Education,  C.  H.  Wiley  promotes, 
505;  subject  of  articles  in  World's 
Work,  492 ;  W.  H.  Page  promotes, 
490,  494. 

Education  in  the  United  States,  re- 
ceived, 155;  reviewed,  139. 

Edwards,  Weldon  N.,  elected  con- 
vention president,  360;  makes 
loan  to  C.  H.  Wiley,  504. 

Effingham,  Howard,  interested  in 
suit  for  proceeds  of  Grand  Jesus, 
313. 

"Electioneering  in  North  Carolina, 
1800-1835,"  article  by  John  Chal- 
mers Vinson,  171-188. 

Elizabeth  City,  celebrates  sesqui- 
centennial,  i.49;  dances  perform- 
ed in,  554%. 

Elliott,  Henry  B.,  contributor  to 
N.  C.  Reader,  507%. 

Ellis,  John  W.,  C.  H.  Wiley  writes, 
514 ;  contributor  to  N.  C.  Reader, 
507%;  refuses  requisition,  359. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


613 


Elmore,  S.  C,  elected  director,  149. 

Elon  College,  H.  H.  Cunningham 
teaches  at,  590. 

Employment  Relief  Administration, 
libraries  obtain  help  from,  390. 

England,  Brunswick  citizens  seek 
independence  from,  242;  Bruns- 
wick ships  to,  235;  commercial 
interests  of,  aid  in  repeal  of 
Stamp  Act,  337;  controls  of,  op- 
posed, 318;  fears  conflict  with 
France,  317;  finds  tax  collection 
difficult,  321;  hears  of  stamp  tax 
opposition,  326;  hopes  to  estab- 
lish precedent,  330;  instructs  N. 
C.  governors,  319;  Nathaniel 
Tucker  goes  to,  255;  newspapers 
of,  complain  of  decline  of  Ameri- 
can trade,  338 ;  North  Carolinians 
refuse  submission  to  taxation  by, 
334;  offers  no  relief,  335;  party 
politics  of,  aid  in  repealing  Stamp 
Act,  337;  people  of,  desire  colo- 
nial administration  reorganized, 
322;  people  of,  lack  understand- 
ing of  colonies,  327;  realizes 
necessity  for  more  taxation,  317 ; 
Spain  shows  rivalry  with,  236; 
stamp  tax  aids  merchants  of, 
324;  stamp  duty  becomes  impor- 
tant to,  317;  stamp  tax  operates 
in,  323;  student  criticizes,  201; 
subordinates  colonies,  343;  tax 
system  of,  321;  William  Tryon 
conceals  resistance  from,  334; 
tightens  colonial  control,  318.  See 
also  British  Government. 

English  Discovery  of  America  to 
1585,  received,  596. 

Ennett,  Rose,  joins  microfilm  staff, 
595. 

Episcopal  Classical  School  (Ra- 
leigh),  founded,  558w. 

Episcopal  Missionary  Society,  re- 
ports progress,  71. 

Erlanger  Loan,  mentioned,  369. 

Ervin,  S.  J.,  Jr.,  announces  May- 
flower  Society  award,   152,  228. 

Erwin,  Clyde  A.,  placed  on  school 
committee,  300. 

Espey,  James,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Essays  on  North  Carolina  History, 
Clarence  W.  Griffin  writes,  251 ; 
received,  155;   reviewed,  122. 

Etheridge,  R.  Bruce,  acts  as  presi- 
dent of  Fessenden  National  Me- 
morial Association,  470;  elected 
temporary  chairman,  149. 

Evans,  Henry,  introduces  Meth- 
odism in  Favetteville,  5b6n. 

Everest,  Charles  Egbert,  sketch  of, 
544;  marries  Pamelia  Savage, 
544. 


Everest,  Nellie  Frances,  marries 
Alfred  Sails,  544. 

F 

Falls,  William,  assistant  assessor, 
526. 

Farley,  Marvin  R.,  becomes  assist- 
ant   professor,    590. 

Farmer,  Fannie  Memory,  article, 
"The  Bar  Examination  and  Be- 
ginning Years  of  Legal  practice 
in  North  Carolina,  1820-1860," 
159-170;  reviews  The  Legal  Stat- 
us of  the  Tenant  Farmer  in  the 
Southeast,  587-589. 

Farmers'  Alliance,  scorned  by  W. 
H.  Page,  498. 

Farms,  changes  in  houses  on, 
shown,  527 ;  percentage  of  cleared 
land  on,  530;  size  of,  in  Iredell 
County,  530,  531,  538. 

Faust,  J.  J.,  and  Company,  estab- 
lishes paper  mill,  220;  ships  to 
Columbia,  225. 

Fayetteville,  history  of,  5Q2n;  Ma- 
son L.  Weems  sells  books  in, 
10;  Methodism  introduced  in, 
556n. 

Federal  Emergency  Administration 
of  Civil  Workers,  aids  public  li- 
braries, 380. 

Federal  Records  of  World  War  II, 
volume  I,  Civilian  Agencies,  vol- 
ume II,  Military  Agencies,  re- 
ceived,   155;    reviewed,    143. 

Fergus,  James,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Ferguson,  Arthur  B.,  promoted, 
144;  writes  for  The  Army  Air 
Forces  in  World  War  II,  465. 

Fessenden,  Reginald  K.,  award  to, 
made,  469. 

Fessenden  National  Memorial  As- 
sociation, Radio  Pioneers  of 
America  give  award  to,  469. 

Few,  William  Preston,  papers  of, 
published,  581. 

Fifty  Years  of  the  South  Atlantic 
Quarterly,  1902-1952 :  Liberalism 
and  Learning,  William  B.  Hamil- 
ton edits,  144,  298;  received,  596. 

Finley,  W.  W.,  writes  for  World's 
Work,  493. 

First  African  Church  (Richmond), 
runs  first  Negro  school,  64. 

First  Permanent  Congress  (Con- 
federate), devises  means  of  de- 
ferring civilians,  367;  drafts 
men,  367;  N.  C.  elects  delegates 
to,  364,  365. 

First  Presbyterian  Church,  Ashe- 
ville,  N.  C,  179U-1951,  received, 
596;  reviewed,  579. 


614 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Fishbein,  Meyer  H.,  edits  Prelimi- 
nary Inventories,  no.  32 — Records 
of  the  Accounting  Department 
of  the  Office  of  Price  Admini- 
stration, 153,  293. 

Fisher,  Charles,  electioneers,  175. 

Fletcher,  A.  L.,  appointed  chair- 
man, 301. 

Fletcher,  Inglis,  remains  vice-presi- 
dent, 150. 

Florida  Historical  Society,  Christo- 
pher Crittenden  addresses,  472. 

Folk,  G.  N.,  letter  from,  262. 

Foote,  William  Henry,  his  Sketches 
of  North  Carolina,  used  as  source, 
506%. 

Ford  Foundation,  gives  fellowships, 
465. 

Forest  City  Courier,  book  based  on 
files  of,  579. 

Forrestal,  James,  organizes  Depart- 
ment of  the  Navy,  253,  254. 

Forsyth,  a  County  on  the  March, 
receives  award,  3. 

Fort  Clark,  abandoned,  212;  aids 
Fort  Hatteras,  207 ;  Barron  plans 
help  for,  214;  Federal  assault 
begins  on,  211;  Federal  troops 
strive  for  possession  of,  214;  of- 
ficers evacuate,  212 ;  Union  navy 
plans  capture  of,  210. 

Fort  Defiance,  county  historians 
visit,  474. 

Fort  Fisher,  mentioned,  218. 

Fort  Hatteras,  Fort  Clark  men  re- 
treat to,  212;  fortified,  207; 
troops  stationed  near,  214 ;  Union 
navy  plans  capture  of,  210. 

Fort  Johnston,  mentioned,  237; 
Tryon  prepares,  for  attack,  336. 

Fort  Monroe,  freedmen's  school 
opened  near,  66,  68;  mentioned, 
210. 

Forum,  content  of,  492 ;  W.  H.  Page 
edits,  488. 

Fourth  House,  citizens  plan  res- 
toration of,  469. 

Fowle,  Daniel,  letter  from,  403. 

Fowler,  Thomas  L.,  enters  into 
partnership,  223. 

Fox,  Gustavus,  mentioned,  204. 

Frank  C.  Brown  Collection  of 
North  Carolina  Folklore,  The,  re- 
ceived, 596. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  becomes  in- 
volved in  Stamp  Act,  326;  bio- 
graphy of,  popular  in  farm 
homes,  58;  interested  in  Stamp 
Act  excise,  37;  mentioned,  321; 
possible  author  of  propaganda 
articles,  338. 

Freedmen's  Bureau,  boasts  teachers 
from  Massachusetts,  69;  employs 
Negro  teachers,  74;   experiences 


difficulty  with  Negro  education, 
67;  improves  Negro  school  build- 
ings, 72;  lays  foundation  for 
public  education,  88 ;  opens  Negro 
schools,  64;  partially  withdraws 
from  Virginia,  81;  purpose  of, 
64;  teachers  of,  meet  with  social 
ostracism,  70,  71;  Virginia  op- 
poses schools  of,  79,  85,  89. 

"Freedmen's  Bureau  and  Negro 
Education  in  Virginia,  The," 
article  by  William  T.  Alderson, 
64-90. 

Freeman,  D.  E.,  affidavit  sworn  be- 
fore, 264,  265,  266,  267. 

Freeman,  Douglass  Southall,  ad- 
dresses Literary  and  Historical 
Association,  151,  228;  his  George 
Washington:  A  Biography,  re- 
viewed, 448. 

Freeman,  George  W.,  opens  school, 
558w. 

Freeman,  George  W.,  witnesses  affi- 
davits, 265,  267. 

French  and  Indian  War,  brings 
debt  to  England,  317 ;  mentioned, 
320,  321,  331,  334,  534. 

Friend  of  the  People:  The  Life  of 
Dr.  Peter  Fayssoux  of  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  reviewed, 
130. 

Friendly  Mission:  John  Candler's 
Letters  from  America,  1853-185^, 
A.,  received,  155;  reviewed,  455. 

Friends  Freedmen's  Relief  Associa- 
tion, works  for  freedmen's  edu- 
cation, 6Q. 

Fries,  Adelaide  L.,  acts  as  president 
of  Salem  College  Alumnae  As- 
sociation, 4;  ancestry  of,  1;  ap- 
pointed archivist,  2;  attends 
Salem  Academy,  2;  awarded 
Mayflower  Cup,  3;  born  in 
Salem,  1 ;  edits  Forsyth,  a  County 
on  the  March,  3;  edits  Rond- 
thaler's  Memorabilia  of  Fifty 
Years,  3;  elected  president  of 
North  Carolina  Historical  So- 
ciety, 4;  establishes  archives 
building,  2;  helps  organize 
women's  clubs,  4;  Moravian  Col- 
lege confers  degree  on,  4;  pub- 
lished works  of,  3,  5-7;  serves  as 
president  of  Literary  and  Histor- 
ical Association,  4;  studies  Ger- 
man, 3;  University  of  N.  C.  con- 
fers degree  on,  4;  Wake  Forest 
College  confers  degree  on,  4. 

Fries,  John  W.,  becomes  trustee  of 
University  of  North  Carolina,  1 ; 
father  of  historian,  1. 

Fuller,  Thomas  Charles,  delegate 
to  Second  Congress,  373. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


615 


G 

Gaither,    Burgess    Sidney,    against 
peace     negotiations,     374;     con- 
demns   disloyalty    reports,    372 
delegate  to  Second  Congress,  373 
elected  to   First   Congress,   365 
feels    North    Carolina    insulted, 
372;  opposes  unlimited  impress- 
ment of  slaves,   377;    speaks   of 
politically  divided  state,  372. 

Gaither,  Elia,  assistant  assessor, 
526%. 

Gales,  Joseph,  mentioned,  12 ;  secre- 
tary of  colonization  society  board, 
556%;  sells  books,  19,  21;  writes 
of  life  of  Mason  L.  Weems,  18. 

Gales,  Seaton,  apologizes  for  pub- 
lishing letter,  514,  515%;  given  as 
reference,  569. 

Gallant  Hood,  The,  received,  152. 

Garber,  Paul,  placed  on  museum 
committee,  295. 

Gardner,  Anna,  instructs  Negroes 
in  politics,  79. 

Gardner,  Mrs.  0.  Max,  remains  on 
board  of  directors,  151. 

Garrick,  David,  writes  Catherine 
and  Petruchio,  351. 

Gaston,  William  B.,  contributor  to 
N.  C.  Reader,  507;  electioneers, 
174;  expresses  opinion  on  candi- 
dates, 188;  recommends  "Mr. 
Sparrow,"  162. 

Gaston  County,  centennial  of,  men- 
tioned, 467;  citizens  of,  prepare 
for  historical  society,  467. 

Gastonia  Rotary  Club,  D.  L.  Corbitt 
speaks  before,  473. 

Gates,  Frederick,  becomes  interest- 
ed in  hookworm,  496. 

Genealogical  Society  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day 
Saints,  arranges  for  microfilming 
old  records,  295. 

General  Charles  Lee:  Traitor  or 
Patriot?  received,  155;  reviewed, 
123. 

General  Education  Board,  extends 
work  of  Seaman  A.  Knapp,  496; 
founded,  494. 

Gentleman  Freeholders:  Political 
Practices  in  Washington's  Vir- 
ginia, received,  598. 

George  Peabody,  navigates  channel, 
215;  used  in  attack  on  Hatteras, 
210, 

George  III,  asks  for  modification  of 
Stamp  Act,  330. 

George  Washington  in  American 
Literature,  1775-1865,  received, 
596. 

George  Washington:  A  Biography, 
volume  III,  Planter  and  Patriot, 


volume  IV,  Leader  of  the  Revo- 
lution, received,  154;  reviewed, 
448. 

Georgia,  book  on  parties  in,  review- 
ed, 588;  mentioned,  40. 

Georgia-Florida  Frontier,  1793- 
1796:  Spanish  Reaction  to  French 
Intrigue  and  American  Designs, 
received,  154;  reviewed,  447. 

Georgia  Studies :  Selected  Writings 
of  Robert  Preston  Brooks,  re- 
ceived, 596. 

Gibran,  Khalil,  writes  The  Prophet, 
249. 

Gibson,  A.  B.,  placed  on  school 
committee,  300. 

Gibson,  William,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Giles,  John,  recommends  Burton 
Craige,  162. 

Gilliam,  Elizabeth  Ballard,  men- 
tioned, 561%. 

Gilliam,  Leslie,  mentioned,  561%. 

Gilliam,  Mary  A.,  marriage  of,  de- 
scribed, 561. 

Gilliam,  Robert  Ballard,  sketch  of, 
561%. 

Gilmer,  Jeremy,  letter  from,  92. 

Gilmer,  John  Adams,  contributor  to 
N.  C.  Reader,  507 '%;  delegate  to 
Second  Congress,  373. 

Gipson,  Lawrence  H.,  writes  Jared 
Ingersoll,  460. 

Glasgow,  Ellen,  writes  for  Double- 
day,  Page,  493. 

Glen,  James,  his  book,  Colonial 
South  Carolina:  Two  Contempo- 
rary Descriptions,  reviewed,  440. 

God  Makes  A  Difference,  Edwin 
McNeill  Poteat  writes,  246. 

Godbey,  Allen  H.,  mentioned,  248. 

Goddard,  Rice  and  Company,  Sum- 
ner Brown  makes  contract  with, 
223. 

Godfrey,  James  Logan,  writes  Rev- 
olutionary Justice:  A  Study  of 
the  Organization,  Personnel,  and 
Procedure  of  the  Paris  Tribunal, 
1793-1795,  153. 

God's  Revenge  against  Murder;  or, 
the  Drown'd  Wife  of  Stephen's 
Creek,  Mason  L.  Weems  writes, 
20. 

Going,  Allen  Johnston,  his  Bour- 
bon Democracy  in  Alabama, 
187U-1890,  received,  155;  review- 
ed, 288. 

Goldsmith  and  Company,  praises 
Therese,  352. 

Goneke,  J.  F.,  opens  concert  hall, 
349. 

Gonzalez,  Vincente,  commands 
Spanish  expedition,  309;  sets 
course  for  squadron,  310. 


616 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Gooch,  Joseph,  gives  land,  554n. 

Goode,  Alma,  aids  in  forming  his- 
torical society,  467. 

Goodrich,  Calvin,  writes  A  Great- 
Grandmother  and  Her  People, 
154. 

Goodrich,  Percy  E.,  writes  A  Great- 
Grandmother  and  Her  People, 
154. 

Graham,  Hamilton,  mentioned,  162. 

Graham,  Samuel  Lyle,  organizes 
church,  554w;  pastor  at  Grassy 
Creek,  553n. 

Graham,  William  A.,  defeated  by 
Edwards,  360;  examination  of, 
deferred,  161;  favors  corporation 
tax,  375;  house  of,  visited,  593; 
letters  from,  570;  opposes  arming 
of  slaves,  377;  reports  loss  of  con- 
fidence in  government,  374;  sees 
no  end  of  war,  374;  warns  Con- 
gress against  reduction  of  men, 
376;  Whig  legislature  chooses, 
366;  Zebulon  B.  Vance  appoints, 
36. 

Graham  County,  joins  in  regional 
library,  394. 

Grand  Jesus,  becomes  HopewelVs 
prize,  314;  Conclude  owners  sue 
for  proceeds  of,  313;  returns  to 
England,  313;  sails  for  Azores, 
311. 

Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina 
Masons,  Alexander  Lucas  reports 
to,  345;  becomes  interested  in 
theater,  344;  sells  theater,  345. 

Graniteville  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Ker  Boyce  interested  in, 
222. 

Grant,  James,  defeats  Cherokees, 
318. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  demands  action, 
574;  letter  to,  404n. 

Grantham,  Dewey  W.,  Jr.,  joins 
Vanderbilt  faculty,  590;  leaves 
Woman's    College,    590. 

Granville  County,  articles  about, 
published,  545n;  formation  of, 
550%;  suffers  from  drought,  554%. 

Grassy  Creek,  presbytery  held  at, 
553;  visited  by  minister,  551. 

Grassy  Creek  Presbyterian  Church, 
history  of,  553w. 

Graves,  Lawrence,  returns  to  Wo- 
man's College.  590. 

Graveyard  of  the  Atlantic:  Ship- 
wrecks of  the  North  Carolina 
Coast,  received,  596;  reviewed, 
582. 

Gray,  Mrs.  James  A.,  remains  on 
board   of  directors.   151. 

Great  Britain.  See  England. 

Great-Grandmother  and  Her 
People,  A,  received,  154. 


Green,  Fletcher  M.,  attends  South- 
ern Historical  Association  meet- 
ing, 148;  edits  The  Lides  Go 
South  .  .  .  and  West:  The  Record 
of  a  Planter  Migration  in  1835, 
597 ;  elected  president,  147 ;  takes 
part  in  historical  meetings,  299, 
470. 

Green,  Paul,  drama  of,  continues 
playing,  466,  591;  placed  on  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  Day  Committee, 
300. 

Green,  William  Mercer,  becomes 
president  of  Davidson  College, 
199. 

Greenfield,  Robert,  operates  mill, 
227;  purchases  factory,  227. 

Greensboro,  Mason  L.  Weems  sells 
books  in,  18;  writers  of,  interest- 
ed in  Mayflower  Cup,  246. 

Greensboro  Lodge  No.  76,  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.,  Early  W.  Bridges  writes, 
253. 

Greensborough  Patriot,  censures 
candidate's  campaign,  180 ;  prints 
political  broadsides,  176,  177; 
views  electioneering,  174. 

Greenville  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, buys  paper  mill,  222;  in- 
corporated, 221;  unable  to  supply 
demand,  225. 

Greer,  I.  G.,  elected  president>  of 
Southern  Appalachian  Historical 
Association,  148;  elected  second 
vice-president,  151. 

Greer,  Louise,  reviews  Charles 
Waddell  Chesnutt:  Pioneer  of  the 
Color  Line,  585. 

Gregg,  William,  discusses  cotton, 
48;  speaks  of  paper  mills,  226. 

Grenville,  George,  argues  for  Eng- 
lish sovereignty,  330;  begins  re- 
organizing colonial  administra- 
tion, 322;  confers  with  officials, 
326;  defeated,  341;  desires  to 
control  taxation,  331;  develops 
hard  program,  318;  Henry  McCul- 
loh  gives  idea  of  stamp  duty  to, 
24;  introduces  Stamp  Bill,  325; 
mentioned,  24,  25;  offers  concilia- 
tory measures,  325;  receives  tax 
proposals,  324;  suggests  stamp 
duty,  323. 

Gresham,  Thomas,  expresses  idea 
for   American    currency,    34. 

Griffin,  Clarence  W.,  attends  un- 
veiling of  highway  marker,  591; 
edits  Forest  City  Courier,  579; 
elected  district  vice-president, 
298 ;  elected  president,  149 ;  gives 
talk,  471;  his  Essays  on  North 
Carolina  History,  reviewed,  122; 
his  History  of  Rutherford 
County,      1937-1951,      reviewed, 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


617 


579;    publicizes    N.    C.    history, 
301. 

Gross,  Paul  M.,  Charles  S.  Sydnor 
succeeds,  590. 

Grove,  W.  B.,  gives  reason  for 
seeking  office,  177. 

Grumman,  Russell  M.,  appointed 
chairman,  300;  elected  vice- 
chairman,  299. 

Guerrant,  Edward  A.,  receives  fel- 
lowship, 465. 

Guilford  County,  appoints  historian, 
592;  C.  H.  Wiley  represents,  520; 
declines    offer    of    C.    H.    Wilev 
519.  y' 

H 

Hakluyt,    Richard,    publishes    jour- 
nal, 305. 
Hakluyt  Society,  publishes  account 

of  Spanish  reactions,  305. 
Halifax    Superior    Court,    business 

accumulates  in,  342. 
Hall,    Mrs.    Augustus    S.,   supplies 
information,    552%,    560%;    men- 
tioned, 552%. 
Hall,  E.  A.,  statement  of,  526%. 

Hall,  Mattie  R.,  lends  family 
papers,  525%. 

Hallett,  Robert,  Conclude  owners 
bring  suit  against,  313;  put  in 
command  of  ship,  310. 

Hamblin,  Thomas,  Orginal  Operatic 
Serenaders  of,  give  Raleigh  con- 
cert, 356. 

Hamilton,  Martin  W.,  writes  The 
Papers  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
volume  X,  154. 

Hamilton,  Paul,  desires  white  work- 
ers, 43. 

Hamilton,  William  B.,  edits  Fifty 
Years  of  the  South  Atlantic 
Quarterly,   144,   198,   596. 

Hamlet  Public  Library,  WPA  aids 
in  building,  391. 

Hampden-Sydney  College,  mention- 
ed, 553,  553%. 

Hampton  (Va.),  school  opened  at, 
68,  75,  79. 

Hamrick,  Mrs.  Fred  D.,  Jr.,  in- 
terested in  Western  North  Caro- 
lina Historical  Society,  468. 

Hanes,  Lewis,  given  as  reference, 
569. 

Harden,  John,  voice  of,  recorded, 
593. 

Hardie,  Beatrice,  joins  microfilm 
staff,  595. 

Harnett,  Cornelius  (elder),  buys 
town  lots,  232;  operates  ferry, 
232;  resides  in  Brunswick,  24i; 
settles  in  Cape  Fear  section,  231. 

Harnett,  Cornelius  (younger),  in- 
tercedes for  Pennington,  336. 


Harnett  County,  handwritten  paper 

published  in,  592. 
Harper's  Magazine,  mentioned,  545. 
Harriet  Elliot   Social   Science  For- 
um, meets  in  Greensboro,  145. 
Harriet  Lane,  leads  in  Fort  Clark 
attack,  211;  nears  Fort  Hatteras, 
213;    protects   soldiers,   213;    re- 
mains near  Hatteras,  217;  strikes 
sand  bar,  215;  Unionists  endeav- 
or to  float,  217;   used  in  attack 
on  Hatteras,  210,  214. 
Harrington,     John     McLean,     pub- 
lishes newspaper,  592. 
Harris,  Joel   Chandler,  writes  for 

World's  Work,  493. 
Harris,    Joseph,     commands     Con- 
clude,  308;    placed   on  El  Buen 
Jesus,  310. 
Harriss,     Frances     Latham,    edits 
Lawson's  History  of  North  Caro- 
lina (reprint),  596. 
Harry  and  John,  Hopewell  known 

as,  306. 
Hart,  T.  R.,  writes  The  School  of 
Textiles,  N.  C.  State  College,  Its 
Past  and  Present,  253. 
Harvard     University,     Charles     S. 

Sydnor  teaches  at,  465. 
Harwell,  Richard  Barksdale,  writes 

Songs  of  the  Confederacy,  152. 
"Hatteras       Expedition,       August, 
1861,  The,"  article  by  James  M.' 
Merrill,  204-219. 
Hawks,    Lena,    elected    vice-presi- 
dent, 300. 
Hayes,     Hubert,     play    bv,     draws 
crowds,    591;    writes    "Thunder- 
land,"   466. 
Hayes,    Rutherford    B.,    commends 

Samuel  Armstrong,  76. 
Hays,   Benjamin   K.,   distinguished 

as  doctor,  545%. 
Hays,  Francis  B.,  expresses  opinion, 
545;     medal     in     possession     of, 
551%;   sketch   of,   545%;   sunplies 
information,  543%,  552%,  553%. 
Hays,  John  Willis,  distinguished  as 

lawyer,  545%. 
Haywood,  C.  Robert,  article,  "The 
Mind  of  the  North  Carolina  Op- 
ponents of  the  Stamp  Act,"  317- 
343. 

Haywood,  R.,  acts  for  Grand  Lodge, 
346. 

Haywood,  William  Henry,  agent  for 
bank,  558%;  mentioned,  199. 

Havwood  County,  lacks  complete 
library,  393. 

Health  of  Slaves  on  Southern 
Plantations,  The,  received,  154. 

Heard,  Alexander,  writes  A  Two- 
Party  South?  597. 


618 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Heck,  Charles  M.,  attends  histori- 
cal meeting,  300;  elected  vice- 
president,  151. 

Heimnick,  John,  speaks  on  archaeo- 
logy,  594. 

Heinitsh,  Mrs.  George,  elected 
secretary,  467. 

Henderson,  Archibald,  reference  to, 
538;  remains  on  board  of  direc- 
tors, 151. 

Henderson,  Isabel  B.,  elected  to  ex- 
ecutive committee,   150. 

Henderson,  Robert,  mentioned,  202; 
teaches  school,  190. 

Henderson,  Thomas,  note  of,  526%. 

Henderson  County,  lacks  complete 
library,  393. 

Hendricks,  Garland  A.,  writes  Bio- 
graphy of  a  County  Church,  252. 

Henri,  Florette,  writes  play,  591. 

"Henry  McCulloh:  Progenitor  of  the 
Stamp  Act,"  article  by  James 
High,  24-38. 

Herbert,  John,  makes  debut  in  Phil- 
adelphia, 349;  manages  Raleigh 
theater,  349. 

Hertford  County,  WPA  aids  in 
building  library  in,  392. 

Herty,  Charles,  manufactures  pa- 
per, 220. 

Hicks,  Edward  Hubbell,  mentioned, 
543%. 

Hicks,  Thomas  Edward,  builds  sum- 
mer home,  543%. 

Hicks,  Thomas  Iverson,  Pamela 
Savage  visits  home  of,  543. 

"Hidden  Edition  of  Whitehead's 
Variety  (1776),  A,"  William  B. 
Todd  publishes,  297. 

High,  James,  article,  "Henry  Mc- 
Culloh: Progenitor  of  the  Stamp 
Act,"  24-38;  writes  to  Editor, 
464. 

High  Court  of  Admiralty,  Conclude 
owners  bring  action  in,  313;  pos- 
sesses records  of  Christopher 
Newport's  voyage,  305. 

High  Point  Historical  Commission, 
restores  Quaker  meeting  house, 
468. 

Hill,  Benjamin,  mentioned,  586. 

Hill,  Doris  Kraemer,  elected  treasu- 
rer, 468. 

Hill,  James,  family  of,  preserves 
land  valuation  book,  525%;  serves 
as  secretary  to  assessors,  526%. 

Hill,  James  R.,  makes  land  valua- 
tion book  available,  525%. 

Hill,  May  Davis,  reviews  The 
People's  General:  The  Personal 
Story  of  Lafayette,  293. 

Hill,  Robert,  family  of,  preserves 
land  valuation  book,  525%. 


Hill,  William,  resides  in  Brunswick, 
241. 

Hillsboro,  Mason  L.  Weems  sells 
books  in,  18;  toured,  593;  WPA 
builds  library  at,  391. 

Hinks,  Edward  W.,  letter  from,  104. 

Historical  Commission  of  the  South- 
ern Baptist  Convention,  Christo- 
pher Crittenden  addresses,  595. 

Historical  Sketches  of  North  Caro- 
lina, criticized  by  "Fitz  Van 
Winkle,"  514;  N.  C.  Reader  pub- 
lished before,  510;  not  well  re- 
ceived, 510%. 

Historical  Society  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Adelaide  L.  Fries  elected 
president  of,  4;  holds  meetings, 
147,  471. 

History  of  a  Brigade  o/  South 
Carolinians  Known  First  as 
"Gregg's"  and  Subsequently  as 
"McGowan's  Brigade,"  received, 
154,  reviewed,  124. 

History  of  the  Central  Methodist 
Church  of  Asheboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, received,  473. 

History  of  the  Hemp  Industry  in 
Kentucky,  A,  received,  154;  re- 
viewed, 131. 

History  of  Old  Try  on  and  Ruther- 
ford Counties,  The,  mentioned, 
251. 

History  of  the  113th  Field  Artil- 
lery, 30th  Division,  Department 
of  Archives  and  History  offers 
public,  296. 

History  of  Randolph-Macon  Wo- 
man's College:  from  the  Found- 
ing in  1891  through  the 
Year  of  19  U9 -19  50,  received,  154; 
reviewed,  133. 

History  of  Rutherford  County, 
1937-1951,  received,  596;  review- 
ed, 579. 

History  of  Wofford  College,  185 U- 
1949,  received,  154;  reviewed, 
441. 

Hodge,  Abraham,  edits  North  Caro- 
lina Journal,  8. 

Hodges,  J.  E.,  elected  divisional 
vice-president,  298;  leads  tour, 
473. 

Hodgkins,  Norris  L.,  Jr.,  elected 
treasurer,  467. 

Hoffman,  Mrs.  A.  W.,  elected  his- 
torian, 146. 

Holden,  William  W.,  edits  Raleigh 
Standard,  360;  followers  of,  con- 
demn Confederate  policies,  373; 
inauguration  of,  followed  by 
reign  of  terror,  573%;  nominated, 
571 ;  organizes  militia,  573%;  pro- 
poses state  convention,  372. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


619 


Holeman,  Daisy,  supplies  informa- 
tion, 553%. 

Holley,  Irving  B.,  promoted,  144; 
reads  paper,  470. 

Hollis,  Daniel  Walker,  his  Univer- 
sity of  South  Carolina,  volume  I, 
South  Carolina  College,  received, 
153;  reviewed,  436. 

Hollister,  Edward  H.,  heads  acade- 
my, 562%;  joins  academy  faculty, 
562. 

Hollister,  Mrs.  Edward  H.,  heads 
academy,  562%;  joins  academy 
faculty,  562. 

Holloman,  George  V.,  marker  erect- 
ed to,  145. 

Holsey,  Hopkins,  criticizes  gover- 
nor, 586;  resigns,  587. 

Holt,  Thomas  Michael,  president  of 
society,  578,  578%;  sketch  of, 
578%. 

Home,  John,  his  Douglas,  offered, 
349. 

Honey  Moon,  The,  plays  in  Raleigh, 
351. 

Hookworm,  Sanitary  Commission 
for  the  Eradication  of,  establish- 
ed, 497;  W.  H.  Page  works  to 
eradicate,  496;  World's  Work 
publishes  articles  on,  492. 

Hooper,  Joseph,  believed  to  be  "Fitz 
Van  Winkle,"  512%. 

Hooper,  William,  mentioned,  193; 
home  of,  visited,  593;  teaches 
languages,  192. 

Hoover,  Calvin  B.,  his  Economic 
Resources  and  Policies  of  the 
South,  reviewed,  137. 

Hoover  Library  (Stanford,  Cal.), 
John  A.  Curtiss  researches  in, 
144. 

Hopewell,  attacks  El  Buen  Jesus, 
310;  John  White  sails  in,  306; 
mentioned,  307,  310,  311 ;  returns 
to  England,  313. 

Hopkins,  James  F.,  his  History  of 
the  Hemp  Industry  in  Kentucky, 
reviewed,  131. 

"Horn  in  the  West,"  draws  crowd, 
591 ;  historical  societies  attend 
performance  of,  473,  594;  his- 
tory of,  discussed,  594;  Kermit 
Hunter  writes,  296. 

Houdon,  Jean  Antoine,  executes 
statue  of  Washington,  564%. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  W.  H. 
Page  literary  advisor  for,  488. 

House,  R.  B.,  addresses  Eastern 
States  Archaeological  Federation, 
147. 

Howard,  Oliver  Otis,  appointed 
commissioner,  64. 

Howe,  Robert,  British  attack  plan- 
tation of,  243;  mentioned,  244. 


Hubbard,  Fordyce  M.,  his  Life  of 
William,  Richardson  Davie,  used 
as  source,  506%;  plans  work  on 
text,  521,  521%. 

Hubbell,  Ransom,  heads  academy, 
563%;  meets  travelers,  563. 

Hudson,  Arthur  P.,  elected  secre- 
tary-treasurer, 151. 

Huie,  Mrs.  Litchfield  B.,  elected 
corresponding  secretary,  146. 

Hulin,  Hiram,  letter  from,  118. 

Humber,  Robert  Lee,  delivers  presi- 
dential address,  151,  228;  elected 
chairman,  150 ;  placed  on  commit- 
tees, 300;  presides  at  meeting, 
228. 

Hundley,  Daniel  R.,  describes  S.  C. 
farm  homes,  56;  writes  Social 
Relations  in  Our  Southern  States, 
39. 

Hunter,  Alexander,  serves  as  clerk, 
523%. 

Hunter,  Mrs.  E.  B.,  placed  on  com- 
mittees, 300. 

Hunter,  J.  E.,  delivers  marker  ad- 
dress, 145. 

Hunter,  Kermit,  addresses  anti- 
quities society,  150;  his  Unto 
These  Hills,  a  Drama  of  the 
Cherokee,  reviewed,  121;  plays 
of,  draw  largest  crowds,  591; 
societies  attend  play  of,  594; 
writes  "Horn  in  the  West,"  296, 
466;  writes  Unto  These  Hills, 
152,  466. 

Hunter,  Robert,  writes  of  destruc- 
tion of  Brunswick,  244. 

Hunter,  Theophilus,  contributes  to 
theater  building,  344. 

Huntington  Library  (San  Marino, 
Cal.),  McCulloh  manuscript 
placed  in,  463. 

Hyconeechee  Regional  Library, 
formed,  394. 

Hyde  County,  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints 
microfilms  records  in,  295;  oper- 
ates WPA  library,  394. 


Inchbald,  Elizabeth,  writes  The 
Midnight  Hour,  348. 

Indians,  North  Carolina  has  no  fear 
of,  318;  threaten  state,  317. 

Industry,  attitudes  of  W.  H.  Page 
toward,  497,  498;  in  Iredell 
County,  described,  534-538;  ori- 
gins of,  in  Iredell  County,  526; 
subject  of  articles  in  World's 
Work,  492;  W.  H.  Page  cham- 
pions, 489. 

Ingersoll,  Jared,  becomes  involved 
in  Stamp  Act,  326. 


620 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Inglis  Fletcher  of  Bandon  Planta- 
tion, received,  596;  reviewed,  433. 

International  Health  Board,  estab- 
lished, 497. 

Introduction  to  the  Bible,  An,  Clar- 
ence H.  Brannon  writes,  248; 
discusses  religious  figures,  248. 

Iredell  County,  average  land  valua- 
tion in,  531;  crafts  and  profes- 
sions in,  536;  dependence  of,  on 
industry,  537;  description  of 
buildings  in,  532;  industry  in, 
described,  534-538;  land  valua- 
tions low  in,  529;  property  valua- 
tion in,  in  1815,  531;  size  of  farms 
in,  530,  538;  stability  of  land 
ownership  in,  shown,  538;  study 
of  land  valuations  in,  523-539. 

Isaacs,  Harold,  speaks  at  forum, 
145. 

Ives,  Mrs.  Ernest  L.,  re-elected 
president  of  historical  associa- 
tion, 467. 


Jackson,  Andrew,  Andrew  Johnson 
compared  to,  571;  mentioned, 
190. 

Jackson,  J.  L.,  assists  in  organizing 
historical  society,  300;  speaks  be- 
fore historical  society,  593. 

Jackson  County,  celebrates  centen- 
nial, 148. 

Jacocks,  W.  P.,  elected  president, 
151. 

James,  Dink,  elected  president,  300; 
Howard  Clay  substitutes  for,  593. 

James  Harrod  of  Kentucky,  re- 
ceived, 152. 

Jamestown  (Va.),  Christopher  New- 
port interested  in  founding  of, 
305;  church  at,  restored,  549w; 
described,  549. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  designs  Virgin- 
ia capitol,  b64n;  mentioned,  344, 
560n. 

Jeffreys,  Thomas,  sells  books  for 
Mason  L.  Weems,  17. 

"Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill," 
article  by  Charles  Grier  Sellers, 
Jr.,  189-203. 

Joel  Chandler  Harris — Folklorist, 
received,  152. 

John  Eimngelist,  attacks  Spanish 
flagship,  309;  crew  of,  receives 
proceeds,  314;  returns  to  Eng- 
land, 313;  sails  to  Puerto  Rico, 
307;  William  Lane  commands, 
307. 

Johns  Hopkins  University,  W.  H. 
Page  attends,  482. 

Johnson,  Andrew,  account  of  rela- 
tives   of,    577;    affidvits    sent   to, 


264,  265,  266,  267;  commended, 
570,  572,  576,  577;  compared  to 
Andrew  Jackson,  571;  invited  to 
address  society,  575;  letter  to, 
104,  108,  118,  259,  261,  262,  263, 
402,  403,  412,  569,  570,  571,  572, 
573,  575,  576,  577,  578;  telegram 
to,  259. 

Johnson,  Cecil,  reviews  The  Geor- 
gia-Florida Frontier,  1793-1796, 
448. 

Johnson,  Eliza,  letter  to,  107. 

Johnson,  Gerald  W.,  comments  on 
sociology,  255. 

Johnson,  Gilly,  mentioned,  577. 

Johnson,  Herschel,  growth  of, 
shown,  586. 

Johnson,  Jacob,  mentioned,  577. 

Johnson,  John,  mentioned,  577. 

Johnson,  Robert,  aids  clerk,  576; 
letter  to,  570. 

Johnson,  Talbot,  represents  com- 
munity in  historical  association, 
467. 

Johnston,  Frontis  W.,  appoints 
committee  chairmen,  300;  article, 
"North  Carolina  Non-fiction 
Works  for  1951,"  246-258;  elect- 
ed president  of  Literary  and 
Historical  Society,  152;  elected 
secretary-treasurer  of  Historical 
Society,  147;  reads  paper,  228; 
reviews  Bourbon  Democracy  in 
Alabama,,  288;  reviews  History 
of  Wofford  College,  185^-19^9, 
442. 

Johnston,  Gabriel,  becomes  gover- 
nor, 233;  buys  tract  of  land,  233; 
mentioned,  463. 

Joint  Committee  for  the  Compila- 
tion of  a  Handbook  of  North 
Carolina  Writers,  records  voices, 
593. 

Jones,  Alexander  H.,  letter  from, 
115;  sketch  of,  115n. 

Jones,  Edward,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Jones,  Joseph  Seawell,  his  Defense 
of  the  Revolutionary  History  of 
the  State  of  North  Carolina  from 
the  Aspersions  of  Mr.  Jefferson, 
used  as  source,  506w. 

Jones,  Thomas  P.,  activities  of, 
551n;  conducts  examinations, 
551 ;  mentioned,  552w. 

Jones,  Weimar,  interested  in  West- 
ern North  Carolina  Historical  As- 
sociation, 468. 

Jones  County,  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints  mi- 
crofilms records  in,  295;  lacks 
library  service,  393,  397. 

Jordan,  Henry  W.,  discusses  preser- 
vation of  covered  bridges,  470. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


621 


Jordan,  Joye  E.,  attends  American 
Association  of  Museums  meeting, 
473;  attends  preview  of  Brush- 
Everard  house,  299;  attends 
Southern  Furniture  Exhibition, 
299 ;  meets  with  Pembroke  State 
College  committee,  472;  photo- 
graphs historical  materials,  594; 
talks  to  Junior  Woman's  Club, 
299. 

Journal  of  the  Commons  House  of 
Assembly,  September  12,  1739- 
March  26,  17  Ul  (The  Colonial 
Records  of  South  Carolina),  re- 
viewed, 438. 

Journals  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  Indiana  Territory,  1805-1815, 
received,  154. 

Jouvencal,  Couchet,  defends  co- 
lonial rights,  326. 

Joyner,  Andrew,  makes  loan  to 
C.  H.  Wiley,  504. 

Joyner,  J.  Y.,  placed  on  committee, 
300. 


K 


Kahler,  Herbert,  interested  in  his- 
toric sites,  472. 

Kauffman,  Henry  J.,  writes  Early 
American  Gunsmiths,  596. 

Keith,  Alice  B.,  elected  vice-presi- 
dent, 152. 

Kellenberger,  Mrs.  John  A.,  elected 
to  executive  committee,  152;  re- 
mains vice-president,  150. 

Kellogg,  Martin,  Jr.,  elected  chair- 
man, 299. 

Kemble,  Charles,  writes  The  Point 
of  Honor,  348. 

Kemble,  Mrs.  Charles,  Raleigh  the- 
ater presents  play  by,  354. 

Kenan,  Owen  Rand,  elected  to  First 
Congress,  365. 

Kenan,  Thomas  S.,  relates  legal  ex- 
perience, 169. 

Kennedy,  Hannah,  leaves  academy, 
562;  teaches  in  academy,  552%. 

Kerr,  James  E.,  given  as  reference, 
569. 

Kerr,  John,  letter  from,  400. 

Keyser,  A.,  assumes  management 
of  theater,  351. 

Kilpatrick,  Carroll,  writes  Roose- 
velt amd  Daniels:  A  Friendship 
in  Politics,  597. 

Kings  Mountain  Little  Theatre, 
sponsors  play,  591. 

Kirwan,  Albert  D.,  his  Revolt  of 
the  Rednecks:  Mississippi  Poli- 
tics,  1876-1925,  reviewed,  135. 

Kittrell,  Melissa,  married,  561%. 

Kitty  Hawk,  committee  proposes 
museum  at,  295. 


Knapp,  Seaman  A.,  develops  farm 
demonstration  program,  496; 
meets  W.  H.  Page,  496;  writes 
for  World's  Work,  493. 

Knight,  Edgar  W.,  his  Education  in 
the  United  States,  received,  155; 
reviewed,  139. 

Knoedler  Galleries,  Art  Society  ex- 
hibits paintings  from,  149. 

Knox,  William,  advisor  on  Board  of 
Trade,  25;  backs  stamp  tax,  323; 
writes  books  on  America,  25. 

Kolb,  Charles  F.,  becomes  assistant 
professor,  296. 

Kollock,  Sarah  Jane,  mentioned, 
552%. 

Kollock,  Shepard  K.,  directs  found- 
ing of  church,  553%. 

Kotzebue,  August  von,  writes  Pi- 
zarro,  350. 

Ku  Klux  Klan,  active,  77. 


Labaree,  Benjamin,  president  of 
college,  546%. 

Labaree,  Joseph,  attends  fire,  547; 
attends  Williamsborough  meet- 
ing, 555;  engages  teacher,  552; 
engrossed  in  school  activities, 
543;  ill,  551;  installed,  553;  mar- 
ries Huldah  Lyman,  555%;  name 
of,  inscribed  on  medal,  551%;  Ne- 
gro fills  pulpit  of,  556;  performs 
marriage,  561;  preaches  aboard 
ship,  548;  salary  of,  552%;  sketch 
of,  540%,  546%;  superintends 
school,  552,  552%;  takes  position 
at  Oxford,  540;  visits  Grassy 
Creek,  551. 

Labaree,  Mrs.  Joseph,  gives  birth 
to  son,  555;  mentioned,  553; 
visits  Grassy  Creek,  551. 

Labaree,  Leonard  W.,  supplies  in- 
formation, 546%,  555%. 

Laboratory,  highway  marker  erect- 
ed at,  591. 

Lacy,  Benjamin  Rice,  mentioned, 
553%. 

Lacy,  Mrs.  Benjamin  Rice,  supplies 
information,  553%. 

Lafayette,  Gilbert  Motier  de,  ad- 
mires view  of  Washington,  566n; 
inspects  Canova  statue,  560%; 
portrait  of,  mentioned,  565;  stat- 
ue of,  mentioned,  547;  visits  Fay- 
etteville,  562%. 

"Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County 
in  1800,  The,"  article  by  Hugh 
Hill  Wooten,  523-537. 

Land  Valuations  of  Iredell  County, 
North  Carolina,  1800,  For  a  Di- 
rect Tax  (MS),  lists  crafts  and 
professions,  536;  study  based  on, 
523-539;  total  of  listings  in,  529. 


622 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Lander,  Ernest  M.,  Jr.,  article, 
"Paper  Manufacturing  in  South 
Carolina  Before  the  Civil  War," 
220-227. 

Lander,  William,  elected  to  First 
Congress,  365. 

Lane,  Grace  V.,  mentioned,  470. 

Lane,  Joel,  mentioned,  558w. 

Lanier,  Sidney,  writes  for  Double- 
day,  Page,  493. 

Lanning,  John  Tate,  appointed  on 
committee,  465;  becomes  chair- 
man of  conference,  465. 

Lapierre,  John,  becomes  Brunswick 
pastor,  237. 

Laprade,  William  T.,  acts  as  chair- 
man of  Duke  history  department, 
298;  edits  Quarterly,  298;  retires 
as  chairman  of  Duke  history  de- 
partment, 590;  writes  Scholar- 
ship, Hysteria  and  Freedom,  144. 

Lassiter,  Benjamin  Kittrell,  men- 
tioned,  561n. 

Lassiter,  Robert  Gilliam,  mentioned, 
561n. 

Latham,  Mrs.  J.  E.,  contributes  to 
Tryon   Palace   restoration,   295. 

Latham,  Walter,  elected  vice-presi- 
dent, 300. 

Lawrence,  Alexander  A.,  his  Storm 
over  Savannah:  The  Story  of 
Count  d'Estaing  and  the  Siege 
of  the  Town  in  1779,  reviewed, 
444. 

Lawrence,  Mrs.  C.  A.,  elected  vice- 
president,  300. 

Lawrence,  Eva  J.,  compiles  bibli- 
ography, 595. 

Law  son's  History  of  North  Caro- 
lina  (reprint),  received,  596. 

Leach,  James  Madison,  against 
more  power  for  executive,  374; 
delegate  to  Second  Congress,  374. 

Leach,  James  Thomas,  against  con- 
tinuing war,  378;  delegates  to 
Second  Congress,  373;  requests 
peace  feelers,  377. 

Leary,  Lewis,  writes  The  Literary 
Career  of  Nathaniel  Tucker, 
1750-1807,  255. 

Leavitt,  Sturgis  E.,  his  Southern 
Humanities  Conference  and  Its 
Constituent  Societies,  received, 
286. 

Lee,  Charles,  predicts  tax  opposi- 
tion, 340. 

Lee,  Daniel,  discusses  farming  ex- 
periments, 53. 

Lee,  E.  Lawrence,  reads  paper,  151, 
228,  468. 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  recommends  arming 
of  slaves,  377. 

Lee,  Ronald  F.,  placed  on  museum 
committee,  295. 


Lefler,  Hugh  T.,  addresses  Bertie 
County  Historical  Association, 
467;  appears  on  Southern  His- 
torial  Association  program,  148; 
presents  obituary,  147;  reviews 
The  Journal  of  the  Commons 
House  of  Assembly,  September 
12,  1739-March  26,  17 U  (The 
Colonial  Records  of  South  Caro- 
lina), 439;  reviews  Liberty  and 
Property,  139. 

Legal  Status  of  the  Tenant  Farmer 
in  the  Southeast,  The,  received, 
597 ;  reviewed,  587. 

Lemmon,  Sarah  McCulloh,  pub- 
lishes "The  Ideology  of  the  Dixi- 
crat  Movement,"  297;  receives 
Ph.D.,  465;  reviews  The  History 
of  a  Brigade  of  South  Carolin- 
ians, 125;  teaches  at  Meredith 
College,  297. 

Lenoir,  William,  makes  no  promise 
181;  refuses  to  solicit  votes,  174. 

Lentz,  Robert  T.,  supplies  informa- 
tion, 560n. 

Lester,  Philip  C,  dissolves  partner- 
ship, 227;  establishes  paper  mill, 
223;  forms  partnership,  223;  op- 
erates mill,  227. 

"Letters  from  North  Carolina  to 
Andrew  Johnson,"  edited  by  Eliz- 
abeth Gregory  McPherson,  104- 
119,    259-268,    400-431,    569-578. 

Letters  of  William  Gilmore  Simms, 
volume  I,  1830-18UU,  received, 
597. 

Lewis,  Ernest,  speaks  on  excava- 
tion work,  594;  reads  paper,  147. 

Lewis,  Henry  Wilkins,  his  North- 
ampton Parishes,  received,  596; 
reviewed,  435. 

Lewis,  Howell,  builds  meeting 
house,  553n;  meeting  held  in 
home  of,  553n. 

Lewis,  Monk,  Raleigh  theater  pre- 
sents play  by,  350. 

Liberia,  history  of  colonization  in, 
556n. 

Liberty  and  Property,  received, 
154;  reviewed,  138. 

Library,  The,  William  B.  Todd 
publishes  articles  in,  297. 

Library  Commission,  income  of,  in- 
creases, 395;  lends  books,  394; 
works  for  supplementary  state 
funds,  398. 

Lides  Go  South  .  .  .  and  West: 
The  Record  of  a  Planter  Migra- 
tion in  1835,  received,  597. 

Life  of  Francis  Marion,  The, 
Mason  L.  Weems  writes,  21. 

Life  of  Washington,  final  copies 
delivered,  14;   Mason  L.  Weems 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


623 


seeks  subscriptions  to,  9;  men- 
tioned, 178;  Wayne  slow  in  de- 
livery of,  13. 

Lillington,  Alexander,  Moore  mar- 
ries daughter  of,  231. 

Lillo,  George,  writes  George  Barn- 
well,  348. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  appoints  com- 
missioner, 64;  calls  for  volun- 
teers, 359;  elated  by  victory,  204; 
elected,  359;  plans  blockade,  206; 
policies  of  administration  of,  359. 

Lincolnton,  highway  marker  erect- 
ed at,  591. 

Lineberger,  Mrs.  J.  D„  remains 
vice-president,  150. 

Lippincott,  Grambo,  and  Company, 
prints  N.  C.  Reader,  504;  re- 
news contract,  520;  refuses  offer 
of  copyright,  522. 

Literary  Board,  declines  copyright 
for  N.  C.  Reader,  519. 

Literary  Career  of  Nathaniel 
Tucker,  1750-1807,  Lewis  Leary 
writes,  255. 

Little  John,  attacks  ship  of  Juan  de 
Borde,  311 ;  Christopher  Newport 
commands,  307;  crew  of,  receives 
proceeds,  314;  mentioned,  307, 
312;  takes  cargo  to  Portsmouth, 
313. 

Littlejohn,  Elizabeth,  identified, 
560ft. 

Littlejohn,  Frances  Blount,  men- 
tioned, 560ft. 

Littlejohn,  Lucinda  Jane,  identified, 
560ft. 

Littlejohn,  Sarah  Blount,  mentioned, 
552™. 

Littlejohn,  Thomas  Blount,  appoint- 
ed to  church  committee,  543ft,* 
house  of,  described,  553ft;  or- 
ganizes church,  553ft;  Pamela 
Savage  visits,  552,  560,  560ft; 
presents  land,  553ft;  sells  land  for 
county  seat,  550ft,"  sketch  of, 
552ft. 

Littlejohn,  William,  mentioned, 
552ft,  560ft. 

Littlejohn,  Mrs.  William,  mentioned, 
560ft. 

Lloyd,  Thomas,  recommended  to 
Council  seat,  339. 

Lloyd,  William  Bross,  Jr.,  writes 
Town  Meeting  for  America,  597. 

Locke,  John,  mentioned,  195. 

Lockmiller,  David  A.,  reviews  The 
History  of  Randolph-Macon 
Woman's  College,  134;  reviews 
The  Papers  and  Addresses  of 
William  Preston  Few,  581. 

Lockwood's  Folly,  acquires  county 
seat,  244. 


Logan,  George  Washington,  dele- 
gate to  Second  Congress,  374. 

Long,  Mrs.  Glenn,  elected  president- 
general,  146. 

Long,  Will  West,  writes  Cherokee 
Dance  and  Drama,  152. 

Lord,  William,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

"Lost  Colony,  The,"  draws  crowds, 
591. 

Loth,  David,  his  book,  The  People's 
General:  The  Personal  Story  of 
Lafayette,  reviewed,  291. 

Louisburg,  has  academy,  550ft. 

Love,  James  R.,  letter  from,  576. 

Lowrey,  Robert  B.,  makes  sugges- 
tions to  Welles,  209. 

Lucas,  Alexander,  designs  theater 
building,  345. 

Lunsford,  Bascom  Lamar,  elected 
president,  151. 

Lyman,  Huldah,  marries  Joseph  La- 
baree,  540ft,  555ft. 

Lynch,  Edwin  M.,  conducts  tour, 
593. 

Lynchburg  (Va.),  Negro  normal 
school  established  at,  82. 


M 


McAllister,  Quentin  Oliver,  his 
Business  Executives  and  the  Hu- 
manities, reviewed,  456. 

McBee,  Vardry,  closes  factory,  226; 
establishes  paper  mill,  222;  man- 
ufactures fine  letter  sheets,  224; 
ships  to  Charleston,  225;  uses 
good  manufacturing  technique, 
224. 

McCain,  Paul,  teaches  at  Western 
Carolina  Teachers  College,  590. 

McCann,  Franklin  T.,  writes  Eng- 
lish Discovery  of  America  to 
1585,  596. 

McClamroch,  James  G.  W.,  reap- 
pointed, 592. 

McClelland,  John,  land  sold  to,  528. 

McClelland,  William,  mentioned, 
525ft. 

McColl,  Katherine  S.,  represents 
community  in  historical  associa- 
tion, 467. 

McCoy,  George  W.,  his  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Asheville,  N.  C, 
1794.-1951,  received,  596;  re- 
viewed, 579 ;  mentioned,  468. 

McCray,  John,  Pamela  Savage 
meets,  565. 

McCray,  Mrs.  John,  mentioned,  565. 

McCulloh,  Alexander,  sells  land  for 
Henry  McCulloh,  28. 

McCulloh,  Henry  Eustace,  appeals 
for  revision  of   Stamp   Act,   36; 


624 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


becomes  patriot,  464;  becomes 
stamp  collector,  326;  desires  sec- 
retaryship of  North  Carolina,  29; 
devises  currency  scheme,  26,  34; 
discerns  weakness  of  Stamp  Act, 
35;  drafts  Stamp  Act,  24,  25;  ex- 
periences difficulty  with  land 
grant,  28;  expresses  belief  in 
Parliament,  35,  36;  expresses  tax 
views,  36;  foresees  failure  of 
Stamp  Act,  26,  37;  holds  posi- 
tion in  Plantation  Office,  27; 
leaves  N.  C,  326;  lists  articles 
to  be  taxed  30;  loses  claim  to 
land  grant  29;  obtains  position 
in  N.  C,  29;  points  out  failure  of 
Church  of  England,  32;  proposes 
to  benefit  by  stamp  duty,  461, 
462;  proposes  stamp  duty,  24,  324, 
460,  462;  realizes  need  for  cur- 
rency reform,  33,  328;  receives 
land  grant,  27,  28;  refused  pay, 
27;  regarded  as  merchant,  463; 
seeks  commission  in  British  navy, 
27,  29;  seeks  position,  29;  seeks 
to  improve  quit  rents,  28;  senses 
attitude  of  colonies  towards 
Stamp  Act,  32;  serves  as  crown 
officer,  25;  serves  in  British  navy, 
32;  speculates  in  land,  28;  states 
causes  for  failure  of  Stamp  Act, 
31 ;  writes  of  ecclesiastical  courts, 
31,  32;  writes  of  resentment  of 
colonies,  32;  writes  propaganda 
pamphlet,  317. 

McDonald,  Leon,  elected  secretary- 
treasurer,  151. 

McDowell,  John,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

McDowell,  Thomas  David  Smith, 
elected  delegate,  361,  365. 

McDuffie,  George,  addresses  Agri- 
cultural Society,  53. 

McFarland,  Daniel  M.,  reviews 
They  Gave  Us  Freedom,  128. 

Mcllhenny,  James,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Mclver,  Charles  D.,  chided  for  prej- 
udice, 490. 

McKay,  W.  J.,  letter  from,  575. 

McKeithen,  Edwin,  A.,  represents 
community  in  historical  associa- 
tion, 467. 

McKeithen,  Leland,  elected  first 
vice-president,  467. 

MacKensie's  Vaudeville  Troupe, 
performs  in  City  Hall,  355. 

McKethan,  Mrs.  E.  R.,  becomes  hon- 
orary president,  146. 

McKinney,  John,  operates  Bath 
Paper  Mills,  227. 

MacKinney,  Loren  C,  delivers  in- 
augural lecture,  297;  placed  on 
microfilming      committee,      145; 


writes  of  mediaeval  medicine, 
145. 

McKitchan,  Alexander,  resides  in 
Brunswick,  241. 

McKitchan,  Donald,  resides  in 
Brunswick,  241. 

Macklin,  Charles,  writes  Love  a  la 
Mode,  351. 

McLean,  Albert,  elected  secretary, 
468. 

McLean,  James  Robert,  elected  to 
First  Congress,  365. 

McLellan,  Hugh,  supplies  informa- 
tion, 540?i,  542%,  544ft,  549ft,  552ft, 
554ft,  556ft. 

McMullan,  Harry,  sponsors  pro- 
gram, 150. 

MeNair,  James  B.,  his  Simon 
Cameron's  Adventure  in  Iron, 
1837-1846,  reviewed,  452. 

McPherson,  Elizabeth  Gregory, 
edits  "Letters  from  North  Caro- 
lina to  Andrew  Johnson,"  104- 
119,  259-268,  400-431,  569-578. 

McRae,  Duncan  K.,  requests  law 
license,  163. 

MacRae,  John,  appointed  postmas- 
ter,  565ft;   publishes  map,  565ft. 

Madison,  WPA  aids  in  building  li- 
brary at,  391. 

Madison  County,  agitation  in,  265, 
266,  267;  lacks  public  library 
service,  393,  397. 

Malone,  Ellis,  letter  from,  108. 

Man  of  Independence,  The,  Frontis 
W.  Johnston  comments  on,  250; 
receives  recognition,  228. 

Manchester,  Alan  K.,  becomes  at- 
tache, 144. 

Mangum,  Charles  S.,  Jr.,  his  Legal 
Status  of  the  Tenant  Farmer  in 
the  Southeast,  received,  596;  re- 
viewed, 587. 

Mangum,  Willie  P.,  accounts  for 
his  victory,  184. 

Manly,  Ralza  Morse,  gives  school 
report,  73;  desires  Virginians  as 
teachers,  78;  Negro  education 
grows  under  direction  of,  90; 
opens  normal  schools,  74;  opens 
rural  summer  schools,  84;  rea- 
lizes opposition  to  mixed  schools, 
85;  seeks  to  establish  teacher- 
training  schools,  73;  strives  to 
improve  school  buildings,  72;  suc- 
ceeds W.  H.  Woodbury,  66;  views 
progress  of  Negro  schools,  86; 
works  for  state  public  school 
system,  78;  writes  of  public 
schools,  83. 

Manning,  Harold  S.,  placed  on  mu- 
seum committees,  295. 

Marsh,  James,  elected  treasurer, 
148. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


625 


Marshall,  Mrs.  E.  C,  remains  vice- 
president,  150. 

Marshall,  John,  mentioned,  506w; 
strives  to  open  Raleigh  theater, 
353. 

Martin,  Edward  F.,  compiles  Rec- 
ords of  the  Solid  Fuels  Admin- 
istration for  War,  154,  293. 

Martin,  Fran?ois-Xavier,  his  His- 
tory of  North  Carolina,  from  the 
Earliest  Period,  used  as  source, 
506n. 

Martin,  Josiah,  flees  from  New 
Bern,  243. 

Martin,  William  A.,  sends  for  help, 
211. 

Martin  County,  operates  WPA  li- 
brary, 394. 

Mason,  Catherine  Harrod,  writes 
James  Harrod  of  Kentucky,  152. 

Mason,  John  Y.,  becomes  senator, 
199. 

Matthews,  John,  leaves  Providence 
Church,  554n. 

Mauduit,  Israll,  proposes  stamp 
duty,  323. 

Maurice,  George,  remains  vice- 
president,  150. 

Mayflower  Society  Cup,  mentioned, 
3,  246. 

Mecklenburg  County,  Sam  Polk 
leaves,  189. 

Medley,  Mary  Louise,  elected  vice- 
president,  151;  writes  historical 
articles    592. 

Meekins,  'c.  S.,  elected  treasurer, 
299. 

Meekins,  Victor  S.,  placed  on  mu- 
seum committee,  295. 

Meggison,  Joseph  C,  James  T. 
Morehead  recommends,  162. 

Memminger,  Christopher  G.,  seeks 
to  curb  inflation,  368. 

Memorabilia  of  Fifty  Years,  Ed- 
ward Rondthaler  writes,  3. 

Meredith,  Hugh,  reports  on  Bruns- 
wick houses,  240. 

Merrill,  James  M.,  article,  "The 
Hatteras  Expedition,  August, 
1861,"  204-219. 

Merrill,  Thomas  A.,  Joseph  Labaree 
studies  with,  540w;  outlions  Dan- 
iel Webster,  540n. 

Merrittsville,   Oxford  called,   550n. 

Methodism,  introduced  in  Fayette- 
ville,  556n. 

Micklejohn,  George,  praises  Tryon, 
333. 

Middleton,  A.  Pierce,  edits  They 
Gave  Us  Freedom,  127. 

Miles,  Edwin  A.,  attends  unveiling 
of  highway  marker,  591;  men- 
tioned, 470. 

Miller,  Andrew,  letter  from,  574. 


Miller,  Harold  S.,  placed  on  museum 
committee,  295. 

Milligen-Johnston,  George,  his  Co- 
lonial South  Carolina:  Two  Con- 
temporary Descriptions,  review- 
ed, 440. 

Milling,  Chapman  J.,  edits  Colonial 
South  Carolina:  Two  Contem- 
porary Descriptions,  596. 

Mims,  Edwin,  W.  H.  Page  writes, 
493;  writes  for  World's  Work, 
492. 

"Mind  of  the  North  Carolina  Op- 
ponents of  the  Stamp  Act,  The," 
article  by  C.  Robert  Haywood, 
317-343. 

Minnesota,  Confederates  sign  sur- 
render terms  on,  216;  officers  of, 
jubilant,  212,  213;  officers  of, 
make  plans,  211;  used  in  attack 
on  Hatteras,  210,  213. 

Mississippi  Valley  Historical  As- 
sociation, holds  meeting,  470. 

Mr.  Justice  Sutherland:  A  Man 
against  the  State,  received,  154; 
reviewed,   457. 

Mrs.  G.  I.  Joe,  received,  154;  re- 
viewed, 434. 

Mitchell,  David,  extends  thanks, 
554u;  furnishes  entertainment, 
554n. 

Mitchell,  Elisha,  itinerary  of,  566n; 
joins  University  faculty,  194. 

Mitchell  County,  lacks  public  li- 
brary, 393. 

Moir,  James,  deplores  taverns  of 
Brunswick,  242. 

Monger,  John  E.,  elected  district 
vice-president,  298. 

Monroe,  John  Raymond  Shute  acts 
as  mayor  of,  248. 

Montgomery,  Horace,  his  Cracker 
Parties,  reviewed,  586. 

Montgomery  County,  bookmobile 
begins  operations  in,  388;  lacks 
complete  library  service,  393,  397; 
records  microfilmed  in,  295; 
toured,  146. 

Monticello,  fires  on  Hatteras,  214; 
leads  in  Fort  Clark  attack,  211; 
meets  with  misfortune,  213;  pro- 
tects soldiers,  213;  remains  near 
Hatteras,  217. 

Montross,  Lynn,  his  Rag,  Tag  and 
Bobtail:  The  Story  of  the  Con- 
tinental Army,  1775-1783,  re- 
ceived, 596;  reviewed,  450. 

Moonlight,  attacks  El  Buen  Jesus, 
310;  John  Bedford  assumes  com- 
mand of,  311;  mentioned,  306, 
310,  313. 

Moore,  Bartholomew  F.,  W.  T. 
Dortch  studies  with,  573n. 


626 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Moore,  E.,  Pamela  Savage  parts 
with,  546. 

Moore,  G.  T.,  unique  campaigning 
of,  178,  180,  186. 

Moore,  George,  intercedes  for  Pen- 
nington, 336. 

Moore,  Mrs.  J.  H.  B.,  elected  vice- 
president,  150. 

Moore,  Louis  T.,  conducts  tour,  468; 
talks  to  Literary  and  Historical 
Association,   468. 

Moore,  Martha,  mentioned,  544. 

Moore,  Maurice,  begins  town  of 
Brunswick,  232;  completes  plans 
for  Brunswick,  238,  239;  demands 
self-rule,  329;  draws  settlers  to 
Cape  Fear  region,  231;  fights 
Indian  insurrection,  231;  writes 
"Justice  and  Policy  of  Taxing  the 
American  Colonies  in  England," 
329. 

Moore,  Nathaniel,  settles  in  Cape 
Fear  section,  231. 

Moore,  Pamela  Savage.  See  Savage, 
Pamela. 

Moore,  Pliny  (elder),  mentioned, 
544;  owns  slaves,  549w. 

Moore,  Pliny  (younger),  baptized, 
541;  death  of,  544;  marries  Pame- 
la Savage,  544. 

Moore,  Roger,  settles  in  Cape  Fear 
region,  231. 

Moore,  Sarah,  death  of,  544. 

Moore,  William   G.,  letter  to,   426. 

Moore  County,  lacks  complete  li- 
brary, 393 ;  records  microfilmed 
in,  295. 

Moore  County  Historical  Associa- 
tion, Mrs.  Ernest  L.  Ives  elected 
president  of,  467. 

Moravian  Church  in  America,  ap- 
points archivist,  2. 

Moravian  College,  confers  degree 
on  Adelaide  L.  Fries,  4. 

Moravian  Customs — Our  Inheri- 
tance, Adelaide  L.  Fries  pub- 
lishes, 3. 

Moravians,  feel  friendly  towards 
Tryon,  333. 

Moravians  in  Georgia,  The,  Ade- 
laide L.  Fries  publishes,  3. 

Morehead,  James  T.,  writes  in  be- 
half of  Joseph  C.  Meggison,  162. 

Morehead,  John  Motley,  elected 
delegate,  361;  mentioned,  199; 
supports  tax  bill,  363. 

Morgan,  Edmund  S.,  describes  de- 
lay in  stamp  law,  462. 

Morgan,  J.  Worth,  elected  treas- 
urer, 149. 

Morris,  J.,  his  Celebrated  New  York- 
Exhibition,  puts  on  show  for  Ra- 
leigh, 355. 


Morrison,  Robert  Hall,  mentioned, 
199. 

Morrison's  Mill  (Iredell  Co.),  his- 
tory of,  534,  535. 

Morton,  Andrew,  writes  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
340. 

Morton,  Thomas,  offers  plays,  345. 

Moseley,  Edward,  mentioned,  241; 
settles  in  Cape  Fear  section,  231. 

Moseley,  William  D.,  becomes  gov- 
ernor, 199;  forgiven,  201;  makes 
high  grade,  194;  mentioned,  200; 
Polk  presents  gift  to,  202. 

Moss,  Thomas,  fire  starts  in  house 
of,  54972. 

Moton,  Robert  R.,  writes  for 
World's  Work,  493. 

Mount  Olive,  WPA  provides  for  li- 
brary at,  391. 

Mulford,  Thomas,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Munford,  G.,  canvasses  for  votes, 
185. 

Munro,  Revell,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Murdoch,  Richard  K.,  his  Georgia- 
Florida  Frontier,  1793-1796,  re- 
viewed, 447. 

Murphey,  Archibald,  mentioned, 
483. 

Murphy,  sets  up  regional  library, 


394. 


Murphy,  Arthur,  Raleigh  theater 
presents  play  by,  353. 

Murray,  James,  considers  southern 
colonies  aggressive,  331 ;  men- 
tioned, 237. 

Murray,  Lindley,  book  by,  men- 
tioned, 500. 

Murray,  Paul,  reviews  The  Story 
of  Fayetteville  and  the  Upper 
Cape  Fear,  433. 

Mutter,  Elizabeth,  marries  Thomas 
B.  Littlejohn,  552%. 

Mutter,  John,  mentioned,  560n. 

Mutter,  Thomas,  history  of  home 
of,  560%;  mentioned,  552n. 

Mutter,  Thomas  Dent,  inherits 
home,  560n. 

Myers,  Denys  P.,  discovers  official 
copy  of  Constitution,  592. 


N 


Nantahala  Regional  Library,  estab- 
lished, 394.  t 

Nash,  Frederick,  advises  son,  167; 
obtains  law  license,  163. 

National  Council  for  Historic  Sites 
and  Buildings,  Christopher  Crit- 
tenden attends  meeting  of,  299, 
472. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


627 


National  Genealogical  Society,  Ade- 
laide L.  Fries  becomes  member 
of,  4. 

National  Trust  for  Historic  Preser- 
vation in  the  United  States, 
Christopher  Crittenden  attends 
meeting  of,  472. 

Navigation  acts,  add  no  burden, 
323;  North  Carolina  planters  ac- 
cept, 322. 

Navy  and  Industrial  Mobilization 
in  World  War  II,  The,  Robert  H. 
Connery  writes,  253. 

Neal,  Joseph  F..  elected  secretary- 
treasurer,  466. 

Negro  and  the  Communist  Party, 
The,  received,  280,  595. 

Negro  and  Fusion  Politics  in  North 
Carolina,  1894-1901,  The,  Helen 
G.  Edmonds  writes,  250;  received 
154;  reviewed,  278. 

Negroes,  C.  W.  Chesnutt  writes 
about,  585;  citizens  favor  edu- 
cating, 71;  display  zeal  for 
education,  80;  education  system 
established  for,  64,  65;  relation 
of,  to  religion  in  state,  hh6n; 
resent  closing  of  schools,  86; 
South  Carolina  tries  to  organize 
churches  for,  60;  subject  of  arti- 
cles in  World's  Work,  492 ;  toler- 
ance shown  towards  education  of, 
74;  W.  H.  Pa_ge  attacks  problems 
of,  490. 

New  Bern,  Arthur  Dobbs  moves  to, 
241;  General  Assembly  holds 
meetings  at,  234;  mentioned,  206, 
209;  plans  for  restoration  at, 
discussed,  295;  public  demonstra- 
tion occurs  in,  331,  WPA  builds 
library  in,  391.  See  also  Newbern 
Academy. 

New  England  Freedmen's  Aid  So- 
ciety, reports  progress  in  school 
work,  71;  works  for  freedmen's 
education,  66. 

New  Hanover  County,  toured,  468; 
Tryon  addresses  men  of,  333. 

New  Hanover  Precinct,  established, 
233. 

New  York  Board  of  Underwriters, 
demands  action,  208. 

New  York  City,  Hatteras  victory 
cheers,  218;  history  of  landmarks 
in,  567n;  Pamela  Savasre  de- 
scribes, 547;  Pamela  Savage 
visits,  567,  567n. 

New  York  National  Freedmen's  Re- 
lief Association,  reports  progress 
in  educational  work,  71 ;  works 
for  freedmen's  education,  66. 

Newbern  Academy,  schedule  of, 
557n. 


Newman,  Stephen  Parker,  resides 
in  Brunswick,  241. 

Newport,  Christopher,  captures 
Spanish  vessels,  309;  commands 
expedition,  305;  commands  Little 
John,  307;  deposition  of,  314; 
improves  sailing  squadron,  309; 
interested  in  lost  colony,  305; 
loses  arm,  312;  recovers  from 
wound,  314;  sails  for  Azores,  312; 
sails  for  Cape  Corrientes,  309; 
sails  for  Cuba,  309;  testifies  for 
John  Watts,  314;  wins  prize,  308. 

Newsome,  Albert  Ray,  mentioned, 
147. 

Newton,  begins  as  center  of  trade, 
233;  changes  name,  233;  Gabriel 
Johnston  buys  lands  in,  233. 

Newton,  George,  work  of,  recount- 
ed,  580. 

Nicholson,  Arthur,  elected  presi- 
dent, 300. 

Nisbet,  John,  operates  store,  526, 
526w. 

Nixon,  Joe  R.,  placed  on  school 
committee,  300;  writes  Unity 
Presbyterian  Church,  Cradle  of 
State  Builders,  597. 

Noah,  M.  M.,  Raleigh  theater  pre- 
sents play  of,  350. 

Noblin,  Stuart,  becomes  associate 
professor,  296;  edits  College  Life 
at  Old  Oglethorpe,  129;  presents 
paper,  147 ;  reviews  A  History  of 
the  Hemp  Industry  in  Kentucky, 
133. 

Noe,  Alex  C.  D.,  attends  antiquities 
meeting,  150. 

Norfolk  (Va.),  aided  by  Hatteras 
Inlet,  206;  Confederate  operator 
dispatches  from,  211;  freedmen's 
school  opens  in,  68;  public  school 
system  begun  at,  79;  R.  M.  Man- 
ly opens  normal  school  in,  75; 
supports  Negro  schools,  83. 

Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute 
(Hampton,  Va.),  educational  plan 
of,  76;  grows,  84;  opened,  75. 

North  American  Reader,  demands 
Americanized  texts,  500. 

North  Carolina,  academy  movement 
in,  described,  550n;  accepts  Davis 
administration,  362 ;  affected 
by  reorganization  of  colonial  ad- 
ministration, 317;  Alexander  Mc- 
Culloh  sells  land  in,  28;  approves 
war  tax,  363 ;  average  land  valua- 
tion in,  531 ;  benefits  from  writing 
of  C.  H.  Wiley,  500,  502,  522; 
campaigning  methods  in,  179, 
185;  capture  of,  recommended, 
209;  citizens  of,  reject  Tryon's 
offer,    334;    claims    many    book- 


628 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


mending   units,   390;    Cornwallis 
tries    to    conquer,    243;    Couchet 
Jouvencal  acts  as  agent  for,  326; 
counties   of,  buy  WPA  bookmo- 
biles, 392;  court  business  accumu- 
lates   in,    342;    debates    rate    of 
taxes,  368;  demands  certain  free- 
dom, 319;  demands  equal  status, 
343;  dislikes  conduct  of  Confed- 
erate government,   370;   division 
of,  recommended,  517;   effect  of 
academies  on  life  in,  551n;  elec- 
tion   laws    of,    cited,    172,    173; 
elects  representatives  to  Perma- 
nent Congress,  364;  emancipation 
movement  liveliest  in,  550w;  ene- 
my heads  for  coast  of,  211;  estab- 
lishes   looms,    338;    experiences 
public  library  development,  397; 
experiences  reorganization  prob- 
lems, 319;  feels  no  need  for  pro- 
tection, 318;  few  demonstrations 
occur  in,  332;  fights  compulsory 
funding,  368;  fights  for  exemp- 
tions, 367;  finances  Tryon  Palace, 
governed    by    eastern    planters, 
341;  has  official  copy  of  Constitu- 
tion, 592 ;  Hatteras  defeat  alarms, 
218;    Henry    McCulloh    inspects 
grants   in,   27;    Henry   McCulloh 
receives  grant  in,  27 ;  hesitates  to 
secede,  359;  ignores  Declaratory 
Act,  339;  impressment  laws  heavy 
in,    371;    law   licenses    of,    men- 
tioned,  164;    lawyers   of,   pledge 
allegiance,    164;    loses    Roanoke 
Island,   370;    opposes    exempting 
plantation  overseers,  368;  opposes 
George  Grenville's  program,  318; 
opposes  Sugar  Act,  322;  opposes 
suspension    of    writ    of    habeas 
corpus,  376;  percentage  of  clear- 
ed land  in  piedmont,  530;  planta- 
tion aristocrats  control  Assembly 
in,    330;    plantation    aristocrats 
lead  opposition  to  English  taxa- 
tion in,  331;  privateers  active  in, 
208;   produces   critics,   517;   pro- 
tests soldiers  detailed  to  civilian 
duties,    368;    public   libraries    of, 
increase  number  of  volumes,  379; 
receives    concessions,    325;    rela- 
tion of,  to  North  and  South,  501; 
religious  activities  of  Negroes  in, 
556n;  representatives  of,  discuss 
conscription,  367;  represented  as 
golden  mean,   506;   retains   con- 
trol over  militia,  363;  scarcity  of 
data  on  rural  piedmont  regions 
of,  523;  specialized  industry  de- 
layed in,   536;    squadron,  guards 
coast  of,  208;  Stamp  Act  brings 
conflict   in,    317;    supplies    large 
part  of  conscripts,  371;  supplies 


rural  people  with  books,  388; 
susceptible  to  ridicule,  512;  taxes 
difficult  to  collect  in,  321;  Union 
merchantmen  suffer  loss  on  coast 
of,  207;  voices  ideas  of  federal 
conduct,  362;  W.  H.  Page  en- 
courages development  of,  485; 
Whigs  reveal  strength  in,  360; 
wins  colonial  rights,  318;  WPA 
library  service  benefits,  398; 
writers  of,  record  own  works,  593. 

North  Carolina  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, issues  invitation  to  Presi- 
dent, 578. 

North  Carolina  Archaeological  So- 
ciety, holds  meeting,  148. 

North  Carolina  Citizens'  Library 
Movement,  begins  campaign,  379; 
feels  effect  of  depression,  379. 

North  Carolina  Collection,  housed 
in  library  building,  470. 

"North  Carolina  in  the  Confederate 
Congress,"  article  by  Wilfred  B. 
Yearns,  Jr.,  359-378. 

North  Carolina  Day,  Christopher 
Crittenden  speaks  at  celebration 
of,  472. 

North  Carolina  delegation  (Confed- 
erate Congress),  accused  of  dis- 
loyalty, 372;  agrees  on  export  of 
crops,  363 ;  debates  suspension  of 
habeas  corpus,  369;  favors  con- 
ference, 370;  favors  extending 
draft  age,  367;  has  little  confi- 
dence in  Confederate  govern- 
ment, 374;  holds  interview  with 
Jefferson  Davis,  373 ;  opposes  dis- 
position of  volunteer  troops,  364 ; 
opposes  extension  of  draft  age, 
367;  plans  political  campaign, 
365;  requests  suspension  of  con- 
scription. 371. 

North  Carolina  Division  of  United 
Daughters  of  Confederacy,  holds 
convention,  146. 

North  Carolina  English  Teachers 
Association,  represented  at  meet- 
ing, 593. 

North  Carolina  Federation  of  Wo- 
men's Clubs,  Adelaide  Fries  helps 
organize,  4. 

North  Carolina  Female  Academy, 
changes  hands,  552%;  moved, 
551w. 

North  Carolina  Folklore  Society, 
Alelaide  Fries  becomes  member 
of,  4;  holds  session,  151,  228. 

North  Carolina  General  Assembly, 
against  limiting  exemptions  from 
military  service,  376;  campaign- 
ing for  seats  begins  in,  171;  calls 
for  convention  elections,  359;  de- 
pressed by  fall  of  Hatteras,  205; 
disagrees  with  governor,  319;  en- 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


629 


joys  Raleigh  theater,  348;  esti- 
mates prepared  for,  591;  evades 
English  instructions,  320;  incor- 
porates amateur  group,  345; 
incorporates  Oxford,  550n;  in- 
creases library  appropriations, 
397;  Marjorie  Beal  appeals  to, 
396;  mentioned,  160;  passes  laws 
to  aid  Brunswick,  234,  238;  re- 
fuses salary  of  Henry  McCulloh, 
27;  votes  aid  for  public  libraries, 
396,  399. 

North  Carolina  Historical  Review, 
The,  editorial  board  of,  meets, 
591 ;  members  of  Literary  and 
Historical  Association  subscribe 
to,  228;  publishes  articles  by 
Adelaide  Fries,  3. 

North  Carolina  Library  Association, 
buys  bookmobile,  388;  Charles 
Whedbee  acts  as  chairman  of, 
398;  makes  possible  utilization 
of  WPA  service,  398;  represented 
at  meeting,  593. 

North  Carolina  Library  Commis- 
sion, administers  state  aid  appro- 
priation, 396;  appeals  to  General 
Assembly,  396;  asks  for  workers, 
380;  criticizes  restrictions  of 
WPA,  387;  holds  training  con- 
ferences, 381;  publishes  statistics 
of  progress,  382;  receives  aid, 
380;  sends  material  to  WPA  Li- 
brary Project,  386;  sets  up  sys- 
tem of  "traveling  libraries,"  388 ; 
sponsors  WPA  Library  Project, 
384;  states  requirements  for  state 
aid,  397. 

"North  Carolina  Non-fiction  Works 
for  1951,"  article  by  Frontis  W. 
Johnston,  246-258;  Frontis  John- 
ston reads  paper  on,  228. 

North  Carolina  Railroad,  T.  M.  Holt 
promotes,  578n. 

North  Carolina  Reader,  The, 
arouses  controversy,  512-519; 
benefits  derived  from,  522;  C.  H. 
Wiley  known  for  writing,  500; 
comes  into  use,  520;  compared 
with  other  readers,  503;  contains 
material  collected  for  gazetteer, 
503;  contents  of,  504-507;  criti- 
cized, 511-519;  employs  trave- 
logue device,  504;  profits  from, 
estimated,  520;  received  warmly, 
510,  511,  512;  reviewed,  501. 

North  Carolina  Society  of  County 
and  Local  Historians,  appoints 
district  leaders,  298;  attends  high- 
way marker  unveiling,  146;  holds 
session,  151,  228;  meets  with  his- 
torical associations,  473,  594; 
tours  counties,  146,  473,  593. 


North    Carolina    Society    of    New 
York,  William  Howard  Taft  ad- 
dresses, 491. 
North    Carolina    Society    for    the 
Preservation  of  Antiquities,  Ade- 
laide Fries  becomes  member  of, 
4;   holds  annual  meeting,  150. 
North    Carolina     Society    of    Tax 
Supervisors,  holds  meeting,  145. 
North    Carolina    State    College    of 
Agriculture     and     Engineering, 
founded,  494;  Preston  W.  Edsall 
teaches  history  at,  297. 
North     Carolina     Supreme     Court, 
clerk    of,    collects    lawyers'    tax, 
165;  mentioned,  161;  refuses  li- 
cense to  aliens,  166. 
North  Carolina  Supreme  Court  Re 

ports,  mentioned,  167. 
North  Carolinians,  attend  historical 
meeting,  299;  confronted  by  lack 
of  trade,  335;  criticize  taxation, 
363;  enjoy  library  service,  379; 
Mason  L.  Weems  influences  read- 
ing habits  of,  18;  open  Cape  Fear 
River,  337;  oppose  unlimited  im- 
pressment of  slaves,  377;  report 
failure,  359;  resent  additional 
taxes,  323;  suggest  continuing 
legislative  session,  378;  think  in 
terms  of  "Old  Colonial  System," 
342;  vote  against  discriminatory 
legislation,  375. 
Northampton     Parishes,     received, 

596;  reviewed,  435. 
Norton,  William,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 
Nuestra  Senora  del  Rosario,  Chris- 
topher   Newport    takes    articles 
from,  315;   English  attack,  312; 
Miguel  de  Acosta  commands,  311. 
Nursing   in   Ohio:   A   History,   re- 
ceived, 155. 
Nutbush,    Williamsborough    estab- 
lished on  site  of,  555n. 
Nutbush    Church.    See    St.    John's 
Church. 

O 

Oates,  John  A.,  his  book,  The  Story 
of  Fayetteville  and  the  Upper 
Cape  Fear,  reviewed,  432. 

O'Boyle,  Lenore  R.,  receives  fellow- 
ship, 465. 

O'Brien,  Anne,  directs  academy, 
555n. 

Occonaluftee  Village,  opened  to 
visitors,  592. 

Ocracoke,  captured,  219;  fortified, 
207. 

Odell,  Alfred  Taylor,  edits  The 
Letters  of  William  Gilmore 
Simms,  volume  I,  1830-18  UU,  597. 


630 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Odum,  Howard  W.,  writes  Ameri- 
can Sociology,  254. 

Oesen,  Elaine  von,  article,  "Public 
Library  Extension  in  North 
Carolina,"  379-399. 

Ogden,  Robert  C,  instructed  by 
committee,  494;  writes  W.  H. 
Page,  496. 

O'Keefe,  John,  writes  The  Poor 
Soldier,  348. 

"Old  Brunswick,  the  Story  of  a 
Colonial  Town,"  article  by  E. 
Lawrence  Lee,  Jr.,  230-245;  E. 
Lawrence  Lee,  Jr.,  reads  paper 
on,  228. 

Old  Dominion  and  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte: A  Study  in  American 
Opinion,   received,   597. 

Old  Salem,  Incorporated,  plans 
restoration,  469. 

Oliphant,  Mary  C.  Simms,  edits 
The  Letters  of  William  Gilmore 
Simms,  volume  I,  1830-18U,  597. 

Olive  Chapel  Baptist  Church,  Gar- 
land A.  Hendricks  writes  history 
of,  252. 

Oliver,  William  B.,  elected  presi- 
dent, 466. 

Oliver,  William  H.,  letter  from, 
576. 

Olmstead,  Denison,  mentioned,  194. 

Orange  County,  joins  in  library 
agreement,  394;  toured,  593. 

Orange  Presbytery,  cost  of  churches 
in  553n. 

Oregon  Inlet,  fortified,  207. 

Origins  of  the  New  South,  1877- 
1913,  volume  IX  of  A  History  of 
the  South,  received,  154;  review- 
ed, 446. 

Orton  Key,  Christopher  Newport 
attends  court  at,  314. 

Otis,  James,  writes  of  Whig's 
Stamp  Act,  35. 

Our  American  Cotisin,  Raleigh 
theater  presents,  356. 

Outlook,  advertisement  in,  attracts 
Sails  family,  545 ;  W.  H.  Page  to 
write  for,  495. 

Owen,  William  H.,  evaluates  N.  C. 
Reader,  508,  509;  similarity  of, 
to  "Pax  Vobiscum,"  518n. 

Oxford,  courthouse  erected  in, 
5507z;  described,  550;  history  of, 
550n;  Pamela  Savage  visits,  540; 
Sails  family  moves  to,  545. 

Oxford  Academy,  celebrates  May 
Day,  543 ;  conducts  examinations, 
554,  555n,  557,  5QSn;  establish- 
ed, 545w,  550w;  government  of, 
552n;  heads  of  male  division  of, 
563n;  increases  enrollment,  562n; 
Joseph  Labaree  becomes  princi- 
pal   of,    540;    location    of,    545; 


male  division  of,  delays  opening, 
563n;  staff  of,  542,  552n. 

Oxford   College,  mentioned,   545. 

Oxford  Presbyterian  Church,  his- 
tory of,  553n. 


Page,  Allison  F.,  accomplishments 
of,  481. 

Page,  Anderson,  mentioned,  481. 

Page,     Walter     Hines,     abandons 
Chronicle,  486;  addresses  South- 
ern  Education   Conference,  499; 
applauded  by  Charlotte  Observer, 
489;    avoids    direct   political    at- 
tacks,   485;    charter   member   of 
General    Education   Board,   494; 
connected    with    farm    extension 
program,    496;    contributions    to 
World's    Work,    492,    493;    con- 
verts Chronicle  into  daily,  486; 
credited  with  leading  education- 
al     campaign,      496;      criticizes 
South,  482,  489;  early  career  of, 
483;  edits  Atlantic  Monthly,  488; 
edits  Forum,  488;   education  of, 
482;      encourages     Charles     W. 
Stiles,  496;  endorses  progressive 
programs,   498;    founds   publish- 
ing house,  488;  founds  Watauga 
Club,  493 ;  grave  of,  visited,  499 ; 
literary    advisor    for    Houghton 
Mifflin    Co.,    488;    makes    "For- 
gotten Man"  address,  489,  494; 
meets    Seaman   A.    Knapp,   496; 
member   of  benevolent  societies, 
494-497;     outlines     work,     495; 
propagandist  for  state,  492 ;  pub- 
lishes  World's   Work,  488;   pur- 
chases  newspaper,   484;    reports 
progress,  497 ;  resigns  fellowship, 
483;      returns      to      Democratic 
party,  498;  scorns  Farmers'  Al- 
liance, 498;  seeks  state  printing 
486;    social   philosophy   of,   497 
South    values    services    of,    499 
supports  program  of  Booker  T 
Washington,    491 ;    tours    South 
484;  works  for  Brooklyn  Union 
488;   works   for   education,   494 
works  for  New  York  Post,  488 
works    for    public    health,    496 
writes    "Mummy    Letters,"    487 
writes  "Study  of  an  Old  South- 
ern Borough,"  483;  unconcerned 
about  child  labor,  497.  See  also 
Worth,  Nicholas. 

Palmer,  Robert,  becomes  stamp  tax 
collector,  326. 

"Pamela  Savage  of  Champlain, 
Healthseeker  in  Oxford,"  edited 
by  Helen  Harriet  Sails,  540-568. 

Pamlico  County,  lacks  public  libra- 
ry, 393. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


631 


"Paper  Manufacturing  in  South 
Carolina  before  the  Civil  War," 
article  by  Ernest  M.  Lander,  Jr., 
220-227. 

Papers  and  Addresses  of  William 
Preston  Few,  Late  President  of 
Duke  University,  received,  596; 
reviewed,  581;  Robert  H.  Woody 
edits,  144. 

"Papers  from  the  Fifty-first  An- 
nual Session  of  the  State  Liter- 
ary and  Historical  Association, 
Raleigh,  December,  1951,"  intro- 
duction by  Christopher  Critten- 
den, 228-229. 

Papers  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
The,  received,  154. 

Parker,  Harold  T.,  appears  on 
Southern  Historical  Association 
program,  148;  promoted,  144. 

Parker,  Mrs.  John,  reads  paper, 
146. 

Parliament,  Carolinians  await  de- 
cision from,  337;  colonies  pro- 
test to,  325;  English  merchants 
appeal  to,  338 ;  fears  loss  of  mar- 
kets, 338,  339;  George  Grenville 
stresses  obedience  to,  331;  im- 
poses Stamp  Act,  242;  links 
stamp  tax  repeal  with  Declara- 
tory Act,  339;  Maurice  Moore 
against  rule  of,  330;  repeals 
Stamp  Act,  337;  Sons  of  Liberty 
withstand,  341. 

Paschal,  George  W.,  reviews  The 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Ashe- 
ville,  N.  C,  1794-1951,  579-581. 

Paschal,  Herbert  R.,  resumes  stud- 
ies at  University,   472. 

Paschal,  Joel  Francis,  his  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Sutherland:  A  Man  Against 
the  State,  reviewed,  457. 

Patrick,  Rembert  W.,  becomes  as- 
sociate editor,  590. 

Patterson,  Andrew,  ventures  in 
paper  business,  221. 

Patterson,  James  A.,  ventures  in 
paper  business,  221. 

Patterson,  Samuel  F.,  mentioned, 
571. 

Pattillo,  Henry,  house  of,  stands, 
553n. 

Patton,  Frances  Gray,  addresses 
Literary  and  Historical  Associa- 
tion, 151,  228. 

Patton,  James  W.,  attends  meeting 
of  Society  of  American  Archiv- 
ists, 146;  reviews  Friend  of  the 
People:  The  Life  of  Dr.  Peter 
Fayssoux  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  131 ;  reviews  Simon 
Cameron's  Adventure  in  Iron, 
1887-181*6,  453. 


Patton,  Sadie  S.,  gives  talk,  471; 
interested  in  Western  North 
Carolina  Historical  Association, 
468. 

Pawnee,  leads  Fort  Clark  attack, 
211;  protects  soldiers,  213;  re- 
mains near  Hatteras,  217;  used 
in  Hatteras  attack,  210. 

Payne,  John  Howard,  offers  The 
Maid  and  the  Magpie,  349; 
Raleigh  theater  presents  play  by, 
351 ;  writes  Adeline,  or  the  Vic- 
tim of  Seduction,  351. 

Peabody  Fund,  assists  Negro  edu- 
cation, 80,  83. 

Peale,  Charles  Wilson,  opens  mu- 
seum, 567n. 

Pearce-Leipziger,  Hugo,  addresses 
State  Art  Society,  147. 

Pearson,  C.  C,  addresses  Historical 
Society  of  North  Carolina,  147. 

Pearson,  James  Larkin,  voice  of, 
recorded,  593. 

Pee  Dee  Panorama,  received,  598. 

Pelham,  Mrs.  Paul  Fitzgerald, 
elected  treasurer,  146. 

Pelham,  Thomas,  Henry  McCulloh 
asks  aid  of,  29 ;  mentioned,  24. 

Pendergast,  Thomas  Joseph,  men- 
tioned, 250. 

Pendleton  Sunday  School  Society, 
begins  Bible  instruction,  60. 

Penn,  William,  mentioned,  565. 

Pennington,  William,  becomes 
comptroller,  326;  reinstated,  336; 
seeks  protection,  336;  William 
Tryon  forces  resignation  of,  336. 

Pennsylvania,  offered  iron  conces- 
sions, 325. 

Penny  Rose,  received,  598. 

People's  General:  The  Personal 
Story  of  Lafayette,  reviewed, 
291. 

Perry,  Milton  F.,  reads  paper,  146. 

Perry,  Percival,  becomes  associate 
professor,  474;  receives  grant, 
474;  reviews  History  of  Ruther- 
ford County,  1937-1951,  579;  re- 
views Mrs.  G.  I.  Joe,  435. 

Perry,  Shaw  and  Hepburn,  Kehoe 
and  Dean,  restores  colonial  Wil- 
liamsburg, 295;  Tryon  Palace 
Commission  signs  contract  with, 
295,  469. 

Person  County,  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints  mi- 
crofilm records  in,  295;  joins  in 
library  agreement,  394. 

Person's  Ordinary  (Littleton), 
preservation  of,  discussed,  595. 

Petersburg  (Va.),  described,  549; 
fires  ravage,  549,  549n;  f reed- 
men's  school  at,  68;  public  school 


632 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


system  begun  at,  79;  R.  M.  Man- 
ly opens  normal  school  in,  75. 

Petry,  Ray  C,  takes  part  in  his- 
torical meeting,  299. 

Pfaff,  Eugene  E.,  receives  fellow- 
ship, 465. 

Phelps,  Stella,  gives  desk,  467; 
reads  paper,  146. 

Philadelphia,  described,  566,  567, 
567%;  history  of  landmarks  in, 
556%,  567%. 

Philanthropic  Society,  makes  accu- 
sation, 201;  supports  Shepard, 
201. 

Phillips,  Dorothy  R.,  photographs 
historical  materials,  594. 

Phillips,  H.  B.,  manages  Raleigh 
theater,  354. 

Piedmont  Partisan:  The  Life  and 
Times  of  Brigadier-General  Wil- 
liam Lee  Davidson,  received,  154. 

Pitt,  William,  champions  repeal  of 
Stamp  Act,  338 ;  hears  suggestion 
of  stamp  duty,  323;  mentioned, 
37 ;  speaks  of  stamp  tax  debate, 
325;  tries  to  discredit  govern- 
ment, 338. 

Pitt  County  Historical  Society, 
meets,  593;  organized,  300. 

Pittman,  Elizabeth,  marries  W.  T. 
Dortch,  573%. 

Pitts,  P.  H.,  letter  from,  575. 

Ploughshares  into  Swords:  Josiah 
Gorgas  and  Confederate  Ord- 
nance, received,  597. 

Pocock,  Isaac,  Henry  W.  Preston 
presents  play  by,  353. 

Poe,  Clarence,  elected  to  executive 
committee,  150;  member  of  Wa- 
tauga Club,  493;  mentioned,  470; 
writes  for  World's  Work,  492. 

Poinsett,  Joel,  gives  agricultural 
advice,  53. 

Polk,  James  K.,  advises  fellow  stu- 
dents,  198;    argues   against  for- 
eigners holding  office,  195;  begins 
mercantile  business,  189;  begins 
public  speaking,  191 ;  contributes 
to  library,  197;  Dialectic  Society 
fines,  196;  enrolls  at  Zion  Church 
school,     190;      experiences     bad 
health,   200;    expresses   ideas    in 
debate,  195;  graduates  with  hon- 
or, 202;    instrumental   in   expul- 
sion of  James  H.   Simeson,  198 
joins      debating      society,      195 
makes  rapid  progress,  190,  194 
plans  sophomore  studies,  193;  re 
fleets  "On  the  Powers  of  Inven- 
tion,"    195;     shows     interest    in 
politics,    198,    199;    takes    active 
part    in    Dialectic    Society,    196, 
197;     takes     entrance     examina- 


tions   191 ;    visits    Ephraim    Mc- 
Dowell, 189;  visits  in  state,  202. 

Polk,  Sam,  settles  in  Tennessee, 
189. 

Polk,  William,  mentioned,  191,  200. 

Polk,  William  T.,  placed  on  Com- 
mittee on  Stamp  for  Raleigh 
Quadricentennial,  300. 

Polk  County,  lacks  complete  library 
service,  393,  397. 

Pollock,  Mrs.  W.  D.,  becomes  hon- 
orary president,  146. 

Porter,  John,  resides  in  Brunswick, 
241 ;  settles  in  Cape  Fear  section, 
231. 

Porterfield,  Bob,  directs  "Thunder- 
land,"  466. 

Postell,  William  Dosite,  writes  The 
Health  of  Slaves  on  Southern 
Plantations,  154. 

Poteat,  Edwin  McNeill,  writes  God 
Makes  A   Difference,   246. 

Potomac,  built,  564%. 

Pou,  George  Ross,  preserves  Vir- 
ginia Dare  desk,  296. 

Pou,  Mrs.  George  Ross,  gives  desk 
to  Department  of  Archives  and 
History,  296. 

Pound,  Merritt  B.,  writes  Benjamin 
Hawkins,  Indian  Agent,  596. 

Powell,  William  S.,  attends  library 
dedication,  145;  attends  Southern 
Historical  Association  meeting, 
148;  compiles  bibliography,  595; 
joins  staff  of  University  library, 
152;  reviews  Behold  Virginia! 
The  Fifth  Crown,  583;  reviews 
Northampton  Parishes,  436. 

Pownall,  Thomas,  interested  in 
Stamp  Act  excise,  37. 

Preliminary  Inventories,  no.  32, — 
Records  of  the  Accounting  De- 
partment of  the  Office  of  Price 
Administration,  received,  153; 
reviewed,  293. 

Preliminary  Inventories,  no.  33 — 
Records  of  the  Bureau  of  Ord- 
nance, received,  153;  reviewed, 
293. 

Preliminary  Inventories,  no.  34 — 
Records  of  the  Solid  Fuels  Ad- 
ministration for  War,  received, 
154;  reviewed,  293. 

Presbyterians,  aid  academy  move- 
ment, 550%;  generous  in  Oxford, 
552%. 

Preston,  Henry  W.,  announces 
his  management  of  North  Caro- 
lina teachers,  352;  appeals  to  Ma- 
sons, 346;  requests  free  use  of 
theater,  352. 

Price,  R.  E.,  elected  director,  149. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


633 


Price,  Richard,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Princeton  (N.  J.),  Pamela  Savage 
describes,  567. 

Princeton  University,  University 
of  North  Carolina  influenced  by, 
193. 

Priscilla,  operates  near  Fort  Hat- 
teras,  208. 

Pritchard,  J.  E.,  mentioned,  470; 
writes  A  History  of  the  Central 
Methodist  Church  of  Asheboro, 
North  Carolina,  473. 

Pritchett,  Leo  K.,  discusses  "Horn 
in  the  West,"  594. 

Pritchett,  Mrs.  Leo  K.,  elected  re- 
cording secretary,  148. 

Privy  Council,  writes  against  co- 
lonial acts,  319. 

Prophet,  The,  Frontis  Johnston 
finds  irony  in,  249. 

Providence  Church  (Granville  Co.), 
history  of,  554%;  Joseph  Labaree 
preaches  at,  553,  554. 

Provisional  Congress,  delegates 
business  to  Permanent  Congress, 
364;  delegates  elected  to,  361; 
handles  important  legislation, 
364;  maintains  secrecy,  365; 
meets,  361. 

"Public  Library  Extension  in  North 
Carolina  and  the  WPA,"  article 
by  Elaine  von  Oesen,  379-399. 

Pulaski,  wrecked  by  steam  explo- 
sion,  583. 

Pulitzer,  Joseph,  mentioned,  484. 

Purcell,  James  S.,  article,  "A  Book 
Pedlar's  Progress  in  North  Caro- 
lina," 8-23. 

Puryear,  Richard  Clanselle,  elected 
delegate,  361. 

Q 

Quaker  City,  picks  up  survivors, 
209. 

Quince,  Richard,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Quinn,  David  B.,  article,  "Christo- 
pher Newport  in  1590,"  305-316. 

R 

Radio  Pioneers  of  America,  gives 
Hall  of  Fame  Award,  469. 

Rae,  D.  G.,  accused  of  attacking 
boathand,  183. 

Rag,  Tag  and  Bobtail:  The  Story 
of  the  Continental  Army,  1775- 
1783,  received,  596;  reviewed, 
450. 

Ragged  Ones,  The,  reviewed,  125. 

Railroad  Monopoly :  An  Instrument 
of  Banker  Control  of  the  Ameri- 


can Economy,  received,  153;  re- 
viewed, 454. 

Railroads  of  the  Confederacy,  The, 
received,  597. 

Rainey,  Glenn  W.,  reviews  Cracker 
Parties,  586-587. 

Rainsford,  William  Stephen,  men- 
tioned, 495. 

Raleigh,  dances  performed  in,  554%; 
history  of  landmarks  in,  558%; 
Mason  L.  Weems  sells  books  in, 
18;  writers  of,  interested  in  May- 
flower Cup,  246. 

Raleigh,  Walter,  Christopher  New- 
port visits,  306;  mentioned,  296; 
towns  named  for,  558%. 

Raleigh  Academy,  established,  558%. 

Raleigh  Auxiliary  Colonization  So- 
ciety, mentioned,  556%. 

Raleigh  Lodge,  Hiram  No.  40.,  be- 
comes interested  in  theater,  344. 

Raleigh  Register  and  North  Caro- 
lina Gazette,  notes  success  of 
Raleigh  theater,  347;  prints  list 
of  new  lawyers,  165;  publishes 
"Fitz  Van  Winkle"  letters,  512; 
relates  anecdote  of  young  law- 
yer, 169. 

Raleigh  Standard,  thinks  North 
Carolina  seacoast  invulnerable, 
210;  William  W.  Holden  edits, 
360. 

Raleigh  Theater,  A.  Keyser  as- 
sumes management  of,  351 ; 
closed,  351,  352;  experiences 
clerical  opposition,  352;  Handel 
performs  in,  347;  has  short-time 
engagements,  348;  opened  for 
ventriloquist,  351 ;  ornately  dec- 
orated, 353 ;  presents  Damon  and 
Pythias,  350;  presents  George 
Coleman's  The  Blue  Devils,  349; 
presents  John  Home's  Douglas, 
349;  presents  The  Rendezvous, 
350. 

Raleigh  Thespian  Society,  gives 
opening  performance,  345. 

Raleigh  Woman's  Club,  preserves 
Virginia  Dare  desk,  296. 

Ramsay,  W.  F.,  gives  bagpipe  con- 
cert, 356. 

Ramsey,  James  Graham,  delegate 
to  Second  Congress,  373. 

Randall,  A.  W.,  letter  to,  574. 

Randall,  William,  affidavit  of,  266. 

Randolph  County,  bookmobile  be- 
gins operations  in,  388. 

Randolph  County  Historical  Socie- 
ty, mentioned,  470. 

Randolph-Macon  College,  W.  H. 
Page  attends,  482. 


634 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Range,  Willard,  writes  The  Rise 
and  Progress  of  Negro  Colleges 
in  Georgia,  1865-19^9,  597. 

Rankin,  Hugh  F.,  reads  paper,  468; 
reviews  Rag,  Tag  and  Bobtail: 
The  Story  of  the  Continental 
Army,  1775-1783,  452. 

Raper,  Horace  W.,  reviews  Con- 
scHpted  City:  Norfolk  in  World 
War  II,  444. 

Ratchford,  B.  U.,  his  Economic  Re- 
sources and  Policies  of  the 
South,  mentioned,  257;  received, 
155;  reviewed,  137. 

Ravenscroft,  John  Starke,  reconse- 
crates church,  555%. 

Reade,  Edwin  Godwin,  Zebulon  B. 
Vance  appoints,  366. 

Record,  Wilson,  his  Negro  and  the 
Communist  Party,  received,  595; 
reviewed,  280. 

Records  of  the  Accounting  Depart- 
ment of  the  Office  of  Price  Ad- 
ministration, reviewed,  293. 

Records  of  the  Bureau  of  Ord- 
nance, reviewed,  293. 

Records  of  the  Solid  Fuels  Admin- 
istration for  War,  reviewed,  293. 

Rector,  Elihu  H.,  affidavit  of,  264. 

"Redwood  the  Regulator:  or  the 
Wizard  of  the  Pilot,"  criticized, 
516. 

Reeder,  F.  H.,  works  on  Raleigh 
theater,  347. 

Regulators,  C.  H.  Wiley  commend- 
ed for  defense  of,  506%;  demand 
local  control,  342;  express  griev- 
ances, 341;  mentioned,  329;  op- 
pose colonial-enacted  laws,  342; 
post  advertisement,  341 ;  praised 
by  N.  C.  Reader,  506. 

Reid,  David  S.,  consulted  by  C.  H. 
Wiley,  521. 

Republic  Steel  Corporation,  gives 
grants,  474. 

Resource-Use  Education  Confer- 
ence, Christopher  Crittenden  ad- 
dresses, 595. 

Resources  Available  for  In-service 
Education  from  the  State  De- 
partment of  Archives  and  His- 
tory, published,  595. 

Revolt  of  the  Rednecks:  Mississippi 
Politics,  1876-1925,  reviewed,  135. 

Revolutionary  Justice:  A  Study  of 
the  Organization,  Personnel,  and 
Procedure  of  the  Paris  Tribunal, 
1793-1795,  received,  153. 

Reynolds,  Elizabeth  D.,  olaced  on 
Committee  on  Stamp  for  Raleigh 
Quadricentennial,  300. 

Reynolds,  Mrs.  G.  D.  B.,  elected 
temporarv  chairman  of  historical 
society,  592. 


Rice,  Benjamin  Holt,  mentioned, 
553%. 

Rice,  John  H.,  makes  address,  553%; 
preaches  at'  Grassy  Creek,  553. 

Rice,  Phillip,  reads  paper,  471. 

Rich  Square,  marker  unveiled  at, 
145. 

Richmond,  history  of,  547%;  Pame- 
la Savage  travels  on,  547. 

Richmond  (Va.),  aided  by  Hatteras 
Inlet,  206;  described,  564,  564%; 
Negro  schools  opened  in,  64,  68; 
provides  for  public  schools,  83; 
public  school  system  begun  at, 
79;  R.  M.  Manly  opens  normal 
school  in,  75. 

Richmond  County,  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints  mi- 
crofilms records  in,  295;  lacks 
complete  library,  393;  toured, 
146. 

Richmond  Normal  and  High  School, 
grows,  87;  opened,  75. 

Riddle,  W.,  plans  theatrical  per- 
formances, 351. 

Rights,  Douglas  LeTell,  article, 
"Adelaide  Lisetta  Fries,"  1-7. 

Riker,  Dorothy,  writes  Journals  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana 
Territory,  1805-1815,  154. 

Rise  and  Progress  of  Negro  Col- 
leges in  Georgia,  1865-1949,  re- 
ceived, 597. 

Rise  Up  and  Walk,  Turnley  Walker 
writes,  257. 

Roanoke  Island,  falls  to  Federal 
troops,  370;  John  White  tells  of 
ships'  visit  to,  311;  mentioned, 
218,  305,  306,  469;  North  Caro- 
linians make  desk  from  holly 
from,  296. 

Roanoke  Island  Historical  Associa- 
tion, holds  business  meeting,  149, 
228,  299. 

Roanoke;  or  Where  is  Utopia? 
written  by  C.  H.  Wiley,  500. 

Robert,  Joseph  C,  elected  president 
of  Coker  College,  466. 

Robert  Potter:  Remarkable  North 
Carolinian  and  Texan,  received, 
597. 

Roberts,  E.  G.,  reviews  Federal 
Records  of  World  War  II,  143. 

Roberts,  Fred  G.,  letter  from,  572. 

Roberts,  Fred  L.,  letter  from,  113. 

Roberts,  William  R.,  affidavit  of, 
265. 

Robeson  County,  lacks  complete  li- 
brary service,  393,  397. 

Robinson,  Edwin  Arlington,  men- 
tioned, 256. 

Robinson,  Louise  C,  supplies  infor- 
mation, 546%. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


635 


Robison,  Michael,  deed  of,  528. 

Rockefeller,  John  D.,  founder  of 
General  Education  Board,  494; 
makes  grant,  494,  497;  mention- 
ed, 496. 

Rockingham  County,  mentioned, 
298;  WPA  aids  in  building  li- 
brary at,  391. 

Rodabaugh,  James  H.,  writes 
Nursing  in  Ohio:  A  History,  155. 

Rodabaugh,  Mary  Jane,  writes 
Nursing  in  Ohio:  A  History,  155. 

Rogers,  Carroll  P.,  welcomes  visi- 
tors, 471. 

Rogers,  Louisa,  marries  Cyrus  Sav- 
age, 556%. 

Rollins,  W.  W.,  letter  from,  116. 

Rondthaler,  Edward,  writes  Mem- 
orabilia of  Fifty  Years,  3. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  mentioned, 
496,  565n. 

Roosevelt  and  Daniels:  A  Friend- 
ship in  Politics,  received,  597. 

Ross,  George  R.,  appointed  on  sub- 
committee, 470;   mentioned,  470. 

Rowan  County,  land  valuation  of, 
in  1815,  531;  public  library  of, 
dedicated,  145. 

Rowland,  WPA  builds  library  at, 
391. 

Roy,  James  P.,  telegram  to,  259. 

Ruffin,  Edmund,  surveys  South 
Carolina  soil,  52. 

Ruffin,  Thomas,  elected  delegate, 
361;  mentioned,  159,  160;  op- 
poses administration  measures, 
364;  receives  letter,  162. 

Ruffin,  Thomas,  Jr.,  mentioned,  169. 

Ruffin,  William  K.,  fears  bar  ex- 
amination, 159. 

"Rule  of  Law  Today,  The,"  Pres- 
ton W.  Edsall  discusses,  297. 

Rulfs,  Donald  J.,  article  "The  Ante- 
Bellum  Professional  Theater  in 
Raleigh,"  344-358;  talks  to  Lit- 
erary and  Historical  Association, 
468. 

Rush,  William,  sculpture  of,  used 
in  park,  567%. 

Russell,  Phillips,  leads  tour,  593. 

Russellboro,  Arthur  Dobbs  acquires, 
241;  William  Tryon  acquires, 
241. 

Rutherford  County,  Clarence  W. 
Griffin  writes  history  of,  251, 
597. 

Rutherford  County  Historical  So- 
ciety, holds  meeting,  149;  pub- 
lishes history  of  county  in  World 
War  II,  149. 

Ryle,  Walter  H.,  reviews  The  Ter- 
ritorial Papers  of  the  United 
States,  volume  XV,  The  Terri- 
tory of  Louisiana-Missouri,  1815- 
1821,  291. 


St.  Augustine's  College,  Christo- 
pher Crittenden  makes  address 
at,  299. 

St.  James's  Church  contains  objects 
of  value,  237;  mentioned,  238; 
slave  money  completes,  237. 

St.  John's  Church,  history  of,  555%. 

St.  Michael's  Charleston,  1751-1951, 
received,  153;  reviewed,  437. 

St.  Philip's  Church,  Arthur  Dobbs 
plans  gifts  to,  238;  dedicated, 
237;  slave  money  completes,  237. 

Salem,  citizens  plan  restoration  of, 
469;  described,  526. 

Salem  Academy  and  College,  Old 
Salem,  Inc.,  plans  restoration  of, 
469. 

Salem  College  Alumnae  Associa- 
tion, Adelaide  Lisetta  Fries  acts 
as  president  of,  4. 

Salem  Tavern,  Old  Salem,  Inc., 
plans  restoration  of,  469. 

Salinger,  Margarita,  addresses 
State  Art  Society,  149. 

Salisbury,  described,  526;  Mason  L. 
Weems  sells  books  in,  15. 

Salisbury  Female  Academy,  men- 
tioned, 552%. 

Sails,  Alfred,  craves  outdoor  life, 
545;  forced  to  retire,  544;  mar- 
ries Nelle  Frances  Everest,  544; 
regains  health,  545%. 

Sails,  Mrs.  Alfred,  comes  into  pos- 
session of  diary,  540. 

Sails  Grace  Jean,  finds  diary,  545, 
545%;  reference  to,  544%. 

Sails,  Helen  Harriet,  edits  "Pame- 
la Savage  of  Champlain,  Health- 
seeker  in  Oxford,"  540-568;  re- 
ference to,  544%. 

Sampson  County,  joins  in  library 
agreement,  394. 

San  Agustin,  sails  against  the  Eng- 
lish, 312. 

Sanderson,  William,  arranges  for 
release  of  ships,  306;  John  Watts 
begins  action  against,  313;  re- 
calls sailing  of  Watt's  ships,  313 ; 
receives  no  profit,  314. 

Saratoga,  history  of,  547%;  Pamela 
Savage  travels  on,  547. 

Sauthier,  C.  J.,  draws  map,  239. 

Savage,  Adah,  survives  sister,  544. 

Savage,  Adah  Blackman,  mother 
of  Pamela,  540. 

Savage,  Amos,  identified,  547%; 
lectures,  547;  walks  to  Battery, 
547. 

Savage,  Andrew,  death  of,  556%. 

Savage,  Andrew  B.,  arrives  in  Ox- 
ford, 557;  leaves  Oxford,  562; 
returns    home,    556;    sketch    of, 


636 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


554%;    visits    Cuba,    563;    writes 
sister,  554. 

Savage,  Cyrus,  father  of  Pamelia, 
544;  loses  son,  556,  556%;  marries 
Louisa  Rogers,  556%. 

Savage,  David,  born  in  Upper  Mid- 
dletown,  540;  father  of  Pamela, 
540 ;  founds  church,  541 ;  men- 
tioned, 544;  serves  as  deacon, 
541. 

Savage,  Hascall  D.,  accompanies 
sister,  546;  brother  of  Pamela, 
546%;  ill,  567;  sister  bids  fare- 
well to,  546. 

Savage,  Horace,  death  of,  556,  556%. 

Savage,  Joel,  arrives  in  Oxford, 
563;  identified,  562%;  mentioned, 
554%;  plans  trip,  562;  sister 
writes,  542. 

Savage,  John,  organizer  of  church, 
540;  settles  in  Middletown,  540. 

Savage,  Louisa,  death  of,  557;  ill, 
556. 

Savage,  Pamela,  ancestry  of,  540; 
arrives  in  Oxford,  550;  attends 
church,  547;  attends  Presbytery, 
553 ;  attends  Williamsborough 
meeting,  555 ;  baptized,  541 ;  be- 
calmed at  sea,  548;  bids  brother 
farewell,  546;  characterized,  544; 
comments  on  slavery,  549;  com- 
ments on  southern  economy,  560, 
561,  561%;  death  of,  544;  de- 
scribes N.  C.  Capitol,  565;  de- 
scribes Princeton,  567;  duties  of, 
542;  encounters  storm  548,  568; 
enjoys  good  health,  558;  hears 
lecture,  547;  ill,  551;  history  of 
diary  of,  545;  leaves  home,  546; 
leaves  Oxford,  563;  likes  south- 
ern winter,  554;  makes  resolu- 
tion, 568;  moves  to  Academy, 
551 ;  qualifications  for  teaching, 
542;  returns  to  Champlain,  540, 
544,  568;  studies  at  Middlebury, 
Vt.,  541;  visits  Baltimore,  566; 
visits  New  York,  547,  567;  visits 
Oxford,  540;  visits  Philadelphia, 
566;  visits  Raleigh,  558;  visits 
Washington,  D.  C,  465;  walks 
to  Battery,  547;  writes  brother, 
542. 

Savage,  Pamelia,  marries  Charles 
Egbert  Everest,  544;  niece  of 
Pamela,  544. 

Savage,  Sarah  Bowron,  mother  of 
Pamelia,  544. 

Savage,  William,  founds  church, 
541. 

Sawyer,  Lemuel,  writes  Black- 
board: A  Comedy,  in  Four  Acts, 
Founded,  on  Fact,  471. 


Schettler,  Barbara,  joins  microfilm 

staff,  595. 
Schlegel,  Marvin  W.,  his  Conscript- 
ed City:    The  Story  of  Norfolk 
in  World  War  II,  received,  596; 
reviewed,  443. 
Scholarship,  Hysteria  and  Freedom, 

W.  T.  Laprade  writes,  144. 
School  of  Textiles,  N.  C.  State  Col- 
lege, Its  Past  and  Present,  T.  R. 
Hart  writes,  253. 
Scotland  Neck,  WPA  provides  for 

library  at,  391. 
Scott,  Mrs.  Bessie  W.,  elected  cura- 
tor, 300. 
Scott,   Edward,   resides   in   Bruns- 
wick, 241. 
Scott,   H.   A.,  placed   on   executive 

committee,  300. 
Scott,  John,  gives  reason  for  seek- 
ing office,  177. 
Scott,   Winfield,  asked   for  troops, 

210. 
Sebba,  Gregor,  edits  Georgia  Stud- 
ies: Selected  WHtings  of  Robert 
Preston  Brooks,  596. 
Secessionists-Democrats,  elect  can- 
didates, 366;  makes  claims,  365. 
Second     Congress      (Confederate), 
considers  arming  slaves,  377 ;  cri- 
ticizes management  of  Confede- 
racy, 378;  habeas  corpus  impor- 
tant issue  in,  376;  hopes  to  re- 
duce exemptions,  376;   increases 
rate  of  taxes,  375;  makes  effort 
to  induce  funding,  375 ;  N.  C.  del- 
egates attempt  to  limit  impress- 
ment in,  376;  N.  C.  delegates  to, 
refuse  to  allow  impressment  of 
gold,  375;  N.  C.  delegates  repre- 
sent state's  attitude  in,  374;  N. 
C.  delegates  seek  to  repeal  laws 
in,   375;    N.    C.    delegates   strive 
to   block  harmful   legislation  in, 
375;  peace  becomes  issue  of,  373. 
Seegers,   L.   Walter,   reviews    Gen- 
eral   Charles    Lee:     Traitor    or 
Patriot?  124. 
Seer,  The,  defies  classification,  249. 
Sellers,  Charles  Grier,  Jr.,  article, 
"Jim  Polk  Goes  to  Chapel  Hill," 
189-203;   article,   "Walter  Hines 
Page  and  the  Spirit  of  the  New 
South,"   481-499;   writes   Editor, 
462. 
Sermons  on  Important  Subject  by 
the    Late    Reverend    and    Pious 
Samuel  Davis,  in  demand,  22. 
Sesame     Club      (Faison,     N.     C.)> 
Christopher   Crittenden   address- 
es, 299. 
Seymour,  Horatio,  mentioned,  574. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


637 


Sharpe,  Joseph,  assistant  assessor, 
526%. 

Sharpe,  William,  map  of,  made 
available,   525n. 

Sharpe,  William  P.,  mentioned, 
149. 

Shaver,  John  I.,  given  as  reference, 
569. 

Shaw,  Clyde,  represents  community 
in  historical  association,  467. 

Shearer,  Ernest  C,  writes  Robert 
Potter:  Remarkable  North  Caro- 
linian and  Texan,  597. 

Shepard,  James  B.,  contributor  to 
N.  C.  Reader,  507. 

Shepard,  William  B.,  defies  univer- 
sity president,  201 ;  expelled,  201. 

Sherman,  J.  B.,  and  Company, 
operates  Benajah  Dunham's  fac- 
tory, 227. 

Sherman,  James  B.,  elected  secre- 
tary-treasurer, 222. 

Shih,  Hu,  speaks  at  forum,  145. 

Shirley,  William,  mentioned,  27. 

Shonkwiler,  William  P.,  compiles 
Preliminary  Inventories,  no.  33 
— Records  of  the  Bureau  of  Ord- 
nance, 153,  293. 

Shott,  John  G.,  his  book,  The  Rail- 
road Monopoly:  An  Instrument 
of  Banker  Control  of  the  Ameri- 
can Economy,  reviewed,  454. 

Shulim,  Joseph  I.,  writes  The  Old 
Dominion  and  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte: A  Study  in  American 
Opinion,  597. 

Shumway,  Charlotte  Everest,  dies 
in  Oxford,  544n;  moves  to  Ox- 
ford, 544w. 

Shute,  John  Raymond,  writes  The 
Seer,  249. 

Silliman,  Benjamin,  mentioned,  194. 

Siminski,  Amelia,  known  as  famous 
flutist,  357. 

Simms,  William  Gilmore,  book  by, 
mentioned,  502. 

Simon  Cameron's  Adventure  in 
Iron,  1837-1846,  received,  153; 
reviewed,  452. 

Simonton,  William,  assistant  asses- 
sor, 526n. 

Simpson,  A.  C,  his  book,  Durham 
and  Her  People,  reviewed,  282. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Day  Commis- 
sion, holds  meeting,  300. 

Sitterson,  J.  Carlyle,  attends  South- 
ern Historical  Association  meet- 
ing, 148;  elected  to  executive 
council,  148. 

Skaggs,  M.  L.,  reviews  The  South- 
ern Humanities  Conference  and 
Its   Constituent  Societies,  288. 

Skelton,     Thomas,     engaged,    552; 


leaves  academy,  562;  teaches  in 
academy,  552n. 

Slater,  Eliza,  teaches  in  Salisbury, 
552n. 

Slater,  Mary  Ann,  teaches  in  Salis- 
bury, 552n. 

Slavery,  Pamela  Savage  comments 
on,  549 ;  status  of,  in  N.  C,  549%. 

Slocumb,  Jesse,  makes  no  promise, 
181. 

Smeeth,  David,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Charles  Lee,  remains 
vice-president,   156. 

Smith,  John,  mentioned,  549,  565, 
584. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Seth  L.,  named  vice- 
president,  298;  reads  paper,  468. 

Smith,  William  Nathan  Harrell, 
elected  delegate,  361,  365,  373; 
recommends  A.  P.  Yancey,  163. 

Smith,  Willis,  speaks  at  sesquicen- 
tennial  celebration,  149. 

Smithsonian  Institution,  mentioned, 
295. 

Smithwick,  D.  T.,  attends  historical 
meeting,  300. 

Smoky  Mountain  Country,  received, 
597. 

Smyth,  J.  F.  D.,  comments  on  size 
of  Brunswick,  240. 

Sneed,  John  L.  T.,  William  Gaston 
gives  advice  to,  167. 

Sneed,  S.  K.,  appointed  to  church 
committee,  543%. 

Social  Relations  in  our  Southern 
States,  D.  R.  Hundley  writes,  39. 

Society  of  American  Archivists, 
Christopher  Crittenden  appointed 
chairman  of  Committee  on  Long- 
Range  Planning,  299;  holds  an- 
nual meeting,  145. 

Society  of  Mayflower  Descendants 
in  North  Carolina,  mentioned, 
228. 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  Andrew  Morton  writes, 
340. 

Soldiers  Memorial  Society  of  Bos- 
ton, reconciles  people  to  Negro 
education,  82. 

Solesbee,  Irene,  unveils  marker, 
471. 

"Some  Aspects  of  Society  in  Rural 
South  Carolina  in  1850,"  article 
by  Joseph  Davis  Applewhite,  39- 
63. 

Some  Moravian  Heroes,  Adelaide  L. 
Fries  publishes,  3. 

Sommer,  Clemens,  elected  to  execu- 
tive committee,  150. 

Songs  of  the  Confederacy,  received, 
152. 


638 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Sons  of  Liberty,  organization  of, 
flourishes  in  N.  C,  340;  with- 
stand Parliament,  341. 

South,  customs  of,  described,  562n; 
demands  southern  literature, 
500;  Doubleday,  Page  publishes 
books  on,  493;  favors  Andrew 
Johnson,  572;  fiat  money  issued 
in,  368;  marriage  customs  in,  de- 
scribed, 561,  561%;  Pamela  Sav- 
age describes  people  of,  550; 
peace  movement  starts  in,  369; 
re-evaluates  W.  H.  Page's  criti- 
cism, 489;  suffers  from  inertia, 
481 ;  values  services  of  W.  H. 
Page,  499 ;  W.  H.  Page  criticizes, 
482,  489;  W.  H.  Page  notes 
changes  in,  497. 

South  Atlantic  Quarterly,  The, 
celebrates  fiftieth  anniversary, 
298. 

South  Carolina,  agricultural  pat- 
tern becomes  established  in,  47; 
agricultural  products  of,  41; 
agricultural  societies  of,  instruct 
farmers,  46 ;  agricultural  societies 
of,  stress  diversification  of  crops, 
52;  amount  of  cotton  raised  in, 
50;  balance  of  slave  and  white 
workers  in,  43;  citizens  of,  en- 
courage Negro  churches,  61; 
classification  of  rural  people  of, 
45;  cotton  prices  in,  50;  difficul- 
ties of  farmers  in,  54;  early 
schools  of,  59 ;  farm  furniture  of, 
mentioned,  56;  farmers  of,  dis- 
cuss cotton  culture,  49;  free 
school  system  of,  59;  influence  of 
church  in,  61,  62;  life  in,  39,  40; 
livestock  grown  in,  52 ;  log  cabins 
of,  55 ;  mentioned,  232 ;  migration 
from,  55;  overseers  function  in, 
44;  paper  manufacturing  begins 
in,  220;  paper  mills  of,  reorga- 
nize, 226;  pay  of  workers  in,  44; 
rice  becomes  main  crop  in  lower 
part  of,  42,  43,  48;  rural  social 
life  in,  57,  58;  slave  population 
of,  41 ;  statistics  of  slaveowners 
of,  42. 

South  Carolina  Bibliographies,  no. 
3 A,  A  Checklist  of  South  Caro- 
lina State  Publications  Issued 
during  the  Fiscal  Year  July  1, 
1950-June  30,  1951,  received,  473; 

South  Carolina  Paper  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  lacks  home  patro- 
nage, 227 ;  locates  below  Granite- 
ville,  223;  organized,  222;  ships 
to  southern  states,  225;  unable 
to  supply  demand,  225. 

South  Carolina  Railroad,  mention- 
ed, 223. 


Southall,  James  C,  chides  Anna 
Gardner,  79. 

Southeastern  Airport  Managers' 
Association,  mentioned,  295. 

Southern  Appalachian  Historical 
Association,  chooses  name  for 
theater,  296;  organized,  148;  pro- 
duces "Horn  in  the  West,"  466. 

Southern  Education  Conference,  W. 
H.  Page  addresses,  499;  work 
of,  494. 

Southern  Historical  Association, 
holds  annual  meeting,  148; 
Richard  C.  Todd  presents  paper 
before,  145. 

Southern  Historical  Collection, 
housed  in  library  building,  470. 

Southern  Humanities  Conference : 
Business  Executives  and  the 
Humanities,  received,  153;  re- 
viewed, 456. 

Southern  Humanities  Conference 
and  Its  Constituent  Societies, 
The,  reviewed,  286. 

Southern  Lawyer,  A,  Aubrey  Lee 
Brooks  writes,  258. 

Southern  Pines,  WPA  aids  in 
building  library  at,  391. 

Southern  Political  Science  Associa- 
tion, Preston  W.  Edsall  attends 
meeting  of,  297. 

Southern  Weekly  Post,  edited  by 
Calvin  H.  Wiley,  500. 

Spaulding,  A.  T.,  placed  on  execu- 
tive committee,  300;  placed  on 
school  committee,  300. 

Speck,  Frank  G.,  writes  Cherokee 
Dance  and  Drama,  152. 

Spence,  T.  H.,  attends  meeting  of 
Society  of  American  Archivists, 
146. 

Spencer,  Colin  G.,  represents  com- 
munity in  historical  association, 
467. 

Spicer,  Edward,  accepts  small  ves- 
sel, 308;  commands  Moonlight, 
306;  drowns,  311. 

Spillman,  Mrs.  Henkel,  remains 
vice-president,  150. 

Spraggins,  Tinsley  L.,  reviews 
Business  Executives  and  the  Hu- 
manities, 456;  reviews  A  Friend 
ly  Mission:  John  Candler's  Let- 
ters from  America,  1853-1854, 
456. 

Spring,  Gardiner,  characterized, 
547w;  Pamela  Savage  attends 
church  of,  547. 

Sprunt,  J.  Lawrence,  elected  vice- 
president,  152. 

Sprunt,  Mrs.  J.  Lawrence,  remains 
vice-president,  150. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


639 


Stallings,  Mrs.  B.  W.,  elected  cor- 
responding secretary,  148. 

Stamp  Act,  becomes  law,  325;  citi- 
zens take  steps  against,  242;  de- 
cline of  commerce  affects,  337 ; 
finds  North  Carolina  in  depressed 
condition,  327;  Henry  McCulloh 
proposes,  324;  leaders  against, 
receive  appointments,  339;  Mau- 
rice Moore  active  in  struggle 
over,  329 ;  mentioned,  24,  25,  321 ; 
North  Carolina's  attitude  to- 
wards, 327 ;  opposition  to,  begins, 
331;  purpose  of,  327;  resented, 
323 ;  struggle  over,  creates  co- 
lonial independence,  342;  threat- 
ens plantation  aristocracy,  330; 
vessels  seized  for  violating,  335; 
William  Pitt  speaks  of,  323 ;  Wil- 
liam Tryon  writes  against,  333. 

Stamp  Act  Congress,  North  Caro- 
linians prevented  from  attending, 
337,  340. 

Stanback,  Jeffrey  F.,  acts  as  host, 
146;  speaks  before  historical  so- 
ciety, 592. 

Stanback,  Mrs.  Jeffrey  F.,  mention- 
ed, 146. 

Stanford  University,  John  S.  Cur- 
tiss  teaches  at,  465. 

Stanley,  John,  criticizes  election 
practices,  186,  187;  refuses  to 
electioneer,  174;  states  reason 
for  seeking  office,  177. 

Stanley,  Wright  C,  writes  to 
Thomas  Ruffin,  162. 

Stanly  County,  library  of,  men- 
tioned, 382. 

Stanly  County  Historical  Society, 
organization    of,    projected,    592. 

State  Art  Society,  elects  officers, 
149;   holds  session,   149,  228. 

State  Chronicle,  policy  of,  492 ;  pub- 
lishes special  tobacco  issue,  485; 
W.  H.  Page  purchases,  484;  W. 
H.  Page  writes  for,  486. 

State  Department  of  Archives  and 
History,  acquires  Virginia  Dare 
desk,  296;  adds  microfilm  work- 
ers, 595;  Adelaide  L.  Fries 
searches  records  of.  5;  arranges 
for  microfilming,  295;  executive 
board  of,  meets,  591 ;  mentioned, 
299,  300;  offers  copies  of  History 
of  the  113th  Field  Artillery, 
30th  Division,  296;  orders  mi- 
crofilm camera,  472;  publishes 
Carolina  Comments,  471 ;  pub- 
lishes facsimile  edition  of  Black- 
beard,  A  Comedy,  in  Four  Acts, 
Founded  on  Fact,  471 ;  publishes 
Records  of  the  Moravians  in 
North  Carolina,  3;  publishes  Re- 


sources Available  for  In-service 
Education  from  the  State  De- 
partment of  Archives  and  His- 
tory, 595;  receives  publications, 
152-155,  473,  595-598;  shows  in- 
terest in  A.  G.  Cox  Manufactur- 
ing Company  records,  296;  Wil- 
liam S.  Powell  leaves,  152. 

State  Department  of  Public  In- 
struction, cooperates  with  N.  C. 
Library  Commission,  381;  spon- 
sors WPA  library  project,  384. 

State  House  (Raleigh),  theatrical 
performers  use,  344. 

State  Library,  preserves  Virginia 
Dare   desk,   296. 

State  Literary  and  Historical  As- 
sociation, Adelaide  L.  Fries 
serves  as  president  of,  4;  ex- 
pands program,  300;  holds  meet- 
ings, 151,  228,  473,  467,  468; 
meets  at  Boone,  594. 

State  Records  Microfilm  Project, 
preserves  records  of  state  agen- 
cies, 295. 

Statesville,  description  of,  in  1800, 
532,  533;  establishment  of,  532; 
WPA  aids  in  building  library  at, 
391. 

Steele,  John,  Mathew  Carey  writes 
to,  16;  mentioned,  10. 

Steelman,  Joseph  F.,  accepts  new 
position,  594;  reads  paper,  471. 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  mentioned, 
586. 

Stephens,  George  M.,  interested  in 
Western  North  Carolina  Histori- 
cal Society,  468. 

Steuart,  Andrew,  prints  death's 
head  paper,  332;  publishes  in- 
flammatory letter,  334. 

Stevens,  Mrs.  Henry  L.,  Jr.,  elect- 
ed president,  146. 

Stick,  David,  heads  committee  for 
Wright  Brothers  Museum,  295, 
591;  his  Graveyard  of  the  Atlan- 
tic: Shipwrecks  of  the  North 
Carolina  Coast,  received,  596; 
reviewed,  582. 

Stiles,  Charles  W.,  W.  H.  Page 
encourages,  496. 

Stokes  County,  lacks  public  library, 
393. 

Storm  over  Savannah :  The  Story  of 
Count  oVEstaing  and  the  Siege 
of  the  Town  in  1779,  received, 
153;  reviewed,  444. 

Story  of  Fayetteville  and  the  Upper 
Cape  Fear,  The,  reviewed,  432. 

Story  of  John  G.  A.  Williamson, 
Nineteenth-century  Diplomat,  re- 
ceived, 152. 


640 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Strange,  Robert,  contributor  to  N. 
C.  Reader,  507;  James  C.  Dobbin 
praises,  162. 

Stratton,  Charles  Sherwood,  men- 
tioned, 355. 

Strickland,  William,  designs  bank, 
566. 

Stringham,  Silas  H.,  desires  to  as- 
sist army  detachment,  208,  209; 
mentioned,  213;  receives  con- 
gratulations, 218;  receives  infor- 
mation, 209;  talks  of  transports, 
210;  Welles  writes,  208. 

Stronach,  Bill,  oversees  restoration 
of  house,  469. 

Stroupe,  Henry  S.,  reviews  College 
Life  in  the  Old  South,  137. 

Stuart,  James,  measures  temple, 
556%. 

Stuart,  John,  Henry  McCulloh 
gives  idea  of  stamp  duty  to,  24. 

Sugar  Act,  adds  little  burden,  323; 
fails  to  maintain  army,  323;  N. 
C.  planters  accept,  322;  passes, 
322. 

Sunset  Mountain  Attractions,  Inc., 
mentioned,  466. 

Surry  County,  lacks  complete  li- 
brary, 393. 

Survey  of  Marine  Fisheries  of 
North  Carolina,  received,  283. 

Susquehanna,  attacks  Fort  Hatter- 
as,  213,  214;  joins  attack  on  Fort 
Clark,  212;  remains  near  Hatter- 
as,  217. 

Sussdorff,  C.  F.,  letter  from,  105, 
107. 

Swain,  David  L.,  advises  C.  H.  WTil- 
ey,  507,  508;  letter  from,  403; 
makes  loan  to  C.  H.  Wiley,  504; 
writes  testimonial,  508;  Zebulon 
B.  Vance  appoints,  366. 

Sweeney,  J.  A.,  gives  concert  in 
City  Hall,  356. 

Swepson,  George  W.,  pays  bribes, 
574%. 

Swiss  Bell  Ringers,  perform  in 
City  Hall,  356. 

"Sword  of  Gideon,  The,"  closes 
second  season,  591. 

Sydnor,  Charles  S.,  addresses 
American  Historical  Association, 
465;  addresses  Historical  Society 
of  North  Carolina,  147;  becomes 
chairman  of  Duke  history  de- 
partment, 590;  becomes  dean  of 
Duke  graduate  school,  590;  gives 
address  at  Randolph-Macon  Col- 
lege, 465;  lectures  at  University 
of  Kentucky,  465;  takes  part  in 
historical  meeting,  299;  talks  of 
Oxford    University,    151;    writes 


Gentlemen  Freeholders:  Political 
Practices  in  Washington's  Vir- 
ginia, 598. 


Taft,  William  Howard,  makes  an- 
nouncement, 492;  promises  con- 
cilatory  attitude  toward  South, 
491. 

Tankersley,  Allen  P.,  his  College 
Life  at  Old  Oglethorpe,  review- 
ed, 128. 

Tarboro,  academy  at,  celebrates 
May  Day,  543%;  citizens  of,  write 
letter  of  complaint,  14. 

Tarlton,  J.  J.,  elected  vice-presi- 
dent, 149. 

Taylor,  Harden  F.,  his  Survey  of 
Marine  Fisheries  of  North  Caro- 
lina, received,  283. 

Taylor,  Richard  P.,  family  of,  oc- 
cupies  Little  John   home,   552%. 

Taylor,  Rosser  H.,  interested  in 
Western  North  Carolina  Histori- 
cal Society,  468. 

Taylor,  Tom,  Raleigh  theater  pre- 
sents play  by,  356. 

Taylor,  William  V.,  appointed  to 
church  committee,  543%;  identi- 
fied, 551%. 

Tenant  farmers,  book  on  legal  stat- 
us of,  reviewed,  587. 

Tennent,  William,  organizes  church, 
553%. 

Tennessee  Valley  Authority,  sets 
up  regional  library,  394. 

Territorial  Papers  of  the  United 
States,  volume  XV,  Louisiana- 
Missouri  Territory,  1815-1821, 
received,  153;  reviewed,  290. 

Terry,  Alfred  H.,  appointed  com- 
missioner, 71. 

Texas  Revolution,  The,  received, 
597. 

Thespian  Society,  advertises  in 
Raleigh  Register,  346,  348;  as- 
sists James  H.  Caldwell,  347; 
Bank  of  New  Bern  holds  mort- 
gage on  property  of,  346;  gives 
benefit  performance,  351. 

They  Gave  Us  Freedom:  The 
American  Struggles  for  Life, 
Liberty  and  the  Pursuit  of 
Happiness,  as  Seen  in  Portraits, 
Sculptures,  Historical  Paintings 
and  Documents  of  the  Period, 
1761-1789,  received,  153;  review- 
ed, 127. 

Thomas,  George,  recommends 
Joseph  C.  Meggison,  162. 

Thomasville,  centennial  of,  planned, 
466. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


641 


Thompson,  W.  Bevershaw,  plans 
N.  C.  defense,  207. 

Thomson,  Charles,  signs  constitu- 
tion,  592. 

Thomson,  James,  poetry  of,  used 
in  N.  C.  Reader,  507. 

Thornbrough,  Gayle,  edits  A 
Friendly  Mission:  John  Cand- 
ler's Letters  from  America,  1853- 
1854,  455;  edits  Journals  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  Indiana 
Territory,  1805-1815,  154. 

"Thunderland,"  draws  crowds,  591 ; 
Hubert  Hays  writes,  466. 

Tillman,  Benjamin  Ryan,  subject 
of  magazine  article,  492. 

Tillman,  Henry,  defended  by  wit- 
nesses, 183. 

Tindall,  George  B.,  joins  Woman's 
College  faculty,  590. 

To  Make  My  Bread:  Preparing 
Cherokee  Foods,  received,  153; 
reviewed,  120. 

Tobin,  John,  writes  The  Honey 
Moon,   351. 

Todd,  Richard  C,  appears  on  his- 
torical program,  148;  receives 
prize,  144. 

Tompkins,  D.  A.,  writes  for  World's 
Work,    493. 

Toombs,  Robert,  mentioned,  586. 

Tory  Oak,  county  historians  visit, 
473. 

Tour  Through  Part  of  Virginia  in 
the  Summer  of  1808,  A,  received, 
597. 

Town  Builders,  The,  Adelaide  L. 
Fries  publishes,   3. 

Town  Creek  Indian  Mound,  archae- 
ologists study,  594. 

Town  Meeting  for  America,  re- 
ceived, 597. 

Townshend,  Thomas,  Henry  Mc- 
Culloh   writes,    31. 

Transylvania  County,  lacks  com- 
plete library,  393. 

Trinity  College,  W.  H.  Page  at- 
tends, 482. 

Trinity  College  Historical  Society, 
Christopher  Crittenden  ad- 
dresses, 147. 

Troy  Conference  Academy,  men- 
tioned, 67. 

True  Friends  Society  of  Philadel- 
phia, reports  educational  prog- 
ress, 71. 

Truman,  Harry  S.,  book  on,  dis- 
cussed, 250. 

Tryon     (N.    C),    mentioned,    471. 

Tryon,  Margaret  Wake,  county 
named  for,  558w. 

Tryon,  William,  aids  North  Caro- 
linians,   333;    assembles    promi- 


nent men,  333;  encourages  build- 
ing St.  Philip's  Church,  238; 
establishes  South  Carolina-Cher- 
okee line,  318;  feels  opposition  to 
royal  authority,  333;  forces  res- 
ignation of  Pennington,  336;  N. 
C.  delegation  visits,  330;  notes 
lack  of  specie,  328;  offers  bribe, 
334 ;  postpones  assembly  meeting, 
335;  prepares  Fort  Johnson  for 
attack,  336;  prevents  North  Car- 
olinians from  attending  Stamp 
Act  Congress,  337;  reprimands 
Corporation  of  Wilmington,  339 ; 
retains  Pennington,  336;  wins 
respect  of  North  Carolinians,  333. 

Tryon  Palace,  341 ;  mentioned, 
Perry,  Shaw  and  Hepburn, 
Kehoe  and  Dean  given  contract 
to  restore,  469. 

Tryon  Palace  Commission,  signs 
contract,  295. 

Tucker,  Josiah,  sums  up  ideas  of 
conflict,  329. 

Tucker,  Rufus  S.,  letter  from,  118. 

Turner,  Frederick  Jackson,  his 
work,  The  United  States,  1830- 
1850:  The  Nation  and  Its  Sec- 
tions, reviewed,  140. 

Turner,  Josiah,  Jr.,  attends  Second 
Congress,  373;  opposes  arming 
of  slaves,  377;  sees  no  help  in 
Congress,  374. 

Tweed,  Elisha  J.,  signs  affidavit, 
264,  267. 

Two-Party  South,  A,  received,  597. 

Tyler,  John  E.,  becomes  district 
vice-president,  298;  mentioned, 
470. 

Tyler,  Herbert  P.,  donates  books, 
467. 

U 

Ulmer,  Mary,  edits  To  Make  My 
Bread:  Prepaying  Cherokee 
Foods,  120,  153. 

Underground  Railroad,  beginning 
of,  in  N.  C,  550n. 

Union  Hill  Academy,  mentioned, 
580. 

Unionist-Whigs,  elect  candidates, 
366. 

United  Daughters  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, Christopher  Crittenden  ad- 
dresses Caswell-Nash  chapter  of, 
595;  holds  national  convention, 
146;   offers  prize,  144. 

U.  D.  C.  Memorial  Hall  (Lincoln- 
ton),  marker  to,  unveiled,  591. 

United  States,  aids  public  libraries, 
380;  commerce  of,  experiences 
loss,  208;   Confederates  take  al- 


642 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


legiance  oath  to,  67;  farm  popu- 
lation of,  41;  Jefferson  Davis 
agrees  to  meet  representatives 
of,  377;  regards  direct  tax  as 
emergency  measure,  530%;  turns 
to  defense,  392 ;  willing  for  peace, 
373. 

United  States  Congress,  agrees 
with  Jefferson  Davis,  362. 

United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, extends  work  of  Seaman 
A.  Knapp,  496;  member  of,  makes 
study,  530. 

United  States,  1830-1850:  The  Na- 
tion and  Its  Sections,  received, 
152;  reviewed,  140. 

United  States  National  Archives, 
publishes  Washington's  Inaugur- 
al Address  of  1789,  597;  pub- 
lishes Washington's  Official  Map 
of  Yorktown,  597. 

United  States  National  Park  Serv- 
ice, mentioned,  295,  472. 

United  States  Navy  Department, 
contemplates  seizing  Confederate 
ports,  209;  organized,  254;  plans 
operations,  206;  receives  com- 
plaints, 208;  receives  congratu- 
lations, 218;  succeeds  in  naval 
expedition,  218;  unprepared,  205. 

United  States  Patent  Office,  history 
of,  566%. 

United  States  State  Department, 
writes  Welles,  208. 

United  States  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, sets  up  assessment  system, 
530%;  writes  Welles,  208. 

United  States  War  Department, 
denies  right  of  habeas  corpus, 
371;  draft  efforts  of,  prove  ob- 
jectionable, 371 ;  Zebulon  B. 
Vance  wrangles  with,  371. 

University  of  North  Carolina,  con- 
fers degree  on  Adelaide  L.  Fries, 
4;  costume  of  class  of  1818,  202; 
debating  societies  of,  195;  dedi- 
cates library  building,  470;  de- 
scription of,  192;  experiences 
student  rebellion,  200,  201 ;  H.  H. 
Cunningham  teaches  at,  590; 
James  Polk  attends,  191;  library 
of,  mentioned,  5;  plan  of  study 
at,  193;  professors  of,  receive 
fellowships,  465;  Sarah  Lemmon 
receives  degree  from,  465;  W.  H. 
Page  unable  to  obtain  position  at, 
483. 

University  of  South  Carolina, 
volume  I,  South  Carolina  College, 
received,  153;  reviewed,  436. 

University  of  Southern  California, 
Edward  A.  Guerrant  plans  study 
at,  465. 


University  of  Virginia,  mentioned, 
69. 

"Unpublished  Letters  of  Calvin 
Henderson  Wiley,"  edited  by 
Mary  C.  Wiley,  91-103. 

"Unsolved  Mysteries  in  the  Life  of 
George  Washington,"  Douglass 
Southall  Freeman  delivers  ad- 
dress on,  228. 

"Unto  These  Hills,"  draws  crowds, 
591;  plays  on  Cherokee  Indian 
Reservation,  466. 

Unto  These  Hills,  a  Drama  of  the 
Cherokees,  received,  152;  review- 
ed, 120. 


Vance,  Zebulon  B.,  appoints  David 
L.  Swain,  366;  appoints  William 
Alexander  Graham,  366;  con- 
tends with  Davis,  371;  declares 
against  a  convention,  372;  de- 
sires North  Carolinians  com- 
mand, 371;  followers  of,  differ 
regarding  negotiations,  373;  let- 
ter from,  575;  nominated,  571. 

Vanceboro,  WPA  aids  in  building 
library  at,  391. 

Vanderbilt  University,  D.  W. 
Grantham  joins  faculty  at,  590. 

Vandiver,  Frank  E.,  writes  Plough- 
shares into  Swords:  Josiah  Gor- 
gas  and  Confederate  Ordnance, 
597. 

Venable,  Abraham  Watkins,  elect- 
ed delegate,  361;  opposes  volun- 
teer control,  364;  supports  tax 
bill,  363. 

Victorius,  J.  Curt,  receives  grant, 
474. 

Vinson,  John  Chalmers,  article, 
"Electioneering  in  North  Caro- 
lina,   1800-1835,"    171-188. 

Viper,  joins  the  Diligence,  335; 
William  Tryon  reprimands  cap- 
tain of,  336. 

Virginia,  citizens  of,  against  politi- 
cal equality,  77;  citizens  of,  op- 
pose Negro  education,  82;  Freed- 
men's  Bureau  aids  public  edu- 
cation in,  88 ;  Freedmen's  Bureau 
begins  Negro  education  in,  66; 
history  of  colonization  in,  re- 
viewed, 583;  readmitted  to  state- 
hood, 85 ;  shows  interest  in  Negro 
education,  74. 

Virginia  Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 
mentioned,  299. 

Virginia  &  North  Carolina  Alma- 
nac, for  the  Year  of  Our  Lord 
1800,  mentioned,  8. 

Visconti,  Mrs.  Tabitha,  elected  sec- 
retary, 300. 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


643 


w 


Wabash,  attacks  Fort  Hatteras, 
210,  213,  214;  fires  on  Fort  Clark, 
212. 

Wachovia  Museum,  mentioned,  4; 
Old  Salem,  Inc.,  plans  restora- 
tion of,  469. 

Waddell,  Hugh,  prevents  landing; 
of  stamps,  334;   mentioned,  199. 

Waddell,  James,  defends  C.  H. 
Wiley,  516. 

Waddell,  Moses,  develops  private 
school,  59,  60. 

Wake  County,  established,  558%. 

Wake  Forest  College,  confers  de- 
gree on  Adelaide  L.  Fries,  4; 
mentioned,  508;  Percival  Perry 
becomes  associate  professor  at, 
474. 

Wales,  M.  B.,  aids  in  forming  his- 
torical society,  467. 

Walker,  Joseph,  elected  secretary- 
treasurer,  222;  installs  machin- 
ery, 223;  mentioned,  225. 

Walker,  Thomas  W.,  mentioned, 
470. 

Walker,  Turnley,  writes  Rise  Up 
and  Walk,  257. 

Wallace,  David  Duncan,  his  book, 
History  of  Wofford  College,  185 U- 
191+9,  mentioned,  154;  reviewed, 
441. 

Wallace,  David  H.,  reviews  Survey 
of  Marine  Fisheries  of  North 
Carolina,  286. 

Wallace,  Willard  M.,  writes  Appeal 
to  Arms:  A  Military  History  of 
the  American  Revolution,  152. 

Walpole,  Robert,  hears  suggestion 
of  stamp  duty,  323. 

Walser,  Richard,  appointed  chair- 
man of  committee,  300;  his 
Inglis  Fletcher  of  Bandon  Plan- 
tation, reviewed,  433;  reviews 
Unto  These  Hills,  a  Drama  of 
the  Cherokee,  121;  writes  intro- 
duction to  Blackbeard,  All. 

"Walter  Hines  Page  and  the  Spirit 
of  the  New  South,"  article  by 
Charles  Grier  Sellers,  Jr.,  481- 
499. 

Walton,  Loring  Baker,  writes 
Anatole  France  and  the  Greek 
World,  256. 

War  of  1812,  creates  tax  emer- 
gency, 530%;  mentioned,  200,  220, 
546%. 

War  of  Jenkins'  Ear,  mentioned, 
236. 

Ward,  Marshall,  addresses  North 
Carolina  Folklore  Society,  151, 


Waring,  George,  constructs  paper 
mill,  220 ;  has  difficulty  in  buying 
rags,  226;  manufactures  news- 
print, 224;  ships  to  Charleston, 
225;  trades  with  Waring  and 
Hayne,  220. 

Warren,  Joseph,  town  named  for, 
563%. 

Warren  County,  history  of,  563%. 

Warren  County  Historical  Society, 
organized,   300. 

Warrenton,  cultural  center,  563%; 
has  academy,  550%;  Mason  L. 
Weems  sells  books  in,  15;  Thomas 
P.  Jones  and  Joseph  Andrews 
head  academy  in,  Shin;  WPA 
builds  library  at,  391. 

Washburne,  Elihu  B.,  mentioned, 
574%. 

Washington  (D.  C),  Hatteras  vic- 
tory cheers,  218;  hears  of  Con- 
federate strength,  209;  Pamela 
Savage  describes,  565. 

Washington  (N.  C),  Little  Thea- 
tre of,  presents  pageant,  150; 
mentioned,  206. 

Washington,  Booker  T.,  mentioned, 
490;  sketch  of,  mentioned,  495; 
W.  H.  Page  supports  program 
of,  491;  writes  for  Doubleday, 
Page,  493;  writes  for  World's 
Work,  492. 

Washington,  George,  biography  of, 
popular  in  farm  homes,  58 ;  diary 
of,  quoted,  525;  history  of  statue 
of,  558%,  560%;  mentioned,  2,  8, 
344,  565;  monument  to,  admired, 
566;  statue  of,  described,  558, 
558%,  564,  564%. 

Washington,  H.  W.,  makes  loan  to 
C.  H.  Wiley,  504. 

Washington  Memorial  Chapel 
(Valley  Forge),  Christopher 
Crittenden  speaks  in,  472. 

Washington  Peace  Conference, 
delegates  attend,  359. 

Washington's  Inaugural  Address 
of  1789,  received,  597. 

Washington's  Official  Map  of  York- 
town,  received,  597. 

Watauga  Club,  founded,  493 ;  urges 
founding  of  college,  493. 

Watauga  County,  history  of,  dis- 
cussed,  594. 

Water  and  Power  Development  in 
North  Carolina,  received,  597. 

Waterman,  Thomas  T.,  quoted, 
555%. 

Watson,  John,  portrait  of,  pre- 
sented, 146. 

Watson,  Richard  L.,  Jr.,  promoted, 
144;  takes  part  in  historical 
meeting,  299. 


644 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Watts,  John,  begins  action  against 
William  Sanderson,  313;  Con- 
clude owners  bring  suit  against, 
313;  privateers  of,  held  up,  306; 
obtains  decree  in  admiralty  court, 
314;  puts  up  defense  witnesses, 
313. 

Wayne,  C.  P.,  advertises  Life  of 
General  Washington,  9;  letter  to, 
11 ;  receives  collections  from 
Weems,  13. 

Weaver,  John  B.,  letter  from,  114. 

Webb,  Mrs.  E.  Yates,  remains  vice- 
president,  150. 

Weber,  Max,  discards  plans  to  land 
men,  212;  takes  possession  of 
fort,   216. 

Webster,  Daniel,  outlioned,  540%. 

Weems,  Elijah,  joins  Mason  L. 
Weems  in  selling  books,  17. 

Weems,     Mason     Locke,     becomes 
Wayne's  southern  representative 
9;  calls  southerners  infidels,  11 
disagrees  with  C.  P.  Wayne,  16 
finds    North    Carolina    profitable 
territory,   13;   has   little   success 
in  Raleigh,  12;   makes  final   de- 
livery   of    books,    14;    mentions 
desirable    books,    17;    plans    for 
North    Carolina   book   sales,    15 
publishes  pamphlets,  19,  20,  21 
publishes  Hugh  Blair's  Sermons 
22;  sells  books  in  New  Bern,  12 
sells  books  in  Raleigh  area,  12 
sells  books  in  Tarboro,  11 ;  sells 
books  in  Warrenton,   11;    shows 
interest  in  N.  C.  as  book  market, 
8 ;  succeeds  with  sales  in  Fayette- 
ville,    9;    visits    Louisburg,    17; 
visits  Salisbury,  10;  War  of  1812 
interrupts     bookselling     of,     17; 
writes  letter  of  defense,  14. 

Weems,  Sam,  interested  in  mark- 
ing historic  sites,  472. 

Welch,  Robert,  speaks  at  sesqui- 
centennial  celebration,  149. 

Wellborn,  James,  strives  for  popu- 
lar support,  178. 

Welles,  Gideon,  hears  of  Confeder- 
ate strength,  209;  mentioned, 
205;  naval  officers  write,  208; 
State  Department  writes,  208; 
writes  Silas  H.   Stringham,  208. 

Wellman,  Manly  Wade,  voice  of, 
recorded,  593. 

West  Indies,  Abraham  Cocke  win- 
ters in,  311;  John  White  refers 
to,  305;  N.  C.  ships  to,  325;  re- 
ceives concession,  325;  stamp 
duties  imposed  in,  324. 

Western  Carolina  Teachers  College, 
Paul  McCain  teaches  at,  590; 
promotes  Marvin  R.  Farley,  590. 


Western  North  Carolina  Historical 
Association,  Christopher  Critten- 
den addresses,  472;  holds  meet- 
ing, 468,  473,  594;  plans  of,  dis- 
cussed, 594;  State  Literary  and 
Historical  Association  interested 
in,  467. 

Western  North  Carolina  Railroad, 
mentioned,   573%. 

Whedbee,  Charles,  intercedes  for 
public  libraries,  398 ;  works  stren- 
uously for  library  program,  399. 

Wheeler,  John  H.,  commends  C.  H. 
Wiley,  506%;  criticizes  N.  C. 
Reader,  509 ;  his  Historical 
Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  men- 
tioned, 510,  510%,  514;  plans 
meeting  with  C.  H.  Wiley,  509%; 
promises  to  use  N.  C.  Reader, 
509. 

Whig  Party,  denounces  Secession- 
ists' claims,  365;  remains  conser- 
vative,  359. 

White,  John,  fails  in  attempt  to 
bring  supplies,  306;  hears  of 
Newport's  adventures,  311;  re- 
cords last  voyage,  305;  tells  of 
visit  to   Carolina   Banks,   311. 

White,  John  B.,  buys  paper  mill, 
220. 

White,  Newman  I.,  edits  The  Frank 
C.  Brown  Collection  of  North 
Carolina  Folklore,  596. 

White,  Bricknell,  and  White,  manu- 
facture newsprint,  224. 

White  House,  history  of,  565%; 
mentioned,  189;  Pamela  Savage 
visits,  565. 

Whitener,  D.  J.,  addresses  histori- 
cal societies,  594;  appointed 
chairman  of  committee,  300; 
elected  president,  148;  elected 
vice-president,  468;  interested  in 
Western  North  Carolina  Histori- 
cal Association,  468;  reads  paper, 
471 ;  reviews  Durham  and  Her 
People,   283. 

Wicker,  R.  E.,  represents  communi- 
ty in  historical  association,  567. 

Wilburn,  H.  C,  interested  in  West- 
ern North  Carolina  Historical 
Association,  468. 

Wiley,  Anne,  letter  to,  93,  95,  96, 
97,  98,  100,  101. 

Wiley,  Calvin  Henderson,  asks  to 
abridge  testimonial,  508%;  bor- 
rows money,  504;  commended, 
512,  519 ;  comments  on  critics, 
518;  completes  textbook  series, 
521 ;  consults  governor,  521;  criti- 
cized by  "Fitz  Van  Winkle,"  515; 
criticized  for  publishing  "Red- 
wood   the    Regulator,"    516;    de- 


Index  to  Volume  XXIX 


645 


fended  by  James  Waddell,  516; 
defended  in  Raleigh  Register, 
518;  defends  N.  C.  Reader,  514; 
describes  influence  of  Reader, 
514;  develops  state  patriotism, 
500,  502;  edits  Southern  Weekly 

.  .Post,  500,  511;  elected  superin- 
tendent of  common  schools,  520; 
faces  problem  of  recommending 
Reader,  520;  fails  to  answer 
charges  of  "Fitz  Van  Winkle," 
513;  famous  for  Reader,  500; 
interested  in  mother's  health,  95; 
invited  to  confer  with  John  H. 
Wheeler,  509%;  letter  from,  93, 
94,  95,  96,  97,  98,  99,  100,  101; 
letter  to,  91,  92,  102;  makes 
agreement  with  publisher,  504, 
520;  mentioned,  483;  offers  copy- 
right to  counties,  519;  offers 
copyright  to  Literary  Board,  519 ; 
offers  copyright  to  publishers, 
522;  patriotism  motivates,  502; 
plans  gazetteer,  503;  praises 
Regulators,  506;  prefers  upland 
regions,  504;  profits  little  from 
Reader,  520 ;  propagandizes  state, 
506;  represents  Guilford  County, 
97,  520 ;  resents  criticism  of  John 
H.  Wheeler,  509;  seeks  advice  on 
publishing  Reader,  502;  sells 
copyright  for  Reader,  522;  sends 
manuscript  to  David  L.  Swain, 
507;  tries  to  check  emigration, 
502,  505,  506;  visits  Washington, 
95;  visits  Wythe  County,  Va., 
95;  works  for  universal  educa- 
tion, 96;  writes  D.  F.  Caldwell, 
507n;  writes  historical  novels, 
500,  502. 

Wiley,  Mary  Callum,  edits  "Un- 
published Letters  of  Calvin  Hend- 
erson Wiley,"  91-103. 

Wilkes,  John,  mentioned,  37. 

Wilkes  County,  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints 
microfilms  records  in,  295;  tour- 
ed, 473. 

Willard,  Emma  Hart,  introduces 
system  of  instruction,  541 ;  opens 
school,  541. 

Willard,  John,  mentioned,  541. 

Williams,  Mrs.  Arthur,  elected  sec- 
retary and  treasurer,  300. 

Williams,  George  W.,  his  St. 
Michael's,  Charleston,  1751-1951, 
reviewed,  437. 

Williams,  Hattie,  marries  W.  T. 
Dortch,    573w. 

Williams,  John,  subscribes  for 
academy,  555%;  town  named  for, 
555n. 


Williams,  Morley  J.,  works  on  his- 
torical restorations,  469. 

Williamsborough,  academy  estab- 
lished in,  550%;  555%;  described, 
555;  history  of,  555w;  Mason  L. 
Weems  sells  books  in,  15;  Thomas 
P.  Jones  and  Joseph  Andrews 
head  academy  in,  551n. 

Williamsborough  Academy,  person- 
nel of,  555n. 

Williamsburg  (Va.),  architects 
plan  restoration  of,  295. 

Williamson,  Hugh,  his  History  of 
North  Carolina,  used  as  source, 
506w;  mentioned,   506n. 

Willison,  George  F.,  his  Behold 
Virginia!  The  Fifth  Crown,  re- 
ceived, 596;  reviewed,  583. 

Wills,  Elbert  Vaughan,  reviews 
Education  in  the  United  States, 
140. 

Wills,  John,  assists  in  dedication, 
238. 

Wilmington,  Arthur  Dobbs  com- 
ments on  size  of,  240;  becomes 
important  town,  233;  celebrates 
Halloween,  332;  citizens  of,  de- 
mand opening  of  ports,  335; 
draws  trade  from  England,  235; 
General  Assembly  holds  meetings 
at,  234;  history  of,  562n;  incor- 
porated, 233;  John  Fergus  seeks 
safety  in,  244 ;  lacks  manufactur- 
ing, 236;  Mason  L.  Weems  sells 
Bibles  in,  10;  reacts  to  Stamp 
Act,  332,  335,  336;  receives  office 
of  customs  collector,  244;  rivalry 
of,  with  Brunswick,  shown,  234; 
sends  thanks  to  George  III,  339; 
ships  to  British  West  Indies, 
235;  Stephen  P.  Newman  seeks 
safety  in,  244 ;  takes  over  Bruns- 
wick's trade,  245;  William  Hill 
seeks  safety  in,  244;  witnesses 
riots,  242. 

Wilson,  WPA  aids  in  building  li- 
brary at,  391. 

Wilson,  Mrs.  A.  R.,  elected  third 
vice-president,    146. 

Wilson,  Alexander,  directs  acade- 
my 555n. 

Wilson,  Frank  I.,  contributor  to 
N.  C.  Reader,  507%. 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  W.  H.  Page 
supports,  498;  work  of,  published 
in  World's  Work,  498. 

Winborne,  Wallace,  presents 
awards,  150. 

Winder,  John  C,  letter  from,  578. 

Winslow,  aids  Fort  Hatteras,  214; 
operates  near  Fort  Hatteras,  208. 


646 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Review 


Winslow,  Warren,  seeks  N.  C.  law 
license,  166. 

Winston,  Anne  Fuller,  mentioned, 
571n. 

Winston,  George,  mentioned,  511n. 

Winston,  Patrick  Henry,  delegate, 
571;  letter  from,  571,  577;  offers 
support  to  Andrew  Johnson,  571 ; 
sketch   of,   571w. 

Winter,  George  W.,  operates  Bath 
Paper  Mills  Company,  227. 

Winterville,  history  of,  discussed, 
593. 

Witthoft,  John,  speaks  on  archaeo- 
logy, 594. 

Women  Camp  Followers  of  the 
American  Revolution,  received, 
597. 

Woodbury,  W.  H.,  appointed  super- 
intendent of  schools,  66. 

Woodlawn  Plantation,  Christopher 
Crittenden  attends  reopening  of, 
472. 

Woodward,  C.  Vann,  his  Origins  of 
the  New  South,  1877-1913,  re- 
viewed, 446. 

Woodworth,  Samuel,  writes  La- 
fayette, or  the  Castle  of  Olmutz, 
351. 

Woody,  Robert  H.,  his  Papers  and 
Addresses  of  William  Preston 
Few,  Late  President  of  Duke 
University,  mentioned,  144,  597, 
581 ;  reviews  Essays  on  North 
Carolina  History,  122;  reviews 
Graveyard  of  the  Atlantic:  Ship- 
wrecks of  the  North  Carolina 
Coast,  582-583. 

Wool,  John  E.,  assists  in  operations 
against  Hatteras,  210;  boasts  of 
naval  attacks,  210;  commands 
Fort  Monroe,  210. 

Wooten,  Hugh  Hill,  article,  "The 
Land  Valuations  of  Iredell 
County  in  1800,"  523-539. 

Works  Progress  Administration, 
advances  cooperation  between 
small  counties,  393;  advances 
rural  library  service,  385 ;  assures 
maximum  employment,  380;  be- 
gins defense  program,  392 ;  builds 
libraries,  383,  391,  393;  closes 
state-wide  library  project,  392; 
establishes  certificates  of  release 
for  workers,  383;  establishes 
rules  for  loan  of  bookmobile,  389 ; 
experiences  problems  in  training 
workers,  386;  fails  to  provide 
needed  supply  of  books,  387;  li- 
brary program,  weakness  of,  399 ; 
makes  allotments  according  to 
population,  385;  makes  small 
book  stock  increase,  395;   objec- 


tives of,  in  N.  C,  386;  operates 
bookmending  service,  390,  391 ; 
operates  book  truck  service,  381, 
388,  389;  provides  for  purchase 
of  books,  386,  387;  publishes 
statistics  of  progress,  382;  re- 
sults of,  381 ;  set  up  on  state-wide 
basis,  382;  state  sponsors  contri- 
bution to  library  service  of,  384; 
supervises  workers,  384. 

World's  Work,  contents  of,  492, 
493;  gains  circulation,  488;  pub- 
lishes work  of  Woodrow  Wilson, 
498 ;  W.  H.  Page  writes  for,  495. 

Worth,  David,  attacks  opponent, 
183. 

Worth,  Jonathan,  letter  from,  110, 
261,  401,  402,  404,  411,  412,  426, 
431;  letter  to,  113,  117,  263,  400, 
403 ;   mentioned,   hlln. 

Worth,  Nicholas,  encounters  Ra- 
leigh society,  486;  hero  of  novel, 
The  Southerner,  481 ;  reflects  at- 
titudes of  W.  H.  Page,  482,  491. 

Worth,  William  Scott,  telegram 
from,  259. 

Worthy,  Mrs.  Ford  S.,  addresses 
Society  for  the  Preservation  of 
Antiquities,  150. 

Wooten,  Christopher,  resides  in 
Brunswick,  241. 

Wright,  Irene  A.,  publishes  find- 
ings, 305. 

Wright,  John,  resides  in  Bruns- 
wick, 241. 

Wright,  Thomas  H.,  addresses  So- 
ciety for  the  Preservation  of 
Antiquities,  150. 

Wright  Brothers  Museum,  com- 
mittee for,  meets,  591;  proposed, 
295. 

Wyman,  Jane,  lectures  at  City 
Hall,  357. 


Yancey,  A.  P.,  William  H.  N. 
Smith  recommends,  163. 

Yancey  County,  lacks  public  li- 
brary, 393. 

Yearns,  Wilfred  B.,  Jr.,  appears  on 
Southern  Historical  Association 
program,  148;  article,  "North 
Carolina  in  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress," 359-378. 

York,  Orland  M.,  elected  secretary, 
149. 

Young,  Edward,  poetry  of,  used 
in  N.  C.  Reader,  507. 


Zion     Church     School,     mentioned, 
203 ;  punishment  inflicted  at,  190. 


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